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Journo talks educational disparities, segregation NYTimes’ Nikole Hannah-Jones spoke on prevalence of racial inqualities TAL LIPKIN For the Daily
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Matthew Spooner provides insight on politics and the history of white supremacy at the Disrupting White Supremacy Teach In at the Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre Wednesday.
Teach-in discusses history of white supremacy, inaccuracies
Event held by University History Department intended to disrupt injustices ABBY TAKAS
Daily Staff Reporter
On Wednesday evening, the University of Michigan History Department held a teach-in surrounding “Disrupting White Supremacy: Global Histories and Local Struggles.” The talk included 12 speakers in an effort to reclaim and retell the history of race in the U.S. and globally. The speeches were followed by a student “talk back” panel, focusing on the historical
injustices and their inaccurate recordings that have shaped our current political climate. Views could follow the talk on twitter and pose questions to the speakers using the #UMDisrupt. Teach-ins have a long and storied history at the University. The nation’s first “teach-in” took place on campus in March of 1965 with 3,000 students gathering across rooms in Angell Hall to discuss and protest the war in Vietnam. Rackham student Tara Weinberg explained the urgency
to come to events like this, especially with the controversy surrounding white supremacist Richard Spencer’s potential visit to campus next semester. “I think it’s really important to counter him because if there is no counter, then it’s almost taken as a given that he’s been received with silence and with complicity,” Weinberg said. Several professors and one graduate student spoke on how the current political climate has been shaped from an international, historical perspective.
Katherine French, a J. Frederick Hoffman professor of history, accompanied by Rackham student Taylor Sims identified medieval fantastical symbols used by white supremacists in the Charlottesville protests, and how their modern use incorrectly represents the Crusades at large. This misrepresentation has given white supremacists an empty sense of security and support, and has misconstrued their presence to the public. “If you know your history, then See TEACH-IN, Page 3
Getting good grades, having the best teachers and applying to college are all integral parts of one’s education. But for students of color, many of these aspirations cannot be met due to structural racism and the broken pipeline within our educational system. Nikole Hannah-Jones, a New York Times investigative journalist and 2017 MacArthur “Genius”, came to the University of Michigan’s Institute of Social Research Wednesday to discuss educational segregation and racial inequities. Jones opened the conversation by discussing the prevalence of segregation within the public education system and why the system continues to be propagated. “Segregation has produced benefit for white Americans and harm for Black Americans,” she said. Jones cited statistics that
compared schools with a white majority and schools with students-of-color majority. Universities were not an exception to the presented inequality. “The share of Black freshmen at elite schools is virtually unchanged since 1980,” Jones said. “Black students are just 6 percent of freshmen but 15 percent of college-age Americans.” Jones continued to explain those in positions of privilege often believe they are fighting for equality, but do not acknowledge their own hypocrisy in separating their children by sending them to schools that have extremely small populations of students of color. “We cannot say we want equal opportunity for all children then fight for the advantages of our own children,” she said. Jones also spoke about her personal conflict when deciding whether to send her daughter to a predominately white school See HANNAH-JONES, Page 3
After protests for $15 minimum wage, Prestigious Dining hall fellowship University weighs possible impacts introduces
ACADEMICS
BUSINESS
recipients announced
Protests come after wage increase to $9.25 in beginning of January 2018
Knight-Hennessy, Gates Cambridge provide oneyear Master’s programs
On Feb. 12, Detroit workers left their jobs and gathered in Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park to protest for a $15 statewide minimum wage. Linked to the 50th anniversary of the 1968 Memphis sanitation worker strike, where workers walked away from their jobs to protest inadequate pay and dangerous working conditions, similar protests were held in other major cities including Chicago, Houston and Cleveland. The movement responsible for this, Fight for $15, aims to raise the minimum wage to $15 and was created when New York City fast-food workers led a strike for higher wages in 2012. Since then, California, New York and Washington D.C. have crafted incremental plans to reach a $15 minimum wage in the coming years, while Seattle already implemented a $15 minimum wage for large employers this year. Despite these large national movements, however, public opinionis still largely split on whether a $15 minimum wage is a good idea. Charles Brown, an economics professor at the University of Michigan, worked on the Minimum Wage Study Commission from 1979 to 1981 and published several related papers in the following decades.
REMY FARKAS
Daily Staff Reporter
The Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships announced the winners of the Gates Cambridge and the KnightHennessy Scholarships Tuesday. Gates Cambridge selected University Medical student Warren Pan to join the fullypaid one-year master’s program plus living stipend at Cambridge University in England. KnightHennessy selected alum Yiran Liu to pursue a doctorate degree in cancer biology at Stanford University’s School of Medicine. Both recipients plan on beginning their respective programs in the fall. Pan graduated from Harvard University before pursuing his medical and doctorate degrees at the University. Pan said he hopes to be a physician-scientist working directly with patients while continuing medical research. Pan will be taking a one-year leave of absence before his final year of medical school to study in Cambridge under Steve O’Rahilly, the head of the Clinical Biochemistry Department. See ONSP, Page 3
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While the $15 minimum wage has been approved in several notable cities and states, Brown said he views Detroit as a different case. “As a group , these wages are in more prosperous areas than Detroit,” Brown said. Though Detroit is a large city, its economy lags behind Seattle or San Francisco according to the speakers. Wallace Hopp, a professor of business and engineering, said the prevailing
wage rate should be considered when adopting a new state minimum wage. Michigan just raised its minimum wage from $8.90 to $9.25 on Jan. 1, the last step of an incremental minimum wage increase plan enacted in 2014. When Seattle began its incremental minimum wage raise to $15 in 2015, its large employers’ minimum wage was $11, and its small employers with medical benefits’ minimum wage was
$10. “In some cities, like Seattle, with hot labor markets, lowwage jobs were much closer to $15 per hour than in less hot labor markets like Detroit,” Hopp said. “So the ability of a Seattle to absorb an increase to $15 per hour is much greater than that of Detroit. Of course, the cost of living is also lower in Detroit than Seattle. So the minimum wage does not need to See WAGES, Page 3
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Vol. CXXVII, No. 82 ©2018 The Michigan Daily
sparkling beverages
After popular demand, South Quad to trial new machine called Bevi NATASHA PIETRUSHKA Daily Staff Reporter
Lindsay Haas, an MDining Culinary and Nutrition Support Specialist, met with University of Michigan students last year to listen to their concerns over the lack of healthy beverage options at the residential dining halls. After considering their feedback, Haas decided to test a new healthy beverage dispensary machine called Bevi. A Bevi machine, which offers students the choice of either still or sparkling water with four different flavor options, will be installed in the South Quad residential dining hall on Feb. 26, as part of a two-month trial period. Haas found many students were looking for a way to customize their drinks. Bevi gives students control over how much flavor goes into their drink, with possible options ranging from lemon lime to blueberry cucumber. All flavors are zero calories, unsweetened or naturally sweetened. The machine functions through a touch-screen, and ingredient See MDINING, Page 3
