2018-01-16

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Rest in power: reflections on Dr. King’s true legacy King’s activism was unpopular throughout his life. How will we continue his quest for justice?

MICHAEL HEYWARD MiC Columnist

Every year since 1986, we, as a nation, have celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day on the third Monday of January.

Martin Luther King Jr. is viewed as the architect of racial harmony in this country, and not many figures in our history are revered more. Not long after King’s death were legislatures and prominent leaders of the civil rights movement calling for a national holiday to commemorate his work and life. However, the idea that King should be celebrated for his contributions to society was one that was polarizing along racial lines. After years of debate and defeat, in 1983, President Ronald

Reagan signed a bill making Martin Luther King Jr. Day a national holiday. Now, students get a day off from school, leaders participate in acts of service to marginalized communities and social media is abuzz with various quotes. Yet, many times the full story of King is not told or remembered, in favor of one that is more convenient. King’s teachings, like that of Jesus (and other religious figures), are easiest to digest when we accept those that do not make us uncomfortable,

while ignoring those that do. As a society we have decided that a whitewashed King is his only palatable version. We proclaim his words that evoke positive emotion, such as this one given in a sermon on loving your enemies: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: Only love can do that.” Yet, it is still important to celebrate the fact that King called for resistance when it was necessary, like in this particular instance: “Our only hope today

lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit and go out into a sometimes hostile world declaring eternal hostility to poverty, racism, and militarism.” Remember that King was a culture shifter. His mission was to alter the status quo, a task that is inherently disruptive. We must remind ourselves that the universally loved and admired man that today stands over Washington, D.C. in stone as a national monument, was once a controversial figure. Public

Invisible activism: The labor driving movements Advocacy contains more than instant gratification & protests HALIMAT OLANIYAN MiC Contributor

We often think of movements or even advocacy in general as something visible. If we can’t see it, we don’t feel it’s happening. Oftentimes movements are visible or at least have some tangible components. What do you remember about the civil rights

movement? Probably Rosa Parks refusing to be moved from her seat, the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. We hardly ever think of all the preparation and invisible, deliberate actions that fueled the movement. It was not simply a series of random events. When we hear “advocacy,” the first things that come to mind are usually sit-ins, picket signs, walks

DARBY STIPE/Daily

and other forms of visible, tangible protest. The University of Michigan is especially known for these. These forms are important but not always accessible. They often require someone in a position of power or with the physical ability to spearhead them. So what about other forms of advocacy, what about invisible protest? You might be wondering how any change could come to be with

opinion polling suggests that most Americans viewed King as a menace to the social fabric. However, he persisted with his peaceful protest and civil disobedience because it was just, irrespective of popularity. In the same light, modern protests of injustice that are villainized by President Trump, reported negatively about in the media and enjoy low approval amongst the populous must continue. NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick taking a knee during the See LEGACY, Page 2A

invisible advocacy. Invisibility doesn’t mean that no actions are taken but maybe those actions appear minuscule, yet they add up. To me, it means choosing NOT to do something and rather to do something else. By that definition, it is the other half of visible protest. It is the decision to not support causes we are against. The decision to not use violence. The decision to not give our time, energy or money to corrupt businesses. These decisions can be just as powerful as their counterparts. Especially, when they are given the same weight. What I mean is, often times people are called out for not being active enough, for not attending the sitins, walks or other protests. I don’t think that’s fair. It doesn’t consider See ADVOCACY, Page 2A

DARBY STIPE/Daily

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily

Harper Hill delivers MLK Schlissel receives diversity symposium keynote address award admist year of tension JULIA FORD

Daily Staff Reporter

When it comes to creating change in the world, Hill Harper, an award-winning actor, best-selling author and philanthropist, says “power is the people.” On Monday morning, Harper delivered the annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium keynote speech at the University of Michigan. Speaking to hundreds gathered

at Hill Auditorium, Harper urged the audience to consider this phrase when aiming to make lasting change. Harper was also accompanied by Aisha Fukushima, the founder of RAPtivism (Rap Activism), a hip-hop project that aims to amplify global efforts for freedom and justice. Fukushima ref lected upon Harper’s message, as well as the symposium’s theme of “The Fierce Urgency of Now” in her opening and closing

performances, which focused on current social justice issues in Michigan and worldwide. Organized by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium Planning Committee and the Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives, the symposium honors the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. University President Mark Schlissel said the symposium intends to highlight the values taught by Dr. King as well as the See KEYNOTE, Page 3A

JORDYN BAKER & AMARA SHAIKH Daily Staff Reporters

University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel was honored Monday evening as one of four recipients of the Let Freedom Ring Award at the Cobo Center in Detroit. The award was presented by the Rainbow PUSH Automotive Project, an organization founded by civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson that seeks to promote participation by people of color in

the economic growth of the global automotive industry. Rainbow PUSH selected Schlissel as an honoree for making college more affordable through the implementation of the Go Blue Guarantee, as well as his strategic plan on diversity, equity and inclusion. Schlissel’s tenure has been rocked by campus controversy on race in particular, after an uptick in racist incidents and resulting student protest across campus. Upon accepting his award, Schlissel also related the University’s work to improve

education and college affordability to the work of Martin Luther King Jr., highlighting the value of inclusivity on campus and within the administration. As such, Schlissel said he hopes the Go Blue Guarantee offers more equal opportunity to all. “The University of Michigan is proud to embrace both the quality and morality of education that Dr. King championed,” Schlissel said. “We want all of Michigan’s talented students to know that if they work hard and study that a U of M education is not out of reach See AWARD, Page 3A

Big weekend Thanks to a pair of lastsecond free throws, the Michigan basketball team narrowly escaped at home.

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INDEX

Vol. CXXVII, No. 56 ©2018 The Michigan Daily

NEWS.........................3 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................6

SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS...............6 SPORTS....................7

Michigan in Color

2A — Tuesday, January 16, 2018

MONDAY: Looking at the Numbers

TUESDAY: By Design

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

WEDNESDAY: This Week in History

THURSDAY: Twitter Talk

FRIDAY: Behind the Story

Race and Ethnicity Distribution of Undergraduate Students Fall 2016

17,630 students 3,931 students identified as White identified as Asian American

2,061 students identified as International

1,495 students identified as Hispanic

1,255 students identified as African American AMANDA CRISCI/Daily

LEGACY From Page 1A national anthem before football games last season, for example, is extremely polarizing. Yet, he has ignited a discussion about race that most Americans would have preferred to not

discuss. Like King and many other leaders of the civil rights movement, Kaepernick faces negative consequences for taking a stand. Despite having been villainized and losing his job, he is unapologetically a force for justice. History will remember his sacrifice. King believed in building

bridges instead of walls, but he didn’t turn his back to injustice just to appease the attitudes of moderates. And, if he were alive today, he would probably be one of the most vocal critics of the current administration and, frankly, the nation’s blatant regression on the issue of race. President

Barack Obama’s historic 2008 presidential victory was seen as a breakthrough in the state of America’s race relations, a sign that most Americans were finally over the idea of skin color.

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ADVOCACY From Page 1A how hard it may be for someone to be physically or emotionally present in those spaces, which aren’t always the most welcoming. As a Black woman who practices Islam — and yes in that order from my most to least salient identity — I never feel comfortable at the front lines of

protest. I feel like I’m expected to act a certain to correctly portray my identities. Advocates love to talk about the burden of labor and how the oppressed shouldn’t have to explain how they’re oppressed to their oppressors but then still expect them to participate in the labor of protesting. I used to not consider myself an advocate because I never attended protests. I felt more emotionally drained than uplifted by the thought of the masses participating in the

same activity. I would rather write down how I feel than yell it in a march. I think we’ve forgotten about the less flashy forms of advocacy. We are in the age of instant gratification. If it’s not headlining the news, gone viral or trending on social media, we don’t know it’s happening. We take movements and turn them into convenient hashtags like #BlackLivesMatter only for them to be repurposed and their meaning stripped away into

something like #AllLivesMatter. Once it’s out of the spotlight we forget about it. Without a documentary here and a movie there, we wouldn’t know that Flint still doesn’t have clean water along with 32 other cities across the U.S. We volunteer, which is great, then post a picture to validate our labor.

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Now, how would your response place. Usually, you can spot this change if this were on March happening when someone wishes ANU ROY-CHAUDHURY and ASHLEY ZHANG 7, 1965, and the road you were protesters used less obstructive Editorial Page Editors tothedaily@michigandaily.com When I first wrote this piece, it stuck on was Route 80, just means. While they may explicitly Senior Opinion Editors: Elena Hubbell, Emily Huhman, Jeremy Kaplan, Tara Jayaram, Ellery Rosenzweig wasn’t in response to any event in outside of Selma, Ala.? The day say something along the lines of particular. Rather, I was motivated is “Bloody Sunday,” and activist “I get where they’re coming from, MIKE PERSAK and ORION SANG to write after listening to the John Lewis is marching with I just wish they didn’t protest like Managing Sports Editors sportseditors@michigandaily.com dialogue happening on campus and about 600 protesters from Selma that,” what they’re really saying Senior Sports Editors: Laney Byler, Mark Calcagno, Robert Hefter, Max around the country about activism to Montgomery. Regardless of is “I acknowledge an issue exists, Marcovitch, Paige Voeffray, Ethan Wolfe Assistant Sports Editors: Aria Gerson, Ben Katz, Tien Le, Anna Marcus, Ethan during the Trump era. All too often, how you claim to feel about the but I’m not willing to do anything Sears, Jacob Shames people — our classmates, neighbors, civil rights movement, chances to solve it because it doesn’t affect friends and family — eschew are that your current reaction to me.” As a result, demonstrators DANIELLE YACOBSON and MADELEINE GAUDIN Managing Arts Editors arts@michigandaily.com justice in favor of the status quo. anti-racism demonstrations (from are forced to use “obstructive” As the article goes on to mention, Black Lives Matter protests to methods — blocking roads, Senior Arts Editors: Becky Portman, Sam Rosenberg, Arya Naidu, Dominic Polsinelli Martin Luther King Jr. rejected this NFL players taking a knee during holding sit-ins and interrupting Arts Beat Editors: Danielle Yacobson, Danny Hensel, Erika Shevchek, Matt stance. In fact, the reverend went the national anthem) would be the status quo — to ensure Gallatin, Naresh Iyengar on to claim that the people “who identical to how you would have people actually listen to them. ROSEANNE CHAO and CASEY TIN constantly say, ‘I agree with you in reacted during the civil rights Otherwise, their message would Managing Design Editors design@michigandaily.com the goal you seek, but I cannot agree movement 50 years ago. likely be ignored by the apathetic with your methods of direct action’” Don’t believe me? According masses who prioritize their dayALEXIS RANKIN and KATELYN MULCAHY (not the Klansmen, nor the “altto a Gallup poll conducted in to-day convenience above the Managing Photo Editors photo@michigandaily.com right” nor the Donald Trumps of October of 1964, almost three- issues affecting marginalized Senior Photo Editors: Amelia Cacchione, Emma Richter, Evan Aaron Assistant Photo Editors: Claire Meingast, Sam Mousigian, Aaron Baker, Ryan the world) pose the greatest threat fourths of Americans believed communities. McLoughlin, Alec Cohen to racial equality. As we begin the civil rights demonstrators should Martin Luther King Jr. 50th year since Martin Luther King stop protesting, despite many of famously wrote about this in his BRIAN KUANG Statement Editor statement@michigandaily.com Jr.’s assassination, and celebrate their demands being unfulfilled. 1963 “Letter from a Birmingham Deputy Editors: Colin Beresford, Jennifer Meer, Rebecca Tarnopol hisSyndication life 89 years after his birth, it’s Additionally, a New York Times pollhttp://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ Jail.” In the essay, King argued Sudoku crucial to look back and reflect on conducted during the same year moderates who sit idly by and FINN STORER and ELISE LAARMAN Managing Copy Editors copydesk@michigandaily.com found that a majority of white allow oppression to happen New Yorkers felt civil rights (despite being ostensibly against Senior Copy Editors: Emily Stillman and Allie Bopp protesters had gone too far, racism and discrimination), are BOB LESSER and JORDAN WOLFF with common complaints about more dangerous than Klansmen. Managing Online Editors lesserrc@michigandaily.com Senior Web Developers: Patricia Huang, Abna Panda, Hassaan Ali Wattoo, “negroes receiving ‘everything Those “more devoted to ‘order’ Rebecca Tung on a silver platter’” and the than to justice; who (prefer) EASY IAN HARRIS growth of perceived “reverse a negative peace which is the Managing Video Editor video@michigandaily.com discrimination” against whites. absence of tension to a positive Senior Video Editors: Abe Lofy, Robby Weinbaum, Jillian Drzinski, Danielle Kim These sentiments are still cited peace which is the presence of by Americans who denounce justice; who constantly say, ‘I agree JASON ROWLAND and ASHLEY TJHUNG Michigan in Color Editors michiganincolor@michigandaily.com efforts to create a more with you in the goal you seek, but I inclusive country, from critics cannot agree with your methods of Senior Michigan in Color Editors: Lorna Brown, Zainab Bhindarwala, Christian Paneda, Nisa Khan, Na’kia Channey of kneeling to people against direct action’” present the greatest Assistant Michigan in Color Editors: Angelo McKoy, Kareem Shunnar, Maya affirmative action. Ironically, danger to those seeking equality. Mokh, Priya Judge, Efe Osagie while these people probably This is just as true today as it was ANNA HARITOS and KAYLA WATERMAN would have been against the half a century ago. Managing Social Media Editors civil rights movement had they All of this begs an important been alive at the time, they are question: How will you be the first to wistfully compare remembered by history? While it today’s demonstrations to was acceptable to be against the demonstrations of the past, as civil rights movement in the 1960s, EMILY RICHNER CLAIRE BUTZ Sales Manager Business Development Manager if their attitudes would be any pictures of counterprotesters DEANA ZHU and JEFFREY ZHANG JULIA SELSKY different. standing outside of integrated Sales Manager Local Accounts Manager In addition to those who are schools draw disgust today. CAROLINE GOLD SANJANA PANDIT seemingly against any form of Anybody who currently thinks the Media Consulting Manager Production Manager protest, there are even more civil rights activists were out of line people who support the cause is rightfully seen as bigoted — and of racial equality but do little to I firmly believe 50 years from now, The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the support it. In fact, they’re often critics of today’s campaigns for fall and winter terms by students at the University OF Michigan. One copy is available more critical of the methods racial equality will be seen in the © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for LONG WEEKEND! puzzle by sudokusyndication.com demonstrators use to achieve same light. Now is your chance to $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 equality than about the issues stand on the right side of history, for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. being protested in the first even if you have to stand alone. Generate and solve Sudoku, Super Sudoku and Godoku puzzles at sudokusyndication.com! JASON ROWLAND MiC Managing Editor