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................6
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CSG party profiles: Meet True Blue, Arathi Sabada and Marriane Drysdale In run-up to March elections, party platform calls for more safe and accessible campus KAELA THEUT Daily News Editor
As students gear up for the University of Michigan’s Central Student Government elections on March 21 and 22, The Daily sat down with executive candidates to talk platforms, vision, and plans. In this installment, we profile the True Blue party, headlined by presidential candidate Arathi Sabada and vice presidential candidate Marianne Drysdale. Business junior Arathi SudokuSabada, Syndication True Blue’s presidential candidate, got involved with
Central Student Government almost as soon as she stepped onto campus her freshman year. She decided it was time to run for president after seeing the importance of engaging with the student body. “I got involved with CSG my first semester freshman year so it was a very new experience, and I had so many incredible mentors, and it gave me an amazing platform to work on issues I saw on campus,” Sabada said. “When I was going through tough times, CSG really helped me in terms of programs that it had, so seeing what the platform did for me and seeing what it could do for
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other students in terms of the student government and student work (was important). I did a lot government is engaging with of work in terms of supporting students, which is a lot of what student organizations with an executive position is. I also food insecurity on campus knew Arathi through working and seeing how powerful the on the campaign last year, platform was, and feeling like I and when I found out she was had the experience to lead that running I was really excited organization is what inspired to work on her campaign in me to run. I also just really love whatever capacity possible and engaging with different student then the opportunity presented organizations and talking to itself to be VP, and I took a students on the Diag in my role as minute to think about it and I a former executive member, and thought, ‘You know, this is really working on a couple campaigns, something I could see myself that was something I was really doing and liking’ so it was totally looking forward to doing and unexpected.” http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ inspired me to run.” Sabada said one of her party’s LSA sophomore Marianne main policy points has to do Drysdale, True Blue’s vice with food insecurity. She is also presidential candidate, said committed to improving overall she felt like CSG was her student experience. first real community on “There’s not a lot of grocery campus, and felt compelled stores in the area. It’s really to run this semester after hard to have access to healthy thinking about the impact and affordable food and I think the body has had on her own there’s so many great orgs who experience. are doing so much amazing work “When I came to campus on campus, from Maize and Blue as a freshman, I knew that I Cupboard to the Food Insecurity wanted to get involved but I Taskforce, (and) I think CSG had no idea what I wanted would be a really great way to to get involved in so I was scale up that work,” she said. definitely the kid at Festifall “One thing that I’m really talking to every single excited about is potentially booth,” Drysdale said. “I hosting a pop-up grocery store spent first semester feeling in partnership with a local like really involved, but grocery store where they could spending a lot of hours doing come to campus and students a lot of nothing, I felt like I could purchase that fresh and wasn’t involved in anything affordable produce as a shorter that was really a tight-knit term initiative, and definitely community. So when I ran on working towards a longer-term the campaign for CSG it was initiative — eventually opening like the first moment where up a grocery store on campus I was like, ‘Woah,’ I feel where students can buy that like I’m touching this really healthy and affordable food, is important work … Right now something we’re really excited I’m a (CSG) chair position for communications, which Read more at is a lot of making sure MichiganDaily.com students are engaging in
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MDINING From Page 1
DANYEL THARAKAN/Daily Mayor Christopher Taylor participates in a conversation with students about public policy in Weill Hall Wednesday.
ONSP From Page 1 Pan wants to analyze the effects of genetic mutations on obesity, specifically in children, in search of ways to reverse it. He will be conducting the bulk of his experiments on mice to model the potential in humans. Though he cannot specify the details of the study, Pan noted England has a large database of sequenced DNA from morbidly obese children that he will be using in his research. “I will be using that database and going after some of those genes to figure out what those genes are doing and whether we can reverse it and see if mice with this mutation can be cured with a drug or virus or some other treatment,” Pan said. “I hope to better understand the interface between human disease and basic science research to use translational research to create new therapies for human disease.” Martin Myers, professor of internal medicine and molecular & integrative physiology, acted as Pan’s doctorate adviser and scientific mentor at the University. Myers helped train Pan as a scientist and worked with him
HANNAH-JONES From Page 1 with better resources, versus the underfunded school with a higher population of Latino and AfricanAmerican students. “I had to make a choice: either live my values, when I know how harmful these schools can be, or was I going to use my privilege to get my daughter away from the kids who live next door to me” she said. “I decided that no child was worth less than my child.” Jones explained this segregation is not occurring in remote locations far away from the University students she was addressing. “Michigan schools are the
WAGES From Page 1 be as high here as it needs to be on the coasts in order for our people to achieve the same standard of living.” If a $15 minimum wage was only enacted in the city of Detroit, rather than the entire state, Hopp said he worries businesses might flock to the metro area to escape the high labor costs, harming surrounding areas. “But I think city-level minimum wages are tricky,” Hopp said. “While they may help workers at restaurants and hotels that can’t move out of the city, they serve as an incentive for factories, landscaping businesses and any other business that can relocate to move to the suburbs to do so.” Despite these qualms, Hopp said he could foresee many positives of a statewide minimum wage increase, provided it is incremental. “In contrast, a plan to increase the Michigan minimum wage in stages over time would benefit people who are struggling financially, help stem the tide of rising income inequality and
Thursday, February 22, 2018 — 3
information can be found on the panel. According to Elliott Rains, the MDining Marketing Coordinator, students wanted something that wasn’t necessarily water, other than soft drinks. “We want a good middle ground that will satisfy people, fit the need of students and is also health conscious,” he said. The University is joining in a national movement as more Americans are ditching sugary drinks for healthier alternatives, according to the Huffington Post. “We’ve realized that sugary beverages aren’t the way to go, but we still like things carbonated,” Dana Ferrante, Bevi’s marketing content writer said. “So this sparkling water trend or unsweetened flavored water is definitely in
TEACH-IN From Page 1
right now.” The healthy drink craze is not the only trend Bevi pursues. The company also prides itself on being ecologically friendly, as they reported having saved 15 million plastic bottles in 2017. Business sophomore Victor Mahdavi interned at a start-up in Cambridge, Mass. that used a Bevi machine. “Some of the appeal was … not having to bring a plastic water bottle, which would lead to waste,” said Mahdavi. “(The machine) looks really cool. It would add some tech-savviness to the dining hall.” MDining will be gauging students’ reaction to Bevi with comment cards near the machine. “We’re looking for student feedback,” said Haas. “If there’s a lot interest from students across campus, then we would consider keeping it and bringing Bevi into more locations next fall.”
throughout his research. “As his PhD mentor, I know how smart, energetic, and talented Warren is,” Myers wrote in an email interview. “Not only does he deserve the award because of his talent and accomplishments, but also he will use the opportunity to learn more about translating his basic research expertise to the study of human disease. He defines what it means to be a self-starter!” The Gates Cambridge Scholarship is given to students with high academic ability and the dedication to making the world a better place, according to ONSF Director Henry Dyson. “The Gates Cambridge Scholarship is looking at leadership potential and demonstrated commitment to improving to the lives of others,” Dyson said. “Warren’s research in obesity genetics is an obvious fit for that, he is an exceptionally well qualified applicant.” Garth Strohbehn, Gates Cambridge alum and a chief medical resident at Michigan Medicine, worked with Pan to prepare and apply for the program. “I’m thrilled for him to have this tremendous experience,”
Strohbehn said. “He’s obviously a talented person who’s worked exceptionally hard for this opportunity –– it’s great to see it paying off in this way. It’s a really cool step forward for his research and for him as a developing intellectual. The Gates community is an incredible, multidisciplinary one full of brilliant people and so he’s going to develop even more as a thinker. It’s going to be an incredible experience.” Yiran Liu, winner of the inaugural Knight-Hennessy Scholarship, graduated from the University in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in cellular and molecular biology. Yiran hopes to obtain a doctorate in cancer biology but has a diverse range of research experiences and an open mind. “It’s really a huge honor to receive this scholarship,” Liu said. “I was not expecting at all so it’s very humbling to feel that I have the opportunity to become part of this community. When I went to the immersion weekend, I met so many people. These people were so grounded, kind, compassionate and empathetic and their work was driven by some kind of passion or need
to make a difference in the community and the world and it is an honor to imagine myself in that community in grad school.” According to Dyson, KnightHennessy is the newest of the major scholarships, comparable to the Rhodes, Marshall and Gates Cambridge. He categorized this is a truly global scholarship with a 49-student cohort, and 63 percent of which are international, according to a Knight-Hennessy press release. Dyson said KnightHennessy understands the solutions to today’s problems are multi-disciplinary, thus the scholarship is offered to those pursuing a law, medical, doctorate and a multitude of other degrees. “What I think makes Yiran really stand out as a candidate is that she is exceptionally well qualified in terms of her research credentials. She really is as good as any biomedical or STEM researcher and I think she belongs in that company and her leadership accomplishments… and (her work with) social justice and campus climate issues and how she wants to combine them in the future really makes her stand out,” Dyson said. “We have exceptional leaders in these areas but we rarely see them combined.”
second most segregated in the country,” she said. “Michigan schools have the worst test scores for Black kids in the country.” She also explained the obvious problem of underrepresentation at the University. “You look at the flagship university, the University of Michigan, and it is 5 percent black and 30 miles away from a majority Black city,” she said. Jones posed the question of which children should be left behind in the educational system. She gave an example of an AfricanAmerican college student, Alicia, who was forced behind because of the broken educational pipeline within the American system. “Alicia was part of the Tuscaloosa education system
and she spent 13 years in entirely segregated schools that looked like her grandfather’s,” she said. “When Alicia took the ACT, she got a 16 … When I asked Alicia if she was going to take it again she responded, ‘Why? I can’t make up for everything, I haven’t had in time for this test.’” Jones ended her talk by saying all students should have equal opportunities to go to schools which provide them with the resources necessary for success. “You shouldn’t have to be an exceptional child in this country to get a quality education,” she said. The presentation then shifted to a series of smaller presentations from students and University alumni. The
presentations focused on the underrepresentation of Black and Latinx teachers, the financial burden of education for students of color and how Students of Color of Rackham — a graduate student organization — has made its voice heard on campus. SCOR President Rosalyn Kent explained the overwhelming burden students of color experience in institutions of higher education, as they must balance their school work and while confronting racial issues on campus. “We have to produce this scholarly work and be responsible for the hateful acts that happen around us and make sure we don’t drown in that hate,” Kent said. The presentation ended with
a Q&A session between HannahJones and Tabbye Chavous, the director of the National Center for Institutional Diversity. Chavous’ first question addressed how to prepare students of color for an integrated context. Jones responded though integration would take careful planning and time, it’s vital for the future success for the country “I’m pushing for a radical rethinking of our education system. It has to be that the curriculum is reflective of all children and all American history,” Jones said. “I’m not pushing for small numbers of Black children in white schools and forced assimilation.” Jones also spoke about the lack of resources that schools with
majority Black or Latino students have compared to white students. “The difference is the concentration of poverty. Ninety percent of the parents in my daughter’s school cannot make up for the difference of what they do not get within the school” she said. “I wish we could disentangle race and resources.” Rackham student Kayla Fike explained the necessity in coming to events like these to understand ones personal role in these issues. “I think it’s valuable to come to these events because it helps us to see where our individual choices actually do make a difference and uphold inequality.