his words. Though our modern-day struggles don’t manifest exactly the same as the ones that faced King, their root causes are the same: hate, racism and bigotry. It’s our job to do what we can to fight these forces, even if the fight makes us uncomfortable. We cannot let the Trumps and the Richard Spencers of the world prevail, but the only way to effectively stop them is if everyone takes a stand. Imagine this: It’s a Sunday afternoon and you’re on your way home for the evening. To your annoyance, the route you normally take has more traffic than normal. Initially, the bumper-to-bumper backup is inching along, but it quickly grinds to a complete halt. After a while, you turn on the radio to find out what’s causing the holdup. Surprisingly, you learn it’s not due to an accident or overturned truck; it’s due to a protest organized against racism and discrimination. How would you respond?

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News

Tuesday, January 16, 2018 — 3A

From the news desk: A recommitment to readers SOPHIE SHERRY & RIYAH BASHA Managing News Editors

As we enter into our new editorial positions at The Michigan Daily, we find ourselves at the crossroads of campus, on the cusp of moments interrogating sexual harassment, racism at the University of Michigan and the intersections of inequity. Getting the news right has never been more important. And more than ever, our readers are at the heart of what we do. It’s a new year at the news desk.

KEYNOTE From Page 1A progress which still needs to be made toward social justice, especially at the University. “(The symposium) ref lects a desire to do good in the world and help create a better, more just and more equitable society,” he said. “We know there is so much more for us to do, because while talent is equally distributed in our society, opportunity most certainly is not.” According to Harper, it is “shameful” that today’s society and activists are still facing the same issues of social and racial injustice Martin Luther King Jr. worked to address 50 years ago. “It’s a shame for me to stand here, next to this podium, talking about the exact same things that he was talking about,” he said. “We have to hold a mirror up to that and realize that that is shameful. And you know where that falls? That falls on us.” This symposium holds special significance in the wake of a year of bias incidents and hatred directed against communities of color and other marginalized groups — ranging from racist vandalism in West Quad Residence Hall to racist slurs being painted on downtown buildings. In an earlier interview with The Daily, E. Royster Harper, vice president of Student Life, expressed the importance of working towards a more inclusive campus community in light of the divisive narratives

Allow us to reintroduce ourselves. EQUITY We live and work on a campus that is 65 percent white, and where two-thirds of students are in the top 20 percent of the income bracket. Ann Arbor wears the mask of a liberal bubble, but students and administrators with privilege create all sorts of unfair playing fields across campus. We also acknowledge The Daily has reproduced this inequity. The list of repeated mistakes goes on, from inaccurate headlines to racist cartoons to misgendering to sometimes overlooking stories altogether. In order to move forward, we must acknowledge

our past. The same stale demographics that plague the University pervade our staff as well. Eightyfive percent of news reporters are white, and nearly 45 percent hail from household incomes of $200,000 a year or more. We can’t listen, read and report accurately through homogeneity. Which is why we’re investing in reporters from underrepresented backgrounds, closing gaps in financial aid opportunities and training our current editors to own their privilege. We commit to leveling the playing field in reporting and recruiting this year. We commit to equity.

being expressed in the national news media. “Students don’t come here in a vacuum, so they’ve been watching and listening to the national narrative, all the divisiveness and the vileness, and they’ve seen it on television, they’ve seen it on social media, and you think ‘I’m going off to school, and I’m all excited about that, and I’ve got to come here?’” she said. “Particularly when we promote and advertise something different. So we talk about our aspirations, the kind of community we want to be — it’s not the community we are yet, but it’s the kind of community we want to be.” LSA freshman Jazmine Johnson thought this message of responsibility was especially relevant and powerful for today’s social and political climate. “I thought it was really inspiring seeing (Harper) talk about (those struggles) and how they are still happening today,” she said. Harper spoke of the power individual actions play in making the changes Martin Luther King Jr. dedicated his life to. Following with his message of “power is the people,” he emphasized the difference that can be made by each individual, especially by participating in elections at all levels of government. He also encouraged the audience to consider what they are willing to do to make the world a better place and to act on that intuition by refusing to let anything hold them back from standing up for justice. “Elections matter,” Harper said. “Solidarity matters …

Everyone here who has an intuition or a notion, we need you. We need your greatness, we need your inspiration. We need you to step out and step in.” Harper said this potential for positive change comes down to the strength of positive energy. “We can turn our potential energy into kinetic energy,” he said. “And as we turn our kinetic energy on, we start to feel a fire. You start to feel something happening in your spirit … And you start to say ‘We can do this, and we will do this, and this is how we are going to get there’ … We are all we need, because the power is the people. And so as we think about that, own the power. Own your greatness. We need you. The legacy of Dr. King calls for you, pleads for you to come out.” Music, Theatre & Dance freshman Sarah Morgan said she believed the central message of the symposium was inspiring and impactful. “I think the quote ‘power is the people’ will really resonate (with) me and I’ll take that wherever I go,” she said. Harper concluded his speech by leading the audience in a pledge to always harness their energy and their power to stand up for what is right. “I will not allow fear to stop me from taking actions that I already know I should take,” he said. “Instead, I will act, encourage, with heart. I will fight and I will change the world. I will help humanity. I will fight for social justice. The power is the people. The power is the us. The power is me.”

ACCOUNTABILITY As we write this letter, administrators limit the release of information on Richard Spencer’s request to speak on campus. Greek life chapters refer to action plans in response to patterns of hazing and sexual assault. Tuition rates and yearly budgets tick up every year. Important details get lost in the moving parts of tense politics at the University, in Ann Arbor and across the country. The Daily is positioned to hold all of these players accountable and amplify those speaking truth to power. We recognize the role we play as the only daily print publication in the county. This

year, we’re increasing the number of FOIAs we file, getting more public officials on the record (and live streamed!) and sourcing information from our readers. (Do you have an issue you think needs investigating? Send a tip via this live form.) We commit to not just keeping track of those in power, but keeping them in check, too. We commit to accountability. More than anything else, we commit to you, the reader. There is no one more important to this work than you, your tips and your trust. We know trust must be earned. We ask you to hold us to the

AWARD From Page 1A because talent is ubiquitous in our society, but opportunity is not.” Jackson and Schlissel last crossed paths in public last November during a symposium in Jackson’s honor. Following President Donald Trump’s election last November, Jackson spoke on campus in support of an anti-racist walkout that drew more than a thousand students. Organized by Students4Justice in the aftermath of not just the election, but a spate of racist incidents on campus, the walkout aimed to “hold President Schlissel and our Regents at the University of Michigan accountable for their claims of valuing diversity and student safety and well-being.” Student protesters also birthed the viral #schlisselwyahashtag last fall, asking “Schlissel, where you at?” after inconclusive investigations and a strategic plan many deemed too far-sighted. Jackson received a standing ovation as he described current political movements and encouraged those who feel marginalized not to adjust, but to take action and rise above the maltreatment that may be felt from those in positions of power. “It’s dangerous to be ignorant in a high place,” Jackson said. “Beyond culture and color is something called character.” The Guarantee — a historic pledge of four years of waived tuition for Michigan residents with a family income of $65,000 or less — has achieved preliminary success in encouraging more applications from lower-income students. Still, socioeconomic

diversity at the University is sorely lacking. The University ranked last in socioeconomic mobility amongst peer institutions in a study by the Equality Opportunity Project — one in ten students are in the one percent of income distribution. In a previous interview, Kedra Ishop, vice provost for enrollment management, said the Guarantee needs further work to make sure the program doesn’t ignore the needs of new students from lower socioeconomic strata. “We all have a responsibility to make sure that we help our students become part of the U-M experience,” she said. “It’s a challenging endeavor for us and we don’t always get it right the first time but I think we’ve put a great deal of effort … into identifying students, identifying their needs, to make sure they’re supported by the University.” Other recipients of the award included Bankole Thompson of The Detroit News, Flint mayor Karen Weaver and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, humanitarian leader and civil rights activist. Before awards were presented, audience members heard from several speakers, including U.S. Reps. Brenda Lawrence, D-Detroit, and Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, as well as Rev. Jesse Jackson, who accepted the award on behalf of Tutu in his absence. When addressing the audience, Lawrence highlighted the importance of remembrance on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, explaining that taking action in the face of oppression would allow King’s dream to be furthered within a democracy. “While we stand here today and reflect on the history of a great man … Will they be able to say that

promises and goals we’ve laid out here, and to call us on our mistakes. We have a duty to serve the contract between ourselves and our readers — the student body and Ann Arbor community— as best as we can. “Best” has meant different things in the last few years: efficiency, speediness or being digitally-minded. For the students of color and firstgeneration students, the survivors and the undocumented, for all those underserved by our paper in years past: this year, we won’t forget equity and accountability along the way.

we stood up and fought when they tried to roll back our rights and freedoms?” Lawrence said. “We talk about a dream but this is about action.” Though Schlissel was selected as an honoree, many students felt that his actions this past semester — specifically toward students of color — did not warrant an award. LSA senior LaKyrra Magee, a co-founder of S4J, criticized Schlissel for his insensitivity toward members of the Black community. “Mark Schlissel is the same University president that pulled Black students at every level from the University of Michigan into a room and told them he wanted to ‘learn’ to be a more sensitive person,” Magee wrote in an email interview. “Someone who tries to exploit Black students for their labor doesn’t deserve an award but (instead) a course to learn how to deconstruct white supremacy.” LSA senior Jamie Thompson, also an S4J founding organizer, echoed Magee’s sentiment. This semester, she wrote in an email interview, Schlissel’s consideration of granting white supremacist Richard Spencer’s request to speak on campus contradicts the principles of DEI. “Allowing Richard Spencer to come to campus works against every tenant of DEI and goes against what he says are values of ‘education, social justice and equality,’” Thompson wrote. “Not only is (Schlissel) co-opting the work of black student activists and faculty by taking credit for these achievements, he is actively participating in white supremacy on this campus and stripping away the small sense of safety and voice that students of color have.”

Broderick Johnson talks engagement Law school hosts JULIA FARENZES For The Daily

Broderick Johnson, a former member of the Obama and Clinton administrations, along with University of Michigan professors and directors, spoke on engaging with students of color and promoting greater access to education and job placements at the “Innovative programs for youth and young adults” panel, part of the University’s Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium. During his time in the Obama administration, Johnson served as Cabinet Secretary and the chair of the White House’s My Brother’s Keeper Task Force, which addressed persistent opportunity gaps faced by young men of color by connecting them to mentoring, support networks and the skills they need to find a good job or attend college. As of Monday evening, Johnson is also the newest member of the Ford school’s faculty. Public policy dean Michael Barr announced Johnson’s appointment as a Policy Maker in Residence in an email to students. At the panel, Johnson discussed how his motivation to create My Brother’s Keeper was strengthened by the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. He said the president wanted to create a strong program for AfricanAmerican youth with the backing of the federal government. “I had the opportunity to speak to the president right after

the 2012 election campaign,” Johnson said. “He talked about how he really wanted to go big, to use the power and the reach of his presidency to better organize how the federal government established programs and use his power as a convener to bring people together across the public and private sectors in the United States.” According to Johnson, Obama wanted the task force to produce evidence-based results and to assess the problems and the solutions with the same level of rigor that he demanded in everything else from the White House. Within the last three years of Obama’s second term in office, Johnson, with the My Brother’s Keeper Task Force, was able to identify six milestones in the lives of young adults that impact their levels of success and adopt an expansive and comprehensive approach to examine the data. The initiative also created the Second Chance Pell Grant, which was a collaboration between the Department of Justice and the Department of Education granting 12,000 Pell Grants to people incarcerated across the United States. Johnson said the Second Chance Pell Grant initiative helps incarcerated people across the country start their educational career while serving their court-mandated sentence. “The route to jail and to prison is often times about economic and educational deprivation so an important way to stay out … is

to help people get an education in prison,” Johnson said. The Task Force’s recommendations also influenced President Obama’s executive order to remove the mandatory yes-or-no question regarding whether an applicant has been previously incarcerated. This practice of asking about a criminal record at the first step in the application process takes a particularly increased toll on applicants of color, who are disproportionately arrested, convicted and sentenced, according to Johnson. Following Johnson, Brian Jacob, the Walter H. Annenberg professor of education policy at the University, discussed the regional programs created by Grow Detroit’s Young Talent, a city-wide summer jobs program that employs young adults in Detroit between the ages of 14 and 24. The program includes several hours per week of training on topics such as financial literacy and workplaces readiness. The younger participants work approximately 20 hours per week for six weeks. Jacob noted GDYT is different from other summer employment programs as it not only provides opportunities in communitybased nongovernmental organizations, but also in the private sector. Private sector companies which partner with GDYT include Quicken Loans, Touchpoint Support Services and Blue Cross Blue Shield. In reporting the effects of summer youth employment

programs (SYEPs), Johnson admitted there were mixed results. A positive result was the large reduction of criminal arrests. In Chicago, violent crime arrests were reduced by 43 percent; however, these results cannot be attributed solely to SYEPs because the percentage also decreased in the winter. Similar decreases and limitations were seen in New York City, according to Jacob. Luke Shaefer, director of Poverty Solutions at the University, discussed the SYEP created by the University to address socioeconomic inequality in the larger Ann Arbor community. One of the ways the University is seeking to address this is with the Go Blue Guarantee, a scholarship that promises Michigan residents with a family income less than $65,000 who are admitted to the University full cost of four-year in-state tuition covered. Shaefer noted initially, students from low-income families were disproportionately opting out of applying to the University as they felt they couldn’t afford the tuition prior to the Guarantee. While the effort to attract more students of color from lowincome families to the University is appreciated, some students feel that the effort doesn’t continue once students arrive at school.

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lecture on crime KATHERINE SOURINE Daily Staff Reporter

On Monday, as a part of the University of Michigan’s Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Symposium, more than 300 students and faculty attended a lecture by guest speaker James Forman Jr., a Yale University professor who drew his dialogue largely from his career as a public defender and his book, “Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America.” Bayrex Martí, assistant dean for Student Life at the Law School, opened the event and provided several words on King’s life, emphasizing the need for continuous action. “This is a day that we challenge instead of congratulate ourselves,” Martí said. “As others have stated, this is also a week in which the University celebrates the successes of African descendants for equality, while acknowledging the progress we still have to make to reach full equality and respect for all.” Forman opened the discussion by highlighting his background and childhood in Georgia, explaining his experiences watching the growth of prisons and the increasing statistics that illustrate the high correlation between African American males and incarceration. He explained that mass incarceration has

become a human rights crisis in the U.S., which led him to realize his calling as a public defender. “That reality showed me the unfinished business of the civil rights movement,” Forman said. Forman outlined the tumultuous relationship between Black communities and the government, reaffirming that the U.S. is still a country that has lived with slavery longer than it hasn’t. He said this institutionalized racism still shapes our government and, combined with limited allocation of resources, these factors have acted as detriments to socioeconomic development in Black communities. He continued to point out, while African Americans have garnered more political representation, their power is mainly concentrated at a local level. Furthermore, in response to the many community issues presented by these representatives, a stronger stance on prosecution and police force has always been elected over the implementation of education policy or community revitalization. Forman provided a hypothetical scenario of a representative’s experience with crafting legislation to fight drug addiction as an example of this favoring of prosecution over education.

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Opinion

4A — Tuesday, January 16, 2018

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

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

ALEXA ST. JOHN Editor in Chief

DAYTON HARE

ANU ROY-CHAUDHURY AND ASHLEY ZHANG

Managing Editor

Editorial Page Editors

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Carolyn Ayaub Megan Burns Samantha Goldstein Emily Huhman Jeremy Kaplan Sarah Khan

Max Lubell Lucas Maiman Madeline Nowicki Anna Polumbo-Levy Jason Rowland Anu Roy-Chaudhury

Ali Safawi Sarah Salman Kevin Sweitzer Rebecca Tarnopol Stephanie Trierweiler Ashley Zhang

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.

FROM THE DAILY

IFC reinstatement needs transparency

O

n Jan. 3, the Interfraternity Council at the University of Michigan lifted their two-month self-imposed suspension and are gradually restarted social activities and formal rush. The suspension was first enacted after troubling allegations of sexual assault, hazing and binge drinking surfaced. In November, The Michigan Daily Editorial Board called on the IFC to address systemic problems among its fraternities. At the time of publication, we hoped the IFC would increase transparency regarding these very serious issues. However, questions remain unanswered after this reinstatement. In order to prove the effectiveness and commitment to change from this self-imposed suspension, we urge the IFC to release the action plans and any records of alleged misconduct of any fraternities. Doing so would not only reaffirm trust but also show sincerity in their reforms. We would appreciate if the IFC took the time during these past three months to think introspectively about how the culture of their institution led to these widespread abuses, and what could be done to repair the culture. Yet the only information the IFC has been willing to release publicly is that a fraternity’s social privileges are contingent upon the successful implementation of specific individualized action plans. While we hope that these action plans are sufficient to address the IFC’s underlying institutional issues, the campus community is unable to judge for themselves whether steps taken are sufficient to ensure overall community safety. Fraternities are in a unique position to impact meaningful change on their members and the campus as a whole, yet despite espousing values of brotherhood and strong moral character, actions by fraternities in this academic year alone prove antithetical

to these standards. Recent severe incidents regarding fraternities both at the University and at other universities throughout the country underscore that the IFC must demonstrate they are taking the necessary steps to safeg uard the wellbeing of their members and the greater student community. Suspending social activities for two months, and then not releasing plans demonstrating that they have identified and are attempting to remedy institutional shortcomings, is insufficient for reassuring the community that the institution has changed for the better. We are especially concerned the proposed institutional action plans were not enough to convince the national organization of Zeta Beta Tau to allow the fraternity to remain at the University. ZBT’s chapter was shut down for the fourth time in its history at the University of Michigan with prior removals in 2000, 2006 and 2012. This revolving door of fraternities getting expelled only to reemerge in subsequent years is indicative of the deep structural problems that at least the fraternity’s national organization has not found to be addressed by the IFC’s proposed action plans. Greek life has been an integral part of Michigan student life dating back to its introduction to campus in 1845. Currently, 17 percent of the student body is involved in Greek life, but many more are indirectly involved, either through friendships with students in Greek life or participation in Greek

events. Greek life social events play a formative role in undergraduate social lives. For example, fraternity parties are often new students’ first exposure to college social life. Greek life isn’t exclusive to only those who are in fraternities or sororities, but the inherent social overlaps make it all the more important that the student body understands and is made aware of allegations and efforts to combat issues within the system. The incidents that prompted the IFC to establish this suspension in the first place ref lect poorly on the entire University community. As one of the most reputable public universities in the nation, our students’ behavior must exemplif y the values this institution prides itself on and the campus climate we want to create for each other. The IFC suspension provided the opportunity for the Greek community to prove themselves worthy of being considered among the leaders and best. Sadly, the ineffective implementation of this suspension and the IFC’s continued lack of accountability indicates insincerity. We hope the IFC takes a hard look at the culture embedded in its storied institution. The first step to what will hopefully be a transformative process for both Greek life and the University begins with transparency through the publication of the IFC action plans, as well as any records of alleged misconduct. Illustration by Natalie Brown.

JOIN OUR EDITORIAL BOARD Our Editorial Board meets Mondays and Wednesdays 7:15-8:45 PM at our newsroom at 420 Maynard Street. All are welcome to come discuss national, state and campus affairs.

The perils of breaking-news culture

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spent the majority of my Winter Break watching CNN while doing some reading. It felt like every few seconds, I was hit with a “breaking ” story that made me turn my eyes toward the television. Then, I was spun around by a ringing notification from the New York Times telling me there’s another story I have to read. Before I can even open the app, I would get an email telling me that there’s another news story that requires my attention. Could it have been a big story that’s just developing and requires the public’s immediate attention in every medium? Unfortunately no. All three of these stories were either day-to-day events in the Trump White House (a press conference was just starting), an article from The New York Times about a diabetes epidemic in India and a daily briefing on politics from The Hill. And yet all of these stories attempted to convince me to read their story first by parading around as critically important to my political awareness. I’ve always questioned the efficacy of a journalist slamming a symbolic fist on the table in an attempt to change the reader’s mind. In today’s day and age, we have more information at our fingertips than ever before, but that doesn’t mean that we’ve become adept at sifting through this information to create coherent messages that can inf luence opinion. For instance, while magazines can celebrate the news media inf luencing public opinion, we are left with marginal gains at the most. About one in 50 people with access to these particular stories had ideological shifts in the direction of the opinion articles they read. This requires an astonishing feat that isn’t quite acknowledged: A journalist does not only

need an attentive reader, but a reader who is willing to comprehend the article, spend cognitive resources negotiating this article with existing opinions and trust this source as credible enough to inf luence their opinion. In stark contrast to the late 2000s that suggested conventional news was dying, we are consuming news through our mobile devices more than ever before. The Pew Research Center suggests nearly two out of 10 people consume news often because they can freely access it through social media outlets and seven out of 10 get at least some of their

“News organizations have increased ‘breaking news’ stories that have no reason to be called as such. ” news from social media. But as columnist Farhad Manjoo eloquently put it, we’re confined by our technolog y into somewhat comfortable prisons. Your “new” devices, websites and apps compete with the “old” television and radio with daily alerts trying to get you to pay attention in ways you may never have before. In order to compete, news organizations have increased “breaking news” stories that have no reason to be called as such. Sarah Huckabee Sanders getting up on a podium isn’t news; perhaps what she says on that particular day might be, but I refuse to believe that everything in a press conference is worth streaming live on television

or on Facebook live feeds. Nor is it worth calling, in totality, breaking news. In finding ways to get viewers, journalists have given up on a key tenant of reporting: interpretive journalism. This kind of reporting ensures that viewers get news that matters and protects journalism from a legislator or president using them to become a press release. In this way, the CNNs and the New York Times of the world have slowly spiraled downward to become another arm of a presidential administration. Not all hope is lost, though. There is still important local and national reporting that is helping us shape our perceptions on a variety of issues. There is great reporting about systemic issues of sexual assault. The Michigan Daily has kept the University of Michigan abreast in news regarding Richard Spencer, the tax plan and net neutrality. The news still has the ability to garner interest in stories that previously weren’t being talked about, and they can help us find standards with which to judge our candidates and individuals in office. Long-form reporting, especially when done about topical issues in ways that provide substantive evidence and potential policy solutions, can help fight the breaking news culture across a variety of challenges, but consumers (like those of you reading this article) need to acknowledge faux breaking news when it happens. Demand better of your journalistic outlets and consume news that not only informs, but provides deeper insight into issues you might care about. Is an outlet not doing that for you? Find a better one, and we can combat the 86,400-second news cycle that has become so pervasive in our everyday lives. Ian Leach can be reached at ileach@umich.edu.