do so with minimal harm to the economy or job market,” Hopp said. Teia McGahey, a 2017 University of MichiganDearborn alum and organizer for the Lecturers’ Employee Organization, said she first became involved with Detroit’s division of Fight for $15, D15, through the Social Justice League on Dearborn’s campus. After graduation, she worked as an organizer for Jobs With Justice, a nonprofit that fights for workers’ rights, until accepting a position with LEO a couple months ago. “The first prong of a better future is first getting people what they need, and I think that’s what a lot of the D15 efforts focused on,” McGahey said. “Making sure people can eat, making sure people have adequate housing, adequate health insurance, those sorts of things that we need to just survive.” Many champions for a higher minimum wage argue minimum wage has not been adjusted properly for inflation. A 2016 report by Pew Research Center stated the $7.25 federal minimum wage had lost about 9.6 percent in purchasing power since its adoption in 2009. In 2015,
The Economist reported that given the United States’ wealth compared to other countries, it would expect a minimum wage of $12. Sociology lecturer Ian Robinson, who has worked on a team to analyze Washtenaw County’s wages, said though a $15 minimum wage might induce productivity losses, the magnitude of these effects are currently relatively unknown. “If we had adjusted the minimum wage for productivity growth since the mid-1970s, it would now be at about $18 an hour,” Robinson said. “From the end of World War II through to the mid-’70s, the minimum wage did tend to keep up with productivity growth. In those 30 years, we had very low unemployment.” While others share fears of the possible loss of productivity and lower employment related to a higher minimum wage, Robinson said much of this is offset by increased purchases from the lower class. “Even if some jobs are lost in some sectors, the higher wage for millions of low-wage workers means increased purchasing power for working class people as a whole,” Robinson said. “That
group will spend more money, and that extra spending will create more jobs. Maybe not in fastfood, but from a macroeconomic point of view, the important questions are how many jobs are there and how well do they pay. If more money is spent on better paying jobs, that’s more good paying jobs in the economy.” While Hopp said job loss is an undeniable counterpart of raising minimum wage, he has seen minimal negative impacts with small increases in places such as Seattle. However, a rapid increase to a $15 minimum is uncharted territory, so Hopp recommends proceeding cautiously. “No one doubts that increasing wages decreases jobs,” Hopp said. “But we’ve had a lot of experience with small increases in the minimum wage that show very little impact on unemployment. We don’t have much data on large increases and so need to be cautious. The policies in Seattle and other places who are pushing minimum wages up at a faster pace look encouraging so far. But we’ll know more in a few years when we’ve had time to study the impacts.” Among low-wage workers, McGahey note dstudents are
especially susceptible to unfair wages. “I think in every job I’ve had I’ve been underpaid, but that’s so many of us right now too, because we are an exploitable group of people,” McGahey said. “Students just need whatever we can get, so it’s really easy to pay us less than we deserve.” As prices, especially rent costs, continue to soar in Ann Arbor and other cities, affordability becomes an even more pressing issue for many students. With the University’s median income of parents of students at $156,000, about three times the median income of Michigan households, LSA senior Zoe Proegler finds economic inequality on campus hard to ignore. “Affluence is incredibly visible on our campus, from the clothes people wear to the places they live and eat to the ways they talk about socializing, vacations and more,” Proegler said. “I think after spending four years in that kind of environment, especially as someone who does occasionally have to worry about money, it was almost a given that I was going to be at least aware of the economic inequality discourse taking place on campus.”
In support of a $15 minimum wage in Michigan, Proegler said she especially sees a need for higher wages in expensive areas like Ann Arbor, Detroit, Lansing and Grand Rapids. “A $15 minimum here would not only make achieving a livable income for working students possible, but would do a great deal to cut down on the growing wealth inequality in the county and help address the problem of a lack of service and food industry workers — or very long commutes — in cities like Ann Arbor,” Proegler said. No matter the wage proposal, Brown takes issue with the process of minimum wage increases. He hopes the often politically-motivated method becomes more systematic and fair. “In an ideal world, the legislators would agree on the ‘right’ minimum wage for 2018 and then have that value change smoothly and mechanically based on growth in average wages,” Brown said. “The current pattern –– no change, followed by big jumps –– reflects a political inability or unwillingness to agree on a more orderly process.”
people can’t give it back to you in the wrong form,” French said. Lecturer Anne Berg explained how the Nazi party used fabricated scientific claims to promote and encourage racism in Germany and compared this to the current eugenics argument. In this respect, she admitted society today is not too different from Nazi Germany. This past fall, protests broke out across campus as students groups called on the University to change the name of C.C. Little building and bus stop, as their namesake was a former University president and President of the American Eugenics Society. “Nazis were lucky that they had so much of a rich history of scientific evidence and visual legacies to draw on to build a racial state that thankfully has not yet been paralleled,” Berg said. Associate professor Rudolph “Butch” Ware highlighted the roots of racism from an
Islamic perspective in 18th century Africa. Despite the fact literacy rates were higher in regions of Africa than in any part of Europe, African people were nonetheless seen as slaves. Ware cited classical Islamic teachings that racism stems from pride, and urged the audience to set their pride aside and engage in dialogue to understand how white supremacy has occurred and what it has done. Several speakers also focused on the historical inaccuracies from a national perspective. Assistant professor Matthew Spooner referenced the Haitian revolution and Rebecca J. Scott, a Charles Gibson Distinguished University professor of history, discussed the Reconstructionera government of Louisiana to highlight the lack of historical knowledge many hold, and how this ignorance warps views of current social problems. “If we can’t understand the past, we will be blind to the present,” Spooner said.
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Opinion
4 — Thursday, February 22, 2018
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ERIK NESLER | COLUMN Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com
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EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Samantha Goldstein Elena Hubbell Emily Huhman Jeremy Kaplan
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Ali Safawi Alex Satola Kevin Sweitzer Tara Jayaram 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.