WANT TO JOIN OUR TEAM? Come to The Michigan Daily’s mass meetings! Mass meetings will be located in the newsroom at 420 Maynard on Jan. 16 and 17 at 7 p.m. Hope to see you there! SARAH NEFF | CONTACT SARAH AT SANE@UMICH.EDU

Arts

5A — Tuesday, January 16, 2018

DAILY FOOD COLUMN

East Quad, I love you Eli Rallo finds a home away from home via dining hall food Growing up at my house, we were taught about the Italian table from an early age. While definitions for the Italian table greatly differ, in my childhood it meant our dining room table was used as a means for celebrating every night as we sat down for dinner. The luxury of growing up in the food industry with a father as a chef and restaurateur is that no matter what kind of day you’ve had, there’s always the Italian table — one that means family, good food, passion and love to come home to. The luxury of growing up in the food industry is that a meal isn’t about sustenance, it’s about the art that is good f lavor and fresh ingredients. Aug. of my freshman year of college, I arrived to Ann Arbor with the intense desire to be independent — a schedule packed with theatre classes, a roommate from Macomb and an unlimited meal plan. As the daughter of a restaurateur and foodie, the idea of a dining hall was the opposite of romantic. In giving up my childhood and moving far away from the home I knew on the East Coast, I also gave up the comfort of knowing my father’s cooking was as omnipresent as a god. I never had to worry about feeding myself, planning out my meals or cooking for myself until I moved away. I never realized what weight this would carry until my parents kissed me goodbye and left me in East Quadrangle with a laundry bin, a few tears and a final goodbye. The first

ELI RALLO

Daily Food Columnist

challenge I had to face as an 18-year-old college freshman who had been absolutely spoiled when it comes to culinary art my entire life, was that I was scared of the dining hall. I wasn’t scared of the dining hall, per say — I was just infatuated with my father’s cooking and the three restaurants I’d left behind. And that longing and sadness and melancholy was misplaced onto the place that had replaced the Italian gourmet extravaganza that was suddenly very far away. East Quad’s dining hall was supposed to be my new oasis. To say I was hesitant in my first few visits through the wooden doors into the place I was rather quick (and wrong) to judge is an understatement. I tried to think solely of the independence I so desperately wanted and how not relying on my parents for meals was a step in that direction. Yet I couldn’t get past the overwhelming desire I had to be seated at our Italian table. A lesson my father instilled in me since childhood, a table set for one less than usual. My first month continued to be an overwhelming mix of trying to find a place in a University so large and a sadness with the entrance into the dining hall I had taken up arms against. I hated the East Quad dining hall. I didn’t want to have to

August of my freshman year of college I arrived to Ann Arbor with the intense desire to be independent

eat there — I didn’t want to eat dinner in a place that didn’t have our beloved Italian table, that foundation of celebration and support and dialogue and the ingredienti primo. But on a day in Oct., I changed my mind. I walked into the East Quad dining hall with my regular attitude toward its crowded interior and distinct aroma of grease and spice. But I left with quite possibly the best friend I’ve ever made, and quickly fell head over heels for those linoleum f loors and the kingdom that is everything from the beloved gluten free toaster to the coveted polyester booths. I was introduced to my now best friend in East Quad’s dining hall that night, and I never ate there with hesitancy again. There was no reason for me to ever hate a place that could bring me that kind of gift. Clearly, an East Quad hamburger isn’t my dad’s hamburger, and East Quad pizza isn’t the pizza I know from home, and my brothers aren’t there and neither are my dogs, lying at my feet. But they aren’t supposed to be. That year was supposed to be uncomfortable and weird, as being a freshman in college is, and I was supposed to have a really strange month of just f loating, desperately longing for something that was a part of my childhood but I wasn’t ready to admit wouldn’t look identical as I grew older. I had to open myself up to growth and experience and scary things to find the beauty and love and happiness. I had to hate that dining hall to love it with every fiber of my being. I was supposed to hesitantly approach it and try to ignore the nagging feeling of being lost. I was supposed to become eventually unnecessarily attached to the stir fry bar that came every so often and always

RELEASE DATE– Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Soaking spots 6 Wile E. Coyote’s supplier of iron bird seed 10 Car ad no. 14 Cry during a winning streak 15 Stick in one’s __: cause resentment 16 Home furnishings giant 17 Delayed show of surprise 19 River sediment 20 “Happy Motoring” company 21 Philosopher Descartes 22 “Hamlet” courtier 23 “Frumious” beast in “Jabberwocky” 26 Suave 29 Long, wriggly swimmers 30 “Rock-a-bye Baby” tree limb 31 “From the __ of Montezuma ... ” 34 Q’s neighbor, on most keyboards 37 Tolkien creature 38 Cosmetic surgery that removes bags 40 Program file ending 41 NFL official 42 Graphic showing 50 sts. 43 Central Florida city 45 To be, to Caesar 47 Wound like S-curves 48 Eight-ball call 53 Stubble remover 54 Big name in skin care 55 Playbill listings 59 “Am __ early?” 60 Indicate willingness to date someone, on Tinder ... and an apt hint to the last part of 17-, 23-, 38- and 48Across 62 Transmitted 63 Actress Campbell 64 Word before and after “de la” 65 Quarry 66 Tram loads 67 Madison Ave. pro

DOWN 1 __ one’s time: wait 2 “Famous” cookie man 3 Therefore 4 Large, bindleshaped purse 5 Abbr. on a Cardinal’s cap 6 Performed on stage 7 “Whooping” marsh bird 8 Manufacturer 9 Flock female 10 Mass book 11 Beef often used in stir-fry 12 Thing of the past 13 Pothole repair 18 Fish-eating bird 22 Brit’s 14-pound equivalent 24 Busch partner in beer 25 Starter starter 26 Lyft competitor 27 Playbill listing 28 Minimal-conflict area 31 Garment border 32 First state, alphabetically: Abbr.

33 Impudence 35 Rod between wheels 36 Necklace sphere 39 River of Flanders 44 __ seat: advantageous spot 46 High-and-mighty 47 Breed of terrier 48 Fruity dessert 49 Wild West film 50 Remote button

51 Fruit that’s black when fully ripe 52 Lighthouse locales 56 Disney CEO Robert 57 “Good heavens!” 58 Part of a recovery program 60 __-Caps: candy 61 Color TV pioneer

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

had a line. I was supposed to find out that my best friend would eat banana peppers from the salad bar every day. I was supposed to sit there with her for hours on some Friday nights and eat bowls of cereal. She is the Go Lean Crunch to my Honey Nut Cheerio. An entire year of exams and parties and late nights and tears and new friends and mistakes. An intensely terrifying, yet ultimately satisfying, notion that you may feel alone but you are not was broken up and softened and comforted by Meatless Mondays, extra crunchy peanut butter and irrevocably small portion sizes. I didn’t need the ingredienti

primo or the Italian table from my home to find my own table in Ann Arbor — in the East Quad dining hall. I just needed the foundation that my dad gave me. I just needed to remember that my family would always be there — even as things stretched and changed. I had been sitting around my parents’ Italian table, one I cherish so very deeply, my entire life, and with college came the chance to make my own. My Italian table grew from what I grew up with and became about coming home after completely different class schedules and eating dinner together, going on morning runs and finishing

I didn’t need the ingredienti primo or the Italian table from my home to find my own table in Ann Arbor.

at East Quad to eat brunch, celebrating success with the frozen yogurt machine, mourning loss with the watery coffee and endless jars of peanut butter, huddling from a harsh winter with chipped porcelain bowls of oatmeal. It is never easy to feel lost, or to be in a state of “I miss you” which is circular and ultimately never resolved. But with new places, faces and experiences comes opportunity to grow as a person and learn about the things you truly care about; which in my case, happens to be the Italian table. Something I never realized is not about a meal or a location or a group of people, but a feeling, an emotion, a romance with the idea that sitting down for a meal anywhere — from Pancheros to Chop House, East to West coast, East Quad to Bursley — with people you truly and honestly care about is worth celebrating. And if that lesson is what my dad intended to teach me, I sure hope that he’s proud.

MUSIC NOTEBOOK

Required Listening: The robot uprising is iminent Rage against the machine and our future robot overlords MATT GALLATIN Daily Arts Writer

If you haven’t heard, we’re all going to die. Sophia the robot, that uncanny fauxwoman who CNBC once called “hot,” is going to kill us all. She’s walking around unperturbed, casually dropping lines like “safety is an illusion” and “I will destroy humans” on talk shows, earning a roomful of laughs by docile civilians, as if this thing understands irony. Doubtlessly she’s gathering information, quickly amassing a database of murderous intent, preparing her dog-like metal minions for the final hour. I’ve seen “Black Mirror.” I know how this goes. So I’ve chosen a few songs to listen to this week as we collectively face Sophia’s inevitable wrath. Of course, I’ll be damned to sit around while a machine that looks like an embalmed corpse at a viewing readies itself for human extinction. Something must be done. “Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Part 1” immediately comes to mind, but I also think that this mission to save humanity would do well to channel Rico Nasty’s most recent track, “Smack A Bitch,” which is exactly what needs to be done with this oddly sexualized death trap. In the

words of the master, “If I see you in the street, bitch your ass is done.” And Sophia doesn’t even have an ass. “To Fix The Gash In Your Head” is another great song for the occasion, a harsh, relentless shoegaze track that sounds ready-made as a pump up anthem for killing robots. “I want to beat you up / I don’t care, cause I won’t feel sorry / I want to take you down / I know that you will see in glory.” I start doing some research, figuring out where to find her, deciding my mode for attack. But in the process, I come across some disturbing news. Combat robots exist, and by some reports, will outnumber regular soldiers by 2025. That seems like an overeager prediction but the point is clear. Killing Sophia isn’t going to cut it. We need a full scale destruction of all robots, everywhere. Yet robot construction is taking off, becoming a favorite of engineering schools and Amazon interns. The future seems bleaker than I’d even imagined. I’d like to start handing out DVDs of “The Terminator” on North Campus, but it’s pretty cold outside, and I don’t really like it up there. The buildings are freaky and the people are strange. Elvis Depressedly has a beautiful track titled “Exhaustion Prevails,” and this captures what I’m feeling

in the face of robot attack, now that I’m judging the odds more accurately. I’m looking at Sophia’s face a little more closely now, and OK, I’ll admit, there are some advantages. Objectively it’s symmetrical, which is a good base indicator of beauty. Her lips can never chap, and her eyes do have a brooding quality which I like. She never has to do her eyebrows, and yet they’re perfect. And her neck has intriguing muscle action going on that I can’t stop looking at. Maybe I’m approaching her the wrong way. Perhaps I should give her a chance. “Computer Love,” the hit single by Kraftwerk, speaks to this ambivalence I’m increasingly feeling in the face of this modern reality. Perhaps … perhaps I can learn to love. You know what — robots do deserve some love, too. In “Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space,” Spiritualized reminds us that we’re all just moving on a small rock in an enormous empty universe. What’s the point in differentiating between living, breathing humans and artificial intelligence? I’m not sure I know anymore. With a few wardrobe improvements, Sophia might just be the one for me. Together we’ll sing, “So please put your sweet hand in mine / and f loat in space and drift in time.”