ALI SAFAWI | COLUMN
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Mass shootings have a gender
hen I first decided and erratic behavior. Neighbors to write columns and classmates knew he was a on mental health, I big problem. Must always report knew I would eventually such instances to have to write one in authorities, again the wake of a mass and again!” Mind shooting. In fact, it was you, as a candidate, the only column I was Trump once positive I would write, boisterously claimed because, like clockwork, that he could shoot mass shootings keep someone and not happening again and lose any voters. again. Last year in Like with most America, a mass shooting of the president’s ALI SAFAWI — which is defined sage tweets, my as an attack in which eyes rolled. First four or more people are killed off, the FBI received a tip in indiscriminately in a public space January concerning the Parkland — occurred about once per month. shooter. Furthermore, when law In fact, the two deadliest mass enforcement is called to the scene shootings in American history of an incident where someone is (Las Vegas and Orlando) have having a mental health crisis, that occured during my time as an person, usually a person of color, undergraduate. This is insane. may well end up being shot, as What is also egregious is the was the case of Quintonio LeGrier use of mental illness as a scapegoat in Chicago and Bobby Bennett in by the National Rifle Association Dallas. Not surprisingly, the victim and their political vassals. People has a mental health problem in 25 with mental health problems are percent of all police shootings in easy targets for those looking to the U.S. wash their hands of blood without But I digress. If Trump, the actually doing anything. Republican Party and the gun lobby According to the Scattergood want to talk about populations who Foundation, one of the most pose a greater risk of committing a common stereotypes about people mass shooting, then we need to talk with mental health problems about men, not people with mental are that they are dangerous health problems. and unpredictable. Per a 2006 You have probably heard the national survey, 60 percent of term “toxic masculinity,” which is respondents thought a person the harmful manifestation of social with schizophrenia was likely norms associated with masculinity, to be violent, and 32 percent of such as aggression and entitlement. respondents thought the same Mass shootings are a particularly of those with major depression. bloody manifestation, but toxic This, of course, flies in the face masculinity also drives sexual and of reality; Jessica Henderson domestic violence. For instance, Daniel, president of the American classmates of the Parkland shooter Psychological Association, said in a say that he stalked and abused his statement after last week’s shooting ex-girlfriend and was expelled for that, “it is important to remember fighting her new boyfriend. that only a very small percentage If you want to know more of of violent acts are committed by what I mean, look no further than people who are diagnosed with, or the final video manifesto posted by in treatment for, mental illness.” the shooter who killed six people Despite this, President near the University of California, Donald Trump and the NRA have Santa Barbara, in 2014. repeatedly associated mental “For the last eight years of my health problems with mass life, since I hit puberty,” the shooter shooters. For instance, in the says, “I’ve been forced to endure an aftermath of the recent shooting at existence of loneliness, rejection Marjory Stoneman Douglas High and unfulfilled desires, all because School, the President tweeted: girls have never been attracted to “So many signs that the Florida me. Girls gave their affection and shooter was mentally disturbed, sex and love to other men, never even expelled from school for bad to me.”
The transcript of the video is hard to read but the shooter’s message is crystal clear: He believed that he was entitled to have women fulfill his desires. What was he to do when his entitlement was denied, something he considered “a crime I can never get over?” The answer was, of course, violence. The dangerous sense of male entitlement these shooters feel and the wrath that consumes them when they feel rejected extends beyond women’s bodies. In 1991, a former postal worker killed three people in Royal Oak, Michigan because he felt entitled to a job. In fact, approximately 30 percent of mass shootings occur in the workplace, usually by angry or recently fired male employees. Whatever these men feel entitled to, they use extreme acts of violence as retribution once they perceive themselves to have been slighted. Toxic masculinity is learned. About five years ago, I had a jarring conversation with an 11or 12-year-old boy and his father, who had gone through a rocky divorce. During our conversation, the boy casually asserted, to his father’s approval, that all women were deceitful and out to trick men. Here was this young boy who was already harboring sexist sentiments because of his disgruntled father, who was probably scorned because the divorce challenged his perceived entitlement over his ex-wife. I am not saying that this boy will grow up to be a mass shooter, just that one does not have to have a mental health problem to fall under the influence of toxic masculinity. Discourse on mental health in the wake of mass shootings is just a red herring in a sea of bullets. In order to create a truly safer country, we need gun control as well as a movement to challenge and empower men to unlearn what we have been taught about aggression, violence and entitlement. Imagine if the president had tweeted that toxic masculinity is a national problem in the aftermath of this latest school shooting. Perhaps that will happen when our president is a woman. Ali Safawi can be reached at asafawi@umich.edu.
MICHELLE SHENG | MICHELLE CAN BE REACHED AT SHENGMI@UMICH.EDU
I
What’s in a healthy diet?
f you haven’t yet seen the eye-opening documentary “What the Health,” I highly recommend you watch it. My mouth was gaping wide open as I watched the entire film. The directors, Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn, reveal that consuming meat and dairy can promote chronic illnesses like cancer, heart disease and diabetes. They cite the 2015 World Health Organization report, which declared processed meats (think: bacon, hot dogs and cold cuts) as “carcinogenic to humans” and also claimed dairy consumption is associated with prostate and breast cancers. These assertions serve as the foundation for their argument that adopting a vegan diet is optimal. The friends and family members who I forced to watch the documentary immediately wrote it off as “vegan-propaganda.” This is undoubtedly true, but I still found it intriguing. From a young age, I had always believed meat, along with a glass of milk, was an important part of every meal. I even believed the two food products were healthy (unless, say, the meat was deep-fried). The documentary challenged these established beliefs. I decided to do some digging on my own to see if Andersen and Kuhn were on to something. It turns out that the WHO report categorizing processed meats as carcinogenic — effectively grouping them together with tobacco and asbestos — is misleading. The WHO panel found “sufficient evidence” to support the idea that meat consumption contributes to cancer, but that does not mean that meat is even close to being as carcinogenic as tobacco or asbestos. In fact, much of the documentary is viewed as intentionally misleading.
Several sources, including Time, have criticized the directors’ exaggerated claims and misrepresentations of science. As I continued to dig for information regarding what a healthy diet looked like, I found a wealth of information but no definitive answers. There appears to be a general consensus that doctors are recommending patients to consume less meat along with less sugar, but many believe that moderate meat and sugar consumption is not as harmful as Andersen and Kuhn depict it. Andersen and Kuhn discussed claims of deceptive research by the meat and dairy industries in the documentary, and while researching, I, too, came across biased scientific studies. The New York Times broke a story in 2016 when it was discovered that the sugar industry paid scientists to downplay the link between sugar and heart disease. Knowing this, who are we as consumers supposed to trust when it comes to determining what is truly healthy? The U.S. government has attempted to step in to help consumers make wiser, more health-conscious decisions, but even the government’s efforts aren’t completely unbiased. The U.S. Department of Agriculture introduced their Food Guide Pyramid in 1992 as a nutrition education tool to recommend what types of food consumers should eat every day. The USDA continues to release updated tools like MyPyramid and their most recent MyPlate. Despite doctors across the country urging patients to reduce their meat and dairy consumption, the tools continue to display meat and dairy as prominent portions of every meal. It’s clear to see why people, including myself, believe meat and dairy are necessary
ingredients to every meal, and thus why they are a part of a balanced diet. Meat and dairy have been able to persist as a necessary ingredient in every meal because of the industries’ power (read: money) to influence governmental actors. The meat industry spent $17.7 million in 2014 on contributions to various political campaigns and direct federal government lobbying to ensure that their products stay a staple in the American diet. The Washington Post reported years ago about how the USDA attempted to deemphasize the importance of meat and dairy when creating a new nutritional tool for consumers and how the organization quickly abandoned the plan after private sector backlash. I find it worrisome that the public can’t even trust the government to produce an unbiased and accurate depiction of what a healthy diet should look like. If the private sector is willingly taking part in deception and devious marketing, the government should step in to protect consumers, no matter what losses may be incurred by producers. If the government, or any organization, were to fund a completely independent series of studies to decipher what a truly healthy diet looks like, the obesity epidemic that plagues the world could be halted. Research may not initially lead to a swift change in consumption, but with the passage of time, habits are malleable. Nobody initially thought that tobacco was harmful to humans, but after extensive research and many years of consumer adjustment, people finally began changing their habits. I propose that the same progression can occur with people’s diets. Erik Nesler can be reached at egnesler@umich.edu.