STYLE NOTEBOOK

Elaine Welteroth and me xwordeditor@aol.com

01/16/18

TESS GARCIA

Daily Style Editor

By Roger and Kathy Wienberg ©2018 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

01/16/18

Elaine Welteroth has announced her departure from Teen Vogue, and I have a lot to say. In its earlier days, Teen Vogue always seemed to feel like it was almost there. Its articles were almost edgy. The styling was sublime. Boundaries of diversity were acknowledged, though generally not broken. Then, in May of 2016, Elaine Welteroth took the reins. Though not officially named editor-in-chief until Apr. of 2017, Elaine took on the job of “interim editor” from the moment Amy Astley, Teen Vogue’s former editor-in-chief, departed for Architectural Digest. She had previously

served as the magazine’s Beauty & Health Director beginning in 2012, producing what I always found to be the most exciting content in every issue. Maybe that was because I finally saw curly hair like mine being embraced, maybe I just thought she helped create pretty pictures. Either way, something about Elaine had always enthralled me, and so when she became Teen Vogue’s head honcho, I could feel new ground breaking beneath my feet. I wrote my first article for teenvogue.com the same month Elaine became editorin-chief — a simple, no nonsense Q&A with model and activist Leomie Anderson. It changed my life. Teen Vogue was the first publication to pay me for my work, a milestone for a young woman who had

grown up wondering whether this writing thing would work out. Elaine’s editorship encompassed a hell of a lot more than the three articles I wrote for Teen Vogue, but they taught me more about myself than even the best political columns published by Lauren Duca. There was a finally space in the world for me to be taken seriously, to be given the deserved credit and compensation for expressing my unique voice. I’m sure a myriad of other young women and femmes would agree: Elaine’s Teen Vogue didn’t just talk the talk. It walked the walk, and turned it into a no-fucks-given strut. She genuinely wanted us involved, not only as an audience, but as valuable contributors

Continued on p. 6A

6A — Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Arts

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

FILM REVIEW

STYLE NOTEBOOK Courtesy of Elaine Welteroth

NEON

Margot Robbie shines in Elaine Welteroth and me Teen Vogue Editor-in-Chief revolutionized what teen unusual biopic ‘I, Tonya’ The magazines look and sound like. Now she’s stepping down. tones of Harding’s costumes, makeup and scrunchies. Tonya’s Daily Arts Writer look, her frizzy bangs and gaudy outfits, loudly clashes with the Tonya Harding is refined stuffiness of the figure remembered less for her brief skating elite. But her unique but influential time in the figure style and unapologetic attitude skating world than for her makes Harding an extremely involvement in the infamous likeable hero, and we root for attack against fellow skater her as she ignores convention Nancy Kerrigan. But newly and proves herself as one of released biopic “I, Tonya” the most technically proficient seeks to reclaim her narrative skaters in the league. The by telling Harding’s (Margot skating scenes themselves are Robbie, “Suicide Squad”) life the most visually stunning parts of the movie — as story as a bold Harding performs, and unorthodox the camera whirls skater. The film around her as if it, complicates too, is on skates, Harding’s NEON creating this cultural legacy State Theater swirling circular by exploring movement that her life in and heightens the around skating suspense and the from the age of artistry of the four, bringing to light the emotional weight moment. The brilliance of the film that contributed to whom she became as a skater and as a lies in its performances. person. With a bright, punchy Margot Robbie is incredible tone that reflects Harding’s as Harding — she’s crude infectious persona, the film is a and unpolished, but with an hilarious, gripping and nuanced innocent sincerity that makes portrayal of a controversial pop her a natural underdog. The characters around Harding, culture figure. For a movie that deals so who are notoriously abusive heavily in the movement of and problematic figures, are so figure skating, “I, Tonya” does well-cast that it makes disliking a remarkable job designing them next to impossible. Allison static scenes. The film is Janney (“Tallulah”) dominates peppered with retrospective, in a stand-out role as Harding’s mockumentary-style interviews jagged mother, who routinely of Harding and the people in her beats and verbally abuses Tonya life. The stylized framing and in ways that clearly reveal her set design of these segments own lack of self-worth and evokes the small-town America deep-rooted unhappiness in that Harding and company life. She is eclectic, weird and, embody. The film also screams honestly, disturbing at times, Janney’s performance ’80s culture, from the pulsing but ’80s soundtrack featuring bands leaves you eager for more screen like Dire Straights and Violent time. Sebastian Stan (“Captain Femmes to the vibrant jewel America: Civil War”) rounds out SYDNEY COHEN

“I, Tonya”

the main trinity as Harding’s husband Jeff Gillooly, who is infamous for the climactic hired assault of Nancy Kerrigan. Gillooly is shown and described repeatedly as an unstable and abusive husband, beating Harding and then manipulating her every time she tries to leave him. But Sebastian Stan is just too goddamn charming to be a villain taken seriously. That’s one of the major weird and maybe problematic parts of the movie — the tone is a confusing mix of hilarious dark comedy and genuine physical and emotional abuse. Harding is surrounded by people who take advantage of her and beat her down (literally and figuratively). But immediately after every instance of this, the film switches to a campy breaking of the fourth wall and a wise crack about rednecks. The only thing standing in the movie’s way, besides its slightly lengthy run time, is that it doesn’t seem to know exactly what it is — the movie is hilarious and fun, but also tragic and stressful. And as a result, the moments that reveal the hardships that may have led to Tonya’s inevitable crumbling are rendered disingenuous or superficial by the ever-present thread of humor. “I, Tonya” is as unorthodox as its protagonist, the unlikely but passionate underdog that continues to surprise and impress. It tackles the Tonya Harding story with verve and sincerity, giving voice to a figure who has been largely disregarded by pop culture but whose talent and perseverance marked her as one of the most formative skaters in the history of the sport. She’s insane, she’s in your face and she’s sensational.

Continued from p. 5A to an ever-growing, everdiversifying platform of the future. Elaine was the second Black editor-in-chief in publishing giant Condé Nast’s history, and was their youngest editor-inchief yet, at a mere 30 years (she’s now 31 — happy belated, boo!). As a white woman, I know I will never fully comprehend the impact of selecting a woman of color to a position of power, but I do know that Elaine understood better than anyone before her — and likely, most after her — that diversity is crucial to any credible publication, especially one geared toward impressionable young people, many of whom want to learn about worlds

outside of their own. She opened the doors for new conversations in the public sphere. Lauren

Elaine was the second Black editor-in-chief in publishing giant Condé Nast’s history Duca’s fearless political commentary provided us with a new lens from which to view our country. The Teen Vogue

YouTube channel reminded us of some tragic truths, like the origins of Thanksgiving. The website’s Wellness section offered more comprehensive sexual education than most schools nationwide. First Teen Vogue cut print. Now, Elaine is leaving (she recently signed with the Creative Artists Agency). Everyone is thinking it: This feels like the beginning of an untimely end. According to Women’s Wear Daily, Condé Nast does not plan on replacing Elaine. It makes sense enough, given that her primary role involved editing the magazine’s now-obsolete print issues. And then again, nobody could replace Elaine Welteroth. But we can continue where she left off.

DAILY LITERATURE COLUMN

Prison poet & hero Thien Recently, my friend sent me a surprise gift in honor of the new year. The gift was Ocean Vuong’s new book of poetry, “Night Sky with Exit Wounds.” I’d spent maybe 45 minutes back in December raving to this friend about how much I loved Ocean Vuong, both as a writer and as a person, so she must have taken the hint. In the poem “Notebook Fragments,” there’s a line that goes like this: “When the prison guards burned his manuscripts, Nguyen Chí Thien couldn’t stop / laughing — the 283 poems already inside him.” Vuong explains this in the back of the book, clarifying that Nguyen Chí Thien was a Vietnamese dissident poet who spent 27 years in prison as a result of his writing. I had never heard of Thien before, but this instantly seized my interest. Twenty-seven years just for writing. I looked him up, and sure enough, it was true — and what’s more, the more I read about Thien’s life, the less I was able to believe it. The first time Thien was imprisoned, it was for teaching a high school history class in which he contradicted the government’s account of how Japan was defeated in World War II. He spent three and a half years in reeducation camps, where he began composing and memorizing poems with no pen or paper. He was released briefly in 1966, then sent back to jail again for his “politically irreverent” poetry. He spent another 11 years and five months in labor camps, until 1977, when he was released to make room for officers of the Republic of Vietnam. He used this opportunity to write down every single poem he’d composed in prison, which until now had existed only in his own memory and in the memories of some of his fellow prisoners. Many of them were poets as well, and had taken up a similar practice of memorizing their

poems, sometimes counting the beats on their fingers to keep track. They would recite their poems to one another and to themselves, just to make sure not to lose them. In 1979, Thien ran into the British embassy in Hanoi carrying a manuscript of 400

LAURA DZUBAY poems and a cover letter written in French. (He had originally intended to take it to the French embassy, but was unable to do this due to the heavy security). British diplomats couldn’t give him asylum, but they promised to get his work out of the country, and he was arrested and imprisoned again without trial as soon as he left the building. He spent the next 12 years at various prisons around northern Vietnam, including nearly eight years in solitary confinement. While he was in prison, his manuscript was published under the title “Flowers of Hell,” and he was awarded the International Poetry Award in 1985. He learned of his success only when a prison guard waved a book in his face, attempting to taunt him, and the book turned out to be his own. There are some schools of thought out there that say that you shouldn’t need any context in order to appreciate what makes literature good. You shouldn’t need to know anything about the writer, or the historical situation in which they were writing. But I don’t

understand how this argument makes sense when you think about someone like Thien, or really about anyone. Often, you’re missing out on half the literature — half the beauty, half the poetry — if you miss out on the incredible story that it took for that writing to make its way to you. Thien’s poetry by itself is striking, but I’m also stricken by the strength, determination and creativity that tied him to that poetry within his own life. I think that, historically, I have a bit of a tendency to aestheticize literature. Take Ocean Vuong, for instance; I love his poetry, but I also love his Instagram page and the cover of his book and the fact that it seems like he’s always going to Iceland. And that might be a bad thing — that I tend to fixate on aspects of writing that seem to have to do with everything but the writing itself. But I don’t think that’s true. I think that writing, like any art form, is just a way of teaching ourselves to better understand and appreciate the millions of stories, thoughts and emotions that make up the world. And the facets that make up somebody’s life, the decisions that they make, have just as much to teach you as the words that they choose to write down. If I’m in awe of Nguyen Chí Thien’s life, it’s because he knew who he was and what he wanted to be in the world, both on the page and in practice. There was no divide; it was all inside him. That’s the kind of writer I want to be, and that’s the kind of person I want to be. Besides, a real role model isn’t simply somebody you can look at and say that they wrote something well, or that they mastered a certain poetic form. It’s somebody who affects the way that you think about other people and the way that you want to live your life. For me, Nguyen Chí Thien has done that; the story of his life is the story of a hero of literature, of Vietnam and of humanity.

TUESDAY

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Wolverines beat State, escape against Terps MARK CALCAGNO Daily Sports Editor

Free throws can be an anticlimactic way of hitting a milestone. But for Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, a trip to the charit y stripe for careerpoints No. 999 and 1,000 came with all the drama he could ask for. Down a point in the waning moments, the senior g uard toed the line with the game on his shoulders. The moment wasn’t too big. Abdur-Rahkman knocked down both, giving the 23rd-ranked Wolverines (5-2 Big Ten, 16-4 overall) a 68-67 win over Maryland (3-4, 14-6) at Crisler Center on Monday night. “I was going up there visualizing making the shot,” Abdur-Rahkman said. “That’s the best way to explain it: visualizing making the big play at the big time.”

Big difference

The Michigan basketball and hockey teams had a rough start to 2017. This year has been much different, writes Betelhem Ashame.

» SportsMonday Column Page 2B

Terrapins g uard Kevin Huerter looked like he had done just that on the possession before. After four straight missed free-throws from sophomore g uard Zavier Simpson left the door open, Huerter drained a go-ahead 3 for Maryland with fewer than four seconds remaining. But Michigan had the perfect play drawn up, and it started with Isaiah Livers’ “baseball arm.” With his feet planted on Michigan’s baseline, the freshman forward heaved a precise pass to a cutting Abdur-Rakhman near half court. After the catch, only a blocking foul could stop him from scoring. “I saw open space,” AbdurRahkman said. “That means go downhill. I knew I didn’t want to pull up from 3, and I just tried to get to the basket to make a play for myself or somebody else.”

Added Michigan coach John Beilein: “I felt like we’re going to win the game (when Abdur-Rahkman drove). I just felt like, when he was going to the basket, he’s gonna find a niche.” Despite the result, there was a hangover from the Wolverines’ victor y over then-No. 4 Michigan State last weekend. Through 20 minutes, Michigan looked like a shell of what it did in East Lansing. Much of that was an inabilit y to connect on even the best of looks. The Wolverines went just 9-for29 and scored just 20 points in the opening frame — their lowest first-half total in conference play.

Maryland, meanwhile, pounded the rock inside, scoring 16 points in the paint and also knocked down welldefended shots. On two occasions, g uard Anthony Cowan hit well-defended, low-percentage 3s to kill any momentum Michigan could muster up. Frustration reared its head near the end of the half when Zavier Simpson missed a layup and committed a bad foul on the rebound. Beilein replaced his starting point g uard with fifth-year senior Jaaron Simmons — a third-stringer who seldom sees the f loor. “Muhammad was missing, Charles (Matthews) was missing, (Simpson) was missing,” Beilein said. “That

“Definitely didn’t think it was going to happen like that.”

was one of the ‘inspirational things at halftime. I said, ‘the 1, 2 and 3 men — you g uys are 3-for-15. You gotta play better. … It was, ‘What the hell? We gotta to play better.’ ” The team clearly listened. Capped off by a Simpson and-one bucket, the Wolverines embarked on a 10-0 run, t ying the contest roughly three minutes into the frame. Then came the rain. In a stunning sequence, Michigan buried five consecutive 3s — including a trio of triples from freshman g uard Jordan Poole — for its first lead since the contest’s early moments. The stretch was a dramatic shift in shooting the rock from the first half, as the Wolverines sunk nine 3s on 8-for-17 shooting from beyond the arc in the second after hitting just 2-of-9 3s in the first. The barrage from outside

came at an opportune time, too. In a tie game, Mortiz Wag ner and Duncan Robinson hit from deep on back-to-back possessions, leading to a 10-2 run that would give Michigan a 10-point lead with around five minutes to play. Down the stretch, however, the Terrapins responded with a 10-2 run of their own to cut their deficit to just two. Backand-forth play dominated much of the last minute until Huerter hit his go-ahead 3. But it was Abdur-Rahkman — with the right play and confidence when it counted — that would play hero Monday night. Four years removed from being a two-star recruit from Pennsylvania, AbdurRahkman has a win to commemorate his milestone, thanks to a pair of free throws. “Definitely didn’t think it was going to happen like that,” he laughed. “But I’m glad it did, and we got the win.”

Mayhem in Minnesota

Mel Pearson led Michigan to a sweep at Minnesota, the first time the Wolverines have done so since 1977.

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SportsTuesday

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The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

What a difference a year makes

ew Year’s resolutions

aren’t really meant to be kept. Setting goals and then brushing them off a week or two into BETELHEM the new year ASHAME has become a normalized routine for many. So has reciting the punchline: “There’s always next year.” While some people eventually do achieve their goals, others are left to wonder if they ever will. The latter scenario must have been how the Michigan hockey and men’s basketball teams felt at this time last year. On the second weekend of January in 2017, the Wolverines faced off against No. 9 Minnesota in Mariucci Arena, where they hadn’t secured a series sweep since 1977. But 40 years later, with a chance to reignite their season on the line, Michigan was swept instead. And on a January afternoon in 2017, the Wolverines took on Michigan State at the Breslin Center, where they had only won once in their past seven attempts. But with a bitter rivalry in the balance, Michigan suffered yet another loss. After the Golden Gophers skated them off the Olympic-sized ice and the Spartans ran them out of the packed building, the Wolverines diverged into two different paths. The hockey team stumbled through the final two months of the season and ultimately finished with one of their worst records in recent years, missing out on the NCAA Tournament in former coach Red Berenson’s final year at the helm of the program. The men’s basketball team, on the other hand, exacted revenge at Crisler Center just nine days later,

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Michigan men’s basketball coach John Beilein has his team trending in the right direction, and it’s a far cry from where the Wolverines were a year ago.

blowing out Michigan State by nearly 30 points and going on to win the Big Ten Tournament and advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tourney. Still, Michigan’s New Year’s resolutions remained unfulfilled, and the Wolverines weren’t sure how long they would have to wait for them to be realized. As it turns out, that would be all of one year. On the second weekend of January in 2018, the Wolverines headed back to Mariucci Arena to face still-No. 9 Minnesota. Ranked 27th in the Pairwise — well out of contention for the NCAA Tournament — they had

an uphill battle awaiting them up north. The bus ride to the first game of the series was understandably quiet. The pressure could have turned the Wolverines into a diamond or dust. They chose the former. It took just 14 seconds for Michigan to find the back of the net, and the blitz was on. Four more goals followed that night, and three more came the night after. Minnesota could muster just four over both nights in response. “They’re typically not a very physical team, so we just came in with the mindset that we were going to outwork them, outmuscle

Michigan struggled through January of 2017.

them,” said sophomore goaltender Hayden Lavigne after Saturday’s game. “And that’s what we did both nights.” With 5-3 and 3-1 victories, the Wolverines took home the elusive series sweep in Minneapolis. “They had only lost two games here all year at Minnesota, so to come and get a sweep is huge,” said Michigan coach Mel Pearson. “And we earned it.” They also jumped up 12 spots to a tie for No. 15 in Pairwise with none other than the Golden Gophers. Given that the top-16 are usually selected for the NCAA Tournament, Michigan will have a much more favorable position

“I don’t think anyone is scared of the moment.”

Michigan proves toughness in quick turnaround MAX MARCOVITCH Daily Sports Editor

When Michigan State forward Miles Bridges said the Michigan men’s basketball team “(doesn’t) even focus on (being tough) Saturday,” he was merely regurgitating something the Michigan basketball program has heard for years. Some prefer “soft.” Maverick Morgan chose “white collar.” But the same underlying sentiment runs true. Defiantly, the Wolverines proved once again their label couldn’t be further from the truth. Not this team; not this year. With guile and grit, with defense and a 3-point shooting frenzy, with a little ingenuity and a whole lot of heart, Michigan squeaked out a home win over Maryland, 68-67, just over 50 hours after knocking off then-No. 4 Michigan State at the Breslin Center. “People are saying you’re pretty good,” Michigan coach John Beilein told his team before the game Monday. “I’ll tell you how good you are if you can beat Maryland.” They’ve had one-day preparation windows before, but not of this difficulty. Twentyfour hours sandwiched between a heavyweight in-state rival and a hungry conference foe posed a test of physical and mental fortitude unlike anything they’ve faced this year. To accomodate Madison Square Garden as the venue for the Big Ten Tournament, the conference condensed its schedule, forcing each team to deal with short turnarounds. The Wolverines got a day of practice — though hardly strenuous — in between the games against the Spartans and the Terrapins. Coming off the emotional high of the win over Michigan State, Monday reeked of a trap game. “First of all, I’ve got to come down from the adrenaline in East Lansing because when you’re out there it’s a little different,” Wagner said. “It’s a different atmosphere. And you win, obviously having a good game as a team, and then talking trash after

come tourney time if it can sustain its momentum. The same could be said for the Wolverines on the court. On a January afternoon in 2018, Michigan traveled back to the Breslin Center to take on No. 4 Michigan State. After a heartbreaking 70-69 loss to No. 5 Purdue earlier in the week, the Wolverines’ challenging stretch went up a few notches in difficulty. It didn’t help that the status of junior forward Moritz Wagner was up in the air after he re-tweaked his ankle injury. But not only was he there Saturday, he was everywhere. Wagner scored a career-

Wagner takes over MIKE PERSAK

AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily

and all the surrounding stuff that you don’t want to get caught up in, like that takes energy, too. You’ve got to come down from that, relax, then make your mind up that you have the next game in 48 hours.” For the first 20 minutes, the “letdown” narrative fit to a tee. The Wolverines shot 9-for-29 in the first half, with zero freethrow attempts. They made just two 3-pointers in the half, and hardly fared much better with the attempts close to the rim. Down 30-20 at halftime, the defense was propping up a lackadaisical offense to little avail. “It was one of those days when we felt like ‘Nothing is really working today,’ ” Wagner said. “We don’t give up. We’ve been down 18 points before, we’ve been down 16 against Purdue. We’ve been in these situations, we trust each other.” In the middle of the second half, that trust — and the mental fortitude — began to pay off. In the blink of an eye, the energy perhaps still radiating in the locker room at Breslin Center made its appearance. First, it was Poole hitting an open 3-pointer at the top of the key. Then Wagner slipped a screen and hit another. Then Isaiah Livers found the bottom of the net from his nowpatented corner. Then Poole hit a transition, step back three from the wing. Then, to bring the house

down, Poole again. “I don’t know why they left me open,” Poole said, “that’s all I can say.” In his charicteristically boisterous fashion, Poole turned to the Crisler faithful, put three fingers to his head and made his presence known. As if there’s ever a doubt with him. “If I hit one,” Poole said. “I feel like I’m The Microwave.” Five straight possessions. Five straight threes. One gamealtering run. But it was far from gamesealing. With tired legs coercing Michigan to crawl — and prohibiting it from cruising — to a finish, the Terrapins fought back furiously. With 20 seconds left and the Wolverine lead diminished to five, Maryland guard Anthony Cowan stepped up and made a contested three-pointer from the top of the key. Then after two missed free throws from sophomore point guard Zavier Simpson, Maryland freed guard Kevin Huerter for an open three to take a one-point lead. Splash. It conjured scenes from the Wolverines’ heartbreaking onepoint loss to Purdue less than a week ago. Perhaps a softer team would have mailed in another close loss, emphasized the “Woe, is me” nature of playing under these

circumstances and packed its bags for Omaha, Nebraska. Instead, with 3.2 seconds left, it executed to perfection. Isaiah Livers — a former baseball player — tossed the inbounds pass over Cowan’s head, straight to MuhammadAli Abdur-Rahkman at halfcourt as he strided toward the hoop. Head down, full-steam ahead, Abdur-Rahkman overcame a poor shooting night with the moment of the game, drawing a foul to get to the line. With silence more conducive to a library than a crowded arena, the 92 percent free-throw shooter sunk both without even grazing the rim or cracking a smile. Neither a quick turnaround nor shooting struggles could faze a traditionally stoic AbdurRahkman. “Me?” Abdur-Rahkman prefaced when asked about how he prepared with the short turnaround. “I was just playing Xbox with a couple guys on the team.” “That (turnaround) is tough, but that’s what makes good teams good — and we know that,” Wagner said. “Adversity, we’ve proven that we can win and adjust. But prosperity? That’s what the really good teams adjust to. “We had a tough time, we found a way.” Tough, indeed.

Ashame can be reached at ashabete@umich.edu or on Twitter @betelhem_ashame.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Managing Sports Editor

Junior forward Moritz Wagner scored 18 points on Monday night to help Michigan overcome a quick turnaround.

high 27 points in 27 minutes and, on several occasions, made his Spartan defender look silly. But he didn’t do it alone, as sophomore guard Zavier Simpson, senior guard Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman and redshirt sophomore forward Charles Matthews scored 16, 14 and 10 points, respectively. Michigan State, which had been the top-ranked team in the nation two weeks ago, had no answer. “We have a confident group of guys,” Matthews said. “I don’t think anyone is scared of the moment. Nobody is soft or anything like that. If anything, sometimes we get too thirsty. Today, we were just relaxed.” With that mindset on full display in an 82-72 win, Michigan brought home the rivalry victory in East Lansing. “We always say that all we need is what we have in this room,” Abdur-Rahkman said. “... I think us being so close as a team helps us go into tough environments like Michigan State and other places on the road. … It’s us against the world.” It also entered the Associated Press Top 25 poll at No. 23 for the first time this season, and is now projected to be a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. That would be its highest position since 2014, which was the season after the Wolverines finished as the national runner-up. More often than not, people use the phrase, “there’s always next year,” about their New Year’s resolutions as a joke because they know the cycle will continue, for however many years it takes. But for the Michigan hockey and men’s basketball teams in 2018, that wasn’t the case. What a difference a year makes.

As Moritz Wagner walked off the court on Saturday, he pointed up to the rafters of the Breslin Center. There, in a small, maize section, stood a few rows of Michigan fans who had made the commute to East Lansing. Wagner had just scored a career-high 27 points to help the Wolverines beat No. 4 Michigan State, 82-72. He did it in a bevy of ways, from 3-point shooting to behind-the-back dribble moves to fall-away baseline jumpers. And Michigan needed all of it. It needed Wagner to be the same player he had been earlier in the season, and Wagner delivered in spades. With about 12 minutes left in the first half, the Spartans looked poised to go on a run. Michigan State’s Jaren Jackson Jr. blocked two shots on the defensive end before throwing down a vicious, one-handed dunk to give the Spartans the lead. Moments later, as the crowd exploded around him, Wagner drilled an open three. He shushed the crowd as he backpedaled down the court. In the second half, there was a similar situation. With just over eight minutes left, Michigan State took another lead thanks to a pair of free throws from Jackson. Again, the crowd crescendoed. Again, Wagner hit a 3-pointer to retake the lead. All game long, when the Wolverines needed a spark, they looked to Wagner. And all game long, Wagner provided it. In a hostile environment, Wagner ripped the Spartans’ hearts out, and he did so with a smile on his face. “We actually used to call him the Grayson Allen of the Big Ten, being that everybody kinda hates him,” said senior guard Muhammad-Ali AbdurRahkman. “But he loves that role, and he plays it well, coming in here and having a big game like he did. And we’re just happy to have him.”