KRYSTAL HUR | COLUMN
R
Thoughts on Kylie Jenner’s baby
ecently, I have been As a college student, feeling a bit stressed I constantly see my peers out about my future. As compare themselves to each a second semester other. Students ask freshman, I already each other questions feel pressure to not because of a get good grades, genuine interest, but choose my major because they want and, not to mention, to know how they get an internship. compare. Ranging However, in a from inquiries about strange way, it summer plans to has felt good to GPAs, these questions be stressed about ask each KRYSTAL students these things other are a way for HUR because I feel as if them to gauge where I am on the way to becoming they fall on their made-up an adult. spectrum of success. This need Then, I saw Kylie Jenner’s to compete is perfectly natural announcement regarding the and important, because it keeps birth of her and rapper Travis young adults in touch with Scott’s daughter, Stormi. I also their peers and aware of the found out that she had her first world around them; however, child at 20-years-old, only one it’s also important to be aware year older than I am. of this competitiveness and When I first saw the keep it in check. announcement, I was shocked. College pits students against Granted, I didn’t tweet about each other as well, with exam it and express my anxiety like curves depending on how so many others did, but I did others’ score and special awards frantically ask my friends if they given to those with high GPAs. had heard the news. I wasn’t While healthy competition judging Jenner for being “too drives students to do their best, young” or “too immature” to be I’ve found students often lose a mother. I freaked out because confidence and motivation to I’m only a year younger than do well if they feel they are not her, yet while I can barely take as accomplished as their peers. care of myself, Jenner manages I sometimes feel this way when to run a $420 million company I see how my peers are doing. and keep up with several other Other times, I become scared, business ventures including because they seem so ahead of endorsement deals and a me in every way. Jenner, while clothing line. And now, she has not my peer, was a person who a child. made people, including myself, I realize now I shouldn’t feel this way. have been so shocked that Seeing Jenner have a baby someone my age had a baby. I’m made me feel as if I’m suddenly at a point in my life during which being forced to grow up and my peers will undoubtedly go be an adult. Suddenly, my own through critical life changes, issues about school seemed both in their professional and juvenile and less monumental personal lives. I, too, will go than hers’, as if I was behind through these changes. It’s her developmentally because terrifying, but then again, the she’s dealing with being a new prospect of going to college mother while I complain about scared me a year ago, yet I’m my class workload. I don’t know getting by. I think the reason exactly why I feel this way, but so many people have something I think part of it is because I’m to say about Jenner’s baby is almost the same age as her and not because of some misguided she’s going through perhaps need to hate on her. It’s because one of the most monumental young people are taught to life changes a person can ever compare themselves to others go through. their age, and when they see It doesn’t make sense that someone who seems to be more I would suddenly feel this “advanced” than them, they way, given her many other tend to get frightened. achievements. Yet, her wealth
never made me feel as if I had some “growing up” to do because I’ve become desensitized to young people with large amounts of money. There are so many young YouTubers and celebrities who show off their wealth on social media. Yet, none of these wealthy people around my age, including the ones who are married or in committed relationships, have children. Non-wealthy young people are waiting to have children, too; in January 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported, “the mean age of mothers has increased from 2000 to 2014 for all birth orders, with age at first birth having the largest increase, up from 24.9 years in 2000 to 26.3 years in 2014.” While I know there are mothers globally who are even younger than Jenner, hearing about her daughter still shocked me. Despite how surprising Jenner’s pregnancy was to so many people, there’s no need for anyone to feel frightened when they see Jenner has had a baby at such a young age, nor is there any reason to criticize her. She’s an extremely wealthy celebrity and is therefore in a completely different position than most people her age; it doesn’t make sense for me to compare my life to her life. In addition, as someone who is in an awkward transitional phase in which I feel like neither a child nor an adult, I believe it’s important for people my age to remember there’s no need for them to compare their lives to anyone else’s, much less to that of a beauty mogul with a multimillion dollar empire. Everyone progresses to different stages of their lives at different rates, and that’s okay. There’s no need for people to feel as if they need to compare themselves to their peers at all, either. Competition should be healthy and meant to motivate everyone to succeed, not just those who have the highest GPAs or the most impressive résumé. As young adults, we need to focus on ourselves and how we are doing instead of trying to outcompete our peers. Jenner is not our peer, and with this in mind, we should leave her alone. Krystal Hur can be reached at kryshur@umich.edu.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
DAILY COMMUNITY CULTURE COLUMN
MUSIC TV INTERVIEW ALBUM REVIEW
The Man who Ruined Music
HBO
Pete Holmes on reliving his own life on ‘Crashing’ CLARA SCOTT Daily Arts Writer
“Sometimes we just look at each other and ask, ‘What would Big Bird do?’” This is the question Pete Holmes, creator and star of HBO’s comedy show “Crashing,” and his writers ask themselves when they don’t know where to go with his character — a clean and somewhat naïve version of his younger self, navigating life and laughter in the brutal world of show business. Holmes recently talked to The Daily via a conference video chat to discuss the show’s second season, his experience in comedy and what it’s like to relive his own life through the show. The loveable “Sesame Street”esque aspects of Holmes’s character are what makes “Crashing” special among other shows of the same “comedian’s life” type like “Louie.” He’s completely genuine as a person, fallible and sometimes not even that good at comedy. But these chinks in his armor are integral to the show’s overall flavor, bringing a fresh perspective to a story many comedy fans are already aware of. Holmes is really good at telling bad jokes, making his character’s newbie status on the scene believable and infusing a youthful bounce into the show. “Crashing” follows this fictionalized version of Holmes through his struggles as a comedian coming up in the New York scene after his wife leaves him, literally crashing on other comedians’ couches as he tries to make it in the tough club scene. Holmes says he “wants to take the struggle of doing stand-up and add on top of it as many relatable
jokes and situations as possible.” The show definitely achieves this, making the difficult journey up comedy’s ranks understandable from an outside perspective and focusing in on the humanity of it all. The first season of the show, which came out last spring, laid
The balance between drama and comedy is what really stands out about “Crashing,” especially in its new season
the foundation for an interesting look into the realities of a young comedian’s life. Holmes’s own experiences are the basis for “Crashing” — a series of emotional and professional ups and downs that keep the viewer engaged and invested in the show’s plot. He created “Crashing” with the guidance of co-producer Judd Apatow (“Knocked Up”), who helped to balance the show’s narrative to create something unique. After his first endeavor — a talk show on TBS called “The Pete Holmes Show” — Holmes says he asked himself, “What is the story that is kind of the most personal to
me, that only I could tell?” His life was somewhat of a rollercoaster, Holmes reflected. “Well, I was raised religious. I got married when I was 22. My wife left me when I was 28, and then I really started trying to become a stand-up. I was like, ‘That sounds like a Judd Apatow idea.’” Holmes flew out to New York for what he says was “15 minutes” with Apatow while he was filming Amy Schumer’s “Trainwreck,” a meeting which would prove integral to the show’s creation. The balance between drama and comedy is what really stands out about “Crashing,” especially in its new season, which currently airs on Sundays at 10:30 p.m. EST. Holmes says Apatow is the real master behind this equilibrium. “I basically tell him what really happened in my life and he figures out how to make that funny,” Holmes said. “I’ll tell him for example, ‘There’s a lot of solitude and eating Chinese food,’ and he’ll be like, ‘OK, you can do that for like a scene, but you have to work at Cold Stone Creamery.’ So I’ll give him credit on that one.” The second season of the show tackles more existential and serious topics than the last, exploring addiction with frequent guest star Artie Lange (“The Howard Stern Show”) in the episode “Artie” and the battle to maintain faith in the spotlight with magician Penn Jillette in the season’s premiere “Atheist.” These themes of self-discovery and realization give a new edge to Holmes’s character, bringing him from “Big Bird” to something else — a poignant representation of what it means to change while pursuing your dreams.
MUSIC NOTEBOOK
On Lorde, love & spring JENNA BARLAGE Daily Arts Writer
The end of Feb. and beginning of Mar. are always nostalgic for me. The sky is gray, the snow is melting, the green that’s been hidden all winter is slowly beginning to make its resurgence. Everything seems melancholic, but hopeful. I first listened to Lorde in the backseat of my best friend’s mom’s Honda. We were approaching our sophomore year of high school, a time I now refer to as the summer of “Royals.” “You know,” my best friend said, “she’s only a year older than us.” “Royals” played on repeat for the entirety of that summer, through poolside speakers and the car radios of the upperclassmen who drove us around our small suburban town to bonfires and 24-hour Coney Islands. It became, to me — the naïve, careless 15-year-old that I was — an anthem for the things I could not articulate. Pure Heroine came out that Sept. My best friend and I danced around her bedroom
Thursday, February 22, 2018 — 5
in our homecoming dresses to “Ribs,” shouting over the music that we should’ve ditched our dates and gone to the dance with each other. We played “No Better” at every party, drunk off of wine coolers purchased by somebody’s mother. That Oct., I fell into a youthful, foolish kind of small town love that only a 15-yearold could fall into. He was two years older than me and the captain of our high school’s soccer team: the quintessential teenage daydream. He and I didn’t have much to do but drive around and go for milkshakes at 3:00 a.m. Somehow, though, this was enough. It was magical. It was a feeling I couldn’t put my finger on until I heard “400 Lux,” a song that, then, explained all of the magic in our naïve relationship’s mundanity; and now, it makes me feel 15 with butterf lies in my stomach again. Four years later, which might as well have been a lifetime, I listened to Melodrama for the first time in the backseat of a taxi. I was leaving New York City, the place I’d called home for the summer and had, in turn, fallen terribly in love
with. I listened to the album in order, and then over again. I cried hysterically the whole time. I cried because Melodrama was the first album I’d ever considered mine — one that validated feelings that I’d felt on a conscious level, and simultaneously pulled feelings that I’d never felt out of the depths of my 19-year-old psyche. Each song was a masterpiece. Each song held a piece of me in it. Each song made the messiness of what it means to be my age OK. Every time I’d become infatuated with the wrong person, every inevitable end of a relationship, every night that ended in a failed quest for belonging — it was all OK. Lorde’s music has carried me through my naïve adolescence and is still carrying me through my messy transition to adulthood, through backseats and boyfriends and long nights. I’d never quite understood that music has the ability to save someone. But at this moment, if there’s anything that I can say that I understand completely, it’s that Lorde’s music saves me every single day.
I recently witnessed a professor of music accuse a famous 20th-century composer of having “ruined music.” The class was discussing important orchestral works by 20th-century composers, and a student mentioned Boulez’s “Le Marteau sans Maitre,” a blistering avant-garde work filled with rhythmic and harmonic dissonances. The professor claimed that he hated Boulez, that Boulez should not be studied as he had ruined music. Boulez has always been a controversial figure among 20th-century composers and critics. His death in 2016 left behind a controversial legacy for musicologists, scholars and classical music aficionados to pick apart. As a conductor, Boulez went through periods in which he conducted music primarily from the classical era and periods in which he conducted music almost exclusively from the modern era. As a writer and critic, Boulez published articles both in defense of Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” and in condemnation of Schoenberg’s (radical) late works. His life as a critic and conductor was riddled with these inconsistencies. As the composition professor explained to the class, Boulez “ruined music” in that he advocated for a complete rejection of the study of the Western canon of classical music. His famed summer program in Darmstadt was conceived almost entirely in this vein: He refused to study any non-modernist compositions, claiming that the modernist movement required a rejection of the historical legacies of classical music and the use of radical new forms based on emancipated rhythmic and harmonic dissonances. Boulez’s infamous article “Schoenberg Is Dead,” for example, represents some of his most scathing condemnations of anything but the most radical modernist music. Schoenberg’s late explorations of tonal music, Boulez asserted, had “went off in the wrong direction so persistently that it would be hard to find an equally mistaken perspective in the entire history of music.” Schoenberg’s was erroneously attempting “to construct works of the same essence as that of those in the sound-universe he had just left behind,” a practice which “led to the decrepitude of the larger part of his serial oeuvre.” “It is time to neutralize the setback,” Boulez exclaims, and “grasp the serial domain as a whole.” Though Boulez may be among the strongest examples of modernist and rejectionist artists, this idea of rejecting historical forms is the true mark of an avantgarde artist. This is the modern legacy of the avant-garde music: the
desertion of artistic customs that had developed over generations, the constant need for radical innovation and separation from historical precedent. Composers such as Boulez chose to break entirely with conventional musical forms, writing pieces with purely abstract titles in which no note occurs more frequently than any other note. These pieces are hard to palate and harder still to learn to love, especially for those audiences that do not have an extensive background in
SAMMY SUSSMAN contemporary classical music. The same can be said of many of the avant-garde periods most famous plays, particularly Samuel Beckett’s famed “Waiting for Godot”; while the play has been frequently cited by playwrights and other theater buffs for its lack of plot and intriguing ambiguous meaning, few modern companies can sell tickets to productions of this work. Modern artists, however, are beginning to find new and intriguing means of responding to and shaping this rejectionist legacy. For many, this involves using the language of the preavant-garde styles in avant-garde forms and structures. For others, this involves using the language of the avant-garde in pre-avant-garde forms and structures. In both instances, however, the influences of the avant-garde and the preavant-garde are broken up and juxtaposed, sparking the formation of unprecedented yet familiar works. Modern playwrights are finding new ways of using nonlinear or other non-standard forms to depict classic subjects. Stephen Adly Guirgis’s “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot,” for example, used an undeniably avant-garde influenced plot structure to reference Biblical messages about the human condition. Though these messages were conveyed through the guise of a purgatorial trial, they were conveyed in the language of the decidedly pre-avant-garde. Modern composers are also finding new ways of using nonstandard formal structures as a means of reinterpreting Classical concepts and forms. Ted Hearne’s “The Law of Mosaics,” for example, uses humorous juxtapositions to
deconstruct standard pieces of the string orchestra repertoire. The result, Hearne explains, is a “law of mosaics” in which the meaning of the work is derived not through the standard idea of development but through the piecing together of different pieces “in the absence of the whole.” Modern opera also shares many of these tendencies, although the avant-garde period has had significantly less of an effect on the genre. John Adams’s many operas about recent historical events, for example, use standard operatic form and convention to interpret previously non-operatic thematic material. Jonathan Dawe’s “Cracked Orlando,” on the other hand, does the opposite — Grazio Braccioli’s libretto, used in Vivaldi’s opera, is fragmented using fractal geometry into a series of ideas between onstage and projected dancers and singers that interact throughout the work. Our modern idiom is best described as an idiom lacking a defining characteristic: an idiom derived entirely from fragmented ideas taken from other historical idioms. Unlike the avant-garde period, we are no longer obsessed with the creation of new forms or the rejection of old forms. We are obsessed, instead, with the deconstruction of old ideas into new forms. It is the nonlinear narrative, I believe, that will be the defining legacy of the 21st century. Just as the 20th century was the century of “rejection,” the 21st century will be the century of juxtaposition. Just as Boulez “ruined music,” so are today’s artists de-contextualizing and reinterpreting historical practices to the point that they cannot be recognized for what they were originally intended to do. Our century, furthermore, is defined by benefits of the internet and the many different types of music that we can all access. Music cannot be ruined because it can no longer be strictly defined. While Boulez and the avant-garde artists may have pushed the performing arts in a radical new direction, the internet has allowed us to experience both new and old art — the rejected and the radically new. We are experiencing a radical democratization of art: A period in which the artists and artistic work that we consume is defined almost entirely by our own taste, not that of an artistic program director or a museum curator. Boulez may have changed music but he did not “ruin” it. The same can be said of every artist that came before him, and the same will be said of every artist that comes after. He did redefine art, however, and we are still struggling to understand the full implications of the avant-garde movement he propagated.
MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW: ‘YOU OWE ME’
DISRUPTOR RECORDS
In a trend of music videos that have literally nothing to do with the song, The Chainsmokers’ video for “You Owe Me” starts off with two solid minutes of mundane housework. Singer Andrew Taggart vacuums, washes dishes and mops a spotless expanse of tile while staring blankly into the camera as Alex Pall, the other half of the duo, wipes a suspicious splotch of blood off of the stairs outside and irons a pair of pants. What’s the deal? Some greater commentary on how EDM-pop musicians are
normal people too? Pall sets down a footstool, then deftly uses it to right a crooked pic-
“You Owe Me” The Chainsmokers Disruptor Records ture. Taggart lights candles slowly and robotically, all the while gazing at the viewer with that same blank stare. A wide shot shows viewers that he’s standing behind a table filled with
already blazing candles — a séance? Some sort of weird Ouija ritual? The video’s bloody climax reveals that dinner guests are in fact the dinner. Funny. A bit overplayed, maybe. Kind of like a bloodier version of The Ready Set’s music video for “Love Like Woe” from 2010. We’ve gotten to the point where blood has almost lost its shock value, and although it makes for a relatively light hearted spin on what might otherwise be a drawn out, overdramatic piece about mopiness and vengeance, it isn’t exactly unique in the grand scheme of music videos. “You Owe Me” itself is smoother and slower paced than a lot of the duo’s pop hits, including the obnoxiously infamous “Closer.” Maybe this video heralds a new era for The Chainsmokers: less of that snappy four chord progression primed for radio release and more of something different. We’ll have to wait and see. - Sam Lu, Daily Arts Writer
Arts
6 — Thursday, February 22, 2018
FILM REVIEW
NETFLIX
‘Irreplaceable’ plays it safe takes charge of her grief by striving to find a new love for her fianceé, the Daily Arts Writer sheepish yet sweet Sam (Michiel Huisman, “Age of Adaline”), before There is a seemingly endless she passes. Though Abbie’s lifestream of movies that render changing condition presents new the complication and emotional challenges, it is the irrationality devastation that terminal illness illustrated which shows that the inflicts upon soulmate-level love “Irreplaceable love. From the shared by Sam and classic “Terms of Abbie is powerful You” Endearment” to enough to grant Netflix the teenage tragedy an immunity