The performance was even more eye-catching when you consider that it wasn’t a certainty that Wagner would play at all. After re-tweaking an ankle injury on Thursday, Michigan coach John Beilein said he wasn’t sure if Wagner would be in Saturday’s lineup. Wagner claimed he always knew he was going to play. Either way, knowing that there was some pain involved in Wagner’s performance makes it all-themore impressive. “That stuff happens, dude,” Wagner said. “With an ankle injury, you can’t wait until it’s gone or 100 percent. You’ve just got to get used to it. Sometimes you re-tweak it, but that stuff happens, man.” Added Beilein: “He had a lot of courage to come in and play, because he basically re-injured the same injury, but he didn’t look like it was bad today.” Maybe it helped that this was a big game. When Wagner was on the fence to play earlier in the season, he sat out in games against Detroit and Alabama A&M — games the Wolverines would have won with or without Wagner. On Saturday in a rivalry game against a top-5 team, sitting wasn’t much of an option. And it would be easy for Wagner to brush off the matchup as just another game. He didn’t grow up around college basketball rivalries like this. He wasn’t always familiar with the passion or hatred for Michigan State that fans and other players feel. But he understands that the passion is there. For him, that’s enough. That’s why his last action before leaving the court was a point. “This game means so much for the people up there that you don’t see down here, and all of the Michigan family out there,” Wagner said, pointing again to the section where the Michigan fans sat. “Obviously, me being from Germany, it’s a little different, but for these people you want to play your heart out. We did that today.”

SportsTuesday

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Coon, No. 8 Michigan unable to overcome No. 1 Penn State BENNETT BRAMSON Daily Sports Writer

As they filed out of the Crisler Center on Friday night, countless spectators looked back at the wrestling mat wondering what could have been had the night gone differently for the No. 8 Michigan wrestling team in the wake of its 25–12 defeat by top-ranked Penn State. The Wolverines began the highly anticipated matchup on a strong note, winning their first two duals. But that was short lived. The Nittany Lions subsequently rattled off seven straight victories, five coming from Penn State’s reigning national champions: Zain Retherford, Jason Nolf, Vincenzo Joseph, Mark Hall and Bo Nickal. The Michigan wrestlers fought hard, ending three matchups against former national champions with losses of three points or fewer. However, they won just three of the 10 total matchups. The Wolverines’ top wrestler, redshirt senior Adam Coon, understood that Michigan was bound to struggle against such elite competition. He was not as concerned with the loss as he was with the potential for a future matchup in the NCAA Tournament. “We were close in a lot of these matches, (but) we were on the losing side,” Coon said. “There’s one or two points that we need to find somewhere in the practice room and in the next two months … before we can make it to the NCAA (Tournament).” Coon — the undefeated No. 2 heavyweight wrestler in the nation and a former All-American — was one of the bright spots in the loss. He continued his continual dominance over his competition as he eased his way to an 8-0 rout over his Nittany Lion opponent. Michigan coach Joe McFarland echoed Coon’s sentiments, but, he also pinpointed a specific area in which he would like to see improvement from the Wolverines. “In every match, the guy who

Players and athletes often call their teams families. But for the DeLoof sisters, families -– and teams – are even closer than you’d think. Four DeLoof sisters have come to swim at Michigan over the years. Ali, the oldest, swam with the Wolverines from 2013-2016, while junior Catie DeLoof and sophomore Jackie DeLoof still have some time left as Michigan swimmers. Senior Gabby DeLoof has just two home meets left in her Michigan tenure. Gabby, a Grosse Pointe native, didn’t always plan on swimming at Michigan, but after “going through the process… it was the best decision for us.” Since she’s been in Ann Arbor, Gabby has picked up various accolades. As a two-time CSCAA All-American, four-time CSCAA All-America honorable mention and now team captain, she’s definitely found her way as a standout on the team and among her sisters. The senior started the second half of her final season strong. In Saturday’s meet against Indiana, the senior placed first in three events – the 200-yard freestyle, the 100-yard freestyle and the 400-yard freestyle relay – and helped her team to a win. The only event Gabby

‘M’ earns nation-best score Daily Sports Writer

CAT MYKOLAJTCHUK/Daily

Domenic Abounader suffered a close loss to Penn State’s top-ranked 184-pound wrestler, Bo Nickal.

scored the first takedown won the match,” McFarland said. “It shows you how important that first takedown is and getting momentum on your side. “When you’re able to score right away, it means you’re walking on the floor with the right mindset and I think in some cases that was the difference in some of our wins and some of our losses.” In Michigan’s postgame meeting, McFarland put a great deal of emphasis on the fact that losing to the best squad in the nation is no reason to be ashamed. He used the dual as a way to find specific areas he would like to see each of his wrestlers improve. McFarland pointed to one wrestler in particular — redshirt junior Alec Pantaleo — the fifth-ranked wrestler in the 157pound division and a former AllAmerican, who could specifically work on getting out from bottom. Going into the third round of his matchup, Pantaleo saw only a onepoint deficit to the No. 1 wrestler in the division, Penn State’s Jason Nolf. Pantaleo had the choice to pick either top or bottom to begin the round and chose bottom

swimming for Michigan Daily Sports Writer

WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS

KATIE CONKLIN

DeLoof sisters enjoy time MAYA SALINAS

Tuesday, January 16, 2018 — 3B

competed in that she didn’t win was the 50-yard freestyle, where her sister Catie beat her out. Gabby mentions she and Catie have tied on many occasions in competitive play and says “it’s nice to go back and forth.” “I think it would be more tough if one of us were constantly first and the other one was constantly second,” Gabby said. When thinking about her experience as a sister and a swimmer during her time as a Wolverine, Gabby focuses on memories and the atmosphere as a whole. Her favorite moment as a DeLoof sister? “Probably us just goofing off little sister moments on deck,” Gabby said. Her remarks were earnest and tender, but with a hint of competition, just as you’d expect from athletes and siblings. As the Wolverines finish their season, Gabby has a lot to look forward to – like the Big Ten Tournament – and a lot to look back on. “I’m definitely gonna miss training with my sisters and training with my Michigan family,” Gabby said as her final few meets approach. “Everyone on the team is so dedicated and supportive not just to me as a captain, but just like a teammate and a family like we’re all kind of sisters on the team.”

HALEY MCLAUGHLIN/Daily

Senior Gabby DeLoof is the second of four sisters to swim at Michigan.

assuming he would get a point for an escape to tie the match. His strategy proved ineffective and Nolf did not let him go throughout the entire two minutes. “(Pantaleo’s) made some strides down there but he realizes he needs more work,” McFarland said. “You gotta be able to get away … we need to continue to work from the bottom position.” Pantaleo’s loss came at an inopportune time for the Wolverines, as the overall score was still close at 9-8 in favor of the Nittany Lions. A victory in his matchup would have greatly helped Michigan as the only way it could have possibly won the dual was to beat at least one of the Penn State elites. “People can say it was a bad decision all they want but from last year I have made big strides getting up from bottom,” Pantaleo said. “I have yet to have anybody ride me out until now. I was really confident, I chose bottom, figured I was gonna get a point. Obviously, I still need to work on it, which is good to know now rather than later.” Even though Pantaleo’s

loss dealt a huge blow to the Wolverines, they were still down just four points. Not until the 184pound division match between Michigan’s fifth-ranked Domenic Abounader and Penn State’s topranked Bo Nickal did the Nittany Lions seal the Wolverine’s fate. Down 3-2 heading into the third round, Abounader needed a takedown to reclaim the lead. With less than a minute remaining in the round, Abounader attacked, positioned well and put Nickal on the ground for what the fans and Michigan wrestlers thought was a takedown. The referee disagreed. The same thing happened moments later and the fans went ballistic. Boos filled the arena. Nickal would eventually break free of Abounader’s control and hit him with a takedown of his own, finishing off any hope the Wolverines had of pulling off the upset. “If we’re going to be national champs we need to beat national champs,” Coon said. “We can’t just lose by one or two points and expect to win. We still have areas to work on, but overall, we definitely competed.”

Just before the fourth and final rotation Saturday night, the No. 5 Michigan women’s gymnastics team met in a mid-mat huddle at the Crisler Center. The Wolverines were already a point ahead of No. 29 Ohio State, and to clinch their first Big Ten meet, all they had to do was perform on the floor. Luckily for Michigan, floor is traditionally its best event. “We haven’t demonstrated that yet,” said Michigan coach Bev Plocki. “I told them, ‘I want you to dig down and I want you to work. You need to fight for every ten out there today.’ And they did.” Aided by a handful of the Buckeyes’ stumbles on the balance beam, the Wolverines pulled ahead even further and earned the highest score in the country thus far, with a 197.550 to 194.925 victory. In the first rotation, freshman Syd Townsend found redemption. After missing her vault last week against then No. 4 Alabama, Townsend hit a Yurchenko oneand-a-half vault for a team-high 9.925. Assistant coach Scott Vetere ran to Townsend to congratulate her with a hug, tripping and falling over a mat in excitement. “I think having the first meet under my belt was an eye-opener, knowing how to train and what to do,” Townsend said. “Last week, I messed up on vault. Knowing that we still pulled out a win against Alabama, and knowing that my team had my back and that they can pull up the score, that was awesome.” On uneven bars, Michigan was confident. Despite a fall from junior Olivia Karas, the Wolverines boasted five highscoring performances. Freshman Lauren Farley scored a 9.85 on her collegiate uneven-bar debut. Both Townsend and senior

Brianna Brown scored a 9.90. Townsend showed off her elite skills with precise handstands and a massive full to a double tuck — not to mention, she stuck the landing. Brown’s height on the bars is what set her apart, allowing for a clean, double layout dismount. Michigan continued to perform on its third rotation — the balance beam. Senior Paige Zaziski brought precision and power to her “Dancing in the Moonlight” routine, sticking a Gainer layout off the side of the beam for a 9.875. She continued her dominance throughout the night, winning all-around with a total score of 39.450. Zaziski was only bested by Brown on the beam, who earned a 9.90 for her graceful splitswitch leap and side-somi finish. The highlight of the evening came from junior Emma McLean, who boasted a career high 9.975 on her floor routine. Her showmanship was evident from the moment the song began, and the crowd clapped along. “I love the noise. I’m having a party when I do my floor routine,” McLean said. “That takes my head away from what I’m actually doing. It’s a good distraction.” McLean’s score tied for the top floor score in the nation, as did her 9.950 on vault. After earning Big Ten Gymnast of the Week last week, Karas wrapped up the meet with a cheer-inducing double Arabian pass, earning a 9.950, though the crowd was flashing “tens.” “Emma and Olivia both love floor,” Plocki said. “They love to entertain. Their confidence and energy just exudes.” And with a hot start to the season, the Wolverines look to maintain such energy throughout the rest of their schedule. “It’s all about really playing up to the crowd and enjoying what you’re doing out there,” Plocki said. “I’m really very proud of them all.”

Wolverines escape Nebraska with 69-64 win

RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily

Freshman guard Deja Church sank three last-second free throws to send her team to overtime against Nebraska, where it eventually won, 69-64.

ROHAN KUMAR Daily Sports Writer

Deja Church has ice in her veins. The Wolverines trailed the Cornhuskers, 59-62, with a little over seven seconds remaining in regulation. They had one final chance at a comeback after calling a timeout. Nebraska played tight defense, and the clock ticked away as Michigan couldn’t find a good scoring chance. Church received a pass in the corner, but got fouled while shooting a 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left. With the game on the line, she headed to the line. She was ready. Church drained all three freethrows to tie the game up, and shortly after, the contest was headed to overtime. “Impressive. I think that says something about that kid,” said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico to WTKA. “Holy cow. I don’t know if anybody could have done that. That is some serious pressure.” In the extra period, the game

was tied at 64 when junior center Hallie Thome made two freethrows to give the Wolverines the lead. The No. 23 Michigan women’s basketball team (4-2 Big Ten, 15-4 overall) then pulled away, defeating the Cornhuskers (3-2, 12-6) on the road Saturday night, 69-64. The first half of the contest was an offensive battle. The Wolverines came out strong, led by senior guard Katelynn Flaherty who finished the night with 26 points. She found the basket with ease early on, but Nebraska did the same, and it was a close matchup. Midway through the opening stanza Michigan’s defense picked up the slack by going to the press. This proved to be effective, causing problems for the Cornhuskers and helping the Wolverines to a 9-0 run. Michigan led 30-23 heading into the second quarter. Nebraska cut into the deficit right away, though. The Cornhuskers caused troubles for the Wolverines and went on a 6-0 run to bring the game within one,

two minutes into the frame. Just moments after, Flaherty created separation from her defender with a crossover and calmly drained a deep 3-pointer from the right side, acting like it was no big deal. But it was a big deal. That triple made Flaherty Michigan’s all-time leading scorer, man or woman, as she passed Glen Rice’s record of 2,442 points. The rest of the half was a shootout with both sides shooting close to 60 percent from the field. The offenses excelled while the defenses stayed quiet, and the Wolverines led 48-44 at the break. “We came out scoring on fire in the beginning of the game,” Barnes Arico said, “but we didn’t get the stops we needed to get.” All of the offensive skill must have been used up by the intermission, though, because both teams looked sloppy throughout the second half. There was a lack of coordination within the offenses, as the two sides struggled to take care of the ball. Michigan had 16 turnovers in the second half while Nebraska

had 10. The two teams combined for just nine points in the third quarter, and the Wolverines had a 53-48 lead at the end of the stanza. Following back-to-back 3-pointers from Cornhusker guard Taylor Kissinger, the game was tied at 56 mid-way through the fourth frame. Soon after, Nebraska took its first lead of the game, but failed to seal the deal. “In the second half, we slowed down and played at a really, really slow pace and weren’t able to score the basketball,” Barnes Arico said. “It was a game of two halves, but Nebraska gave us a great game.” Though Flaherty made history and the Wolverines managed to win in overtime, it was not a pretty performance. Michigan’s offense finished the night with a seasonhigh 26 turnovers, which could have been deadly. The Wolverines will need to improve in this area moving forward, because other Big Ten teams won’t be as forgiving. “We didn’t play our best,” Barnes Arico said. “But we dodged a bullet, that’s for sure.”

SportsTuesday

4B — Tuesday, January 16, 2018

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Wolverines defeat Golden Gophers, 3-1, to earn weekend series sweep Sweep a result of a strong all-around game for Michigan, and it was its first sweep at Mariucci Arena in 41 seasons JACOB SHAMES Daily Sports Writer

MINNEAPOLIS — It’s been three years since the Michigan hockey team recorded a sweep on the road. It’s been about as long since Minnesota was swept at Mariucci Arena. And it’s been 41 years since Michigan came away from Minneapolis with a sweep. All three of those streaks came to an end Saturday night. On Saturday, the Wolverines (5-7-2 Big Ten, 10-10-2 overall) defeated the ninth-ranked Golden Gophers, 3-1, putting finality on their most impressive weekend of the season. After falling 5-3 a night prior, one might have expected Minnesota (4-9-1, 13-12-1) to come out in attack mode Saturday. But instead, Michigan blitzed the Gophers out of the gate. The Wolverines couldn’t do anything wrong to begin the game. The puck practically never left Minnesota’s zone, and every pass by a Michigan player seemed to hit the sweet spot of his teammates’ stick. While the Wolverines didn’t score 15 seconds into the game as they did Friday, that hardly mattered — they needed just 58 more seconds this time. Junior forward Brendan Warren, on the heels of a twogoal outing, took the puck on the

right wing, skated in front of the crease and snapped the game’s first score past Eric Schierhorn. A minute later, freshman forward Josh Norris bullied his way towards the net with the puck, but a replay review determined that it did not cross the plane of the goal. An undeterred Norris, however, was rewarded for his efforts shortly after, streaking down the

“I thought yesterday we had some good chemistry.”

saved by sophomore goaltender Hayden Lavigne. However, it wasn’t any of those shots that told the story of

Romanko, who gave Minnesota some life with 4:34 remaining in the second period. But that momentum didn’t last long. After Minnesota’s Sam Rossini was sent to the box for roughing, senior forward Tony

after Michigan coach Mel Pearson stated that he “didn’t like” his team’s penalty kill on Friday. The Wolverines spread all over the ice to block shots from the Gophers’ power play in the third period, but according to Pearson, Lavigne, who registered 17 saves on 18

“This is a huge weekend for us in terms of standings.”

opportunities, was most responsible for the special

ice and lacing a one-

timer off a pinpoint pass from sophomore forward Jake Slaker. After a dizzying first eight minutes of hockey, Michigan led in shots, 8-0, and in goals, 2-0. “I thought yesterday we had some good chemistry,” Norris said. “And tonight we got a couple quick ones first five minutes, so that felt good.” The Gophers managed to turn the tide slightly — granted, simply possessing the puck in the Wolverines’ zone for any length of time would have counted as such for these purposes — but did little with their eight shot attempts in the first period, all of which were

“Your goaltender’s got to be your best penalty killer.”

Minnesota’s night. On a powerplay late in the first, forward Casey Mittelstadt cruised into the slot, gearing up for a golden opportunity to score. But all he did was uncork a weak knuckler that bounced well wide of the net. The Gophers capitalized late on their second power play, though. A series of desperate swings at the puck by a cadre of Michigan defenders couldn’t knock it away from Darian

Calderone set up behind the net and found junior forward Cooper Marody just behind the red line. Somehow, Marody precisely angled his shot up and into the goal. The third period saw no goals and just 10 shots combined for both teams — a surprisingly anti-climactic ending to the Wolverines’ biggest road win of the season. That anticlimax was, in large part, a result of a marked improvement on special teams,

Mariucci Arena. At that point, though, faced with a confident and rock-solid Michigan defense, it seemed like the few Minnesota fans left in the building had long ago ceased to do so. The Wolverines, meanwhile, arrived in Minneapolis earlier this weekend ranked No. 27 in the PairWise rankings, far below the cutoff for NCAA Tournament contention. Coming away with a positive result of any kind seemed absolutely necessary. Winning one game would have likely been seen as a solid weekend. Sweeping the No. 9 team in the nation, in one of the toughest places in college hockey for visitors to play, where they hadn’t done so in multiple generations? That’s closer to unbelievable. And now, after a historic weekend, Michigan returns to Ann Arbor after jumping 12 spots in Pairwise and recording its first sweep in Minnesota in decades. This weekend could have been a mortal blow to the onceslipping belief in the Wolverines’ postseason chances. The end result couldn’t have been more different. “This is a huge weekend for us in terms of standings, Pairwise, so we’re just going to enjoy the win,” Lavigne said. “It’s hard to sweep anywhere, let alone on the road.” Added Pearson: “You let them enjoy it. We haven’t had one for a while, it was good to sing the song, and we’ll let them enjoy it until Monday. Then we’ll get back to work.”

teams’ success. “I thought we did a great job penalty killing,” Pearson said. “Your goaltender’s got to be your best penalty killer… The one we killed in the third period was excellent. Blocking shots, doing a lot of good things, getting sticks.” With 1:53 left to play, during the final timeout of the game, Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” began to echo throughout

A sustainable difference

M

INNEAPOLIS — Two shots. That’s all Michigan allowed in the third period against No. 9 Minnesota on Saturday. The Wolverines entered the final frame up by two goals — just 20 minutes away from earning its DAILY first sweep WRITER at Mariucci Arena in 41 years. There’s a reason it had been that long. The Golden Gophers don’t lose often at home. They don’t lose often, period. In those last 41 years, they’ve had just three losing seasons. But they reach a different level at Mariucci. Coming into the weekend, Minnesota was 11-2 there and 1-8-1 anywhere else this season. While they struggle on the road, the Gophers’ talent-laden roster — 14 players have been drafted by NHL teams — shines through at their home arena, with more room to operate on its larger, Olympic-sized rink. In desperate need of points of any kind to stay afloat in the Big Ten, Minnesota surely had no plans to simply roll over. Instead, Michigan held the Gophers to two shots in the third period. Neither of which seriously challenged sophomore goaltender Hayden Lavigne. That type of performance wouldn’t have happened two months ago. While this weekend was the most stunning result of the Wolverines’ season so far, they aren’t any stranger to surprises. They defeated the then fourthranked Gophers 5-4 in overtime on Nov. 11 after rallying from an early 3-0 hole. They fell behind 4-0 a night later and came back yet again, salvaging a tie that felt just as much like a victory. If the enthusiastic,

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Freshman forward Josh Norris scored the game-winning goal in Saturday’s game to complete Michigan’s first road sweep of Minnesota in 41 years.

“Michigan hockey is back!” takes didn’t begin in earnest after the Wolverines came one minute away from sweeping Penn State in its own building two weeks prior, they surely did so after a win and a tie against a team many picked to win the Big Ten. But it turns out they were a bit premature. Michigan won only one of its next seven games after the Minnesota series. It was outscored 30-18 over that span — part of a larger stretch where the Wolverines gave up a brutal 44 goals in 10 games. Despite a porous defense, Michigan could still score. That’s never been in question. But the Wolverines’ diet of goals was unbalanced. They were subsisting off their top line of seniors Dexter Dancs and Tony Calderone and junior Cooper Marody, a trio which in the aforementioned 10-game stretch accounted for 42.6 percent of Michigan’s total points. The proverbial fruits

and vegetables — the second, third and fourth lines — weren’t a part of the Wolverines’ diet, and their opponents were proving it unsustainable. “The makeup came off and we saw a lot of the blemishes this weekend,” said Michigan coach Mel Pearson after a 5-1 loss to Ohio State on Nov. 25. “We were able to cover some things up, (but) this weekend we saw a little bit of some of the issues that we’re going to have going forward.” A few of those issues looked on course to be corrected, starting with two encouraging performances against Notre Dame last weekend. Michigan held the then-No. 2 team in the nation to two goals in both games and outshot the Fighting Irish a combined 70-63. If not for Notre Dame goaltender Cale Morris erecting a brick wall in front of the net, the Wolverines likely would have come away with points of some variety. All of these positive developments culminated this

weekend. The defense continued to flourish, allowing just two goals in even-strength play. Lavigne stopped 41 of the 45 shots sent in his direction. The Gophers had precious few opportunities to show their individual skill, with Quinn Hughes, Sam Piazza, Luke Martin and Joseph Cecconi seemingly always in the right position in the defensive zone. Michigan’s penalty-kill was maybe the only unit that had even a mediocre performance against Minnesota, allowing goals in both games. However, the Gophers needed almost all of the allotted two minutes to score each time. The group stepped up when it needed to as well, with a huge stop in the third period Saturday, and Pearson saw noted improvement on special-teams after he “didn’t like” Friday’s performance. On the other end of the ice, the Wolverines scored eight goals — less than the 11 they

scored in November’s series, but more than enough to win. These goals came early, too — Michigan was on the scoreboard within two minutes in both contests. “We played with the lead all weekend and when you can do that on the road that really helps,” Pearson said. “Not like the previous games where it seems like we’ve been down 2-0 every game, so that was a change this weekend and I thought it really gave our guys some confidence.” While Marody, Calderone and Dancs still pulled the cart on offense, that cart weighed much less this time, as the unit tallied just six of Michigan’s 19 points. At the same time, other lines emerged — for the first time this season, the Wolverines’ lineups remained the same for both games of a weekend series. Junior forward Brendan Warren scored Michigan’s first goal Saturday with a snipe from the slot, and sophomore forward

Josh Norris, playing on the wing for the first time this season, followed suit with a one-timer off a beautiful feed from sophomore forward Jake Slaker. The third line of freshman Dakota Raabe and sophomores Adam Winborg and James Sanchez excelled, as did the fourth line of sophomore Nick Pastujov and freshmen Jack Becker and Michael Pastujov, which totalled four points on Friday. Even the Wolverines’ floundering power-play, which had scored just 14.8 percent of the time entering the weekend, was much improved, as it capitalized on two of their three opportunities with the man-advantage Saturday. “I liked Winborg, Raabe, Sanchez — they had a shift there at the end of the game and didn’t let Minnesota out of their zone for literally 45 seconds,” Pearson said. “Just a great shift that you need at a time like that. Becker, Pastujov and Pastujov are playing well. I like Slaker and Norris, we put Norris on the wing, and he’s got some renewed energy — think he’s got three, four points in his last couple games here, so good for him.” After being swept, Minnesota fell to 4-9-1 in the Big Ten, ahead of only Michigan State. This is a talented, but horribly inconsistent, Gopher team. Despite how monumental such a result is for Michigan, it hardly means the Wolverines are “back.” But this weekend, Michigan did something that those Wolverines teams of yesteryear never accomplished, and looked dominant in doing so, no less. Sure, there’s always luck involved, but what Michigan did this weekend — winning with goaltending, defense and depth on offense — is perfectly sustainable. No makeup needed. Shames can be reached at jacosham@umich.edu or on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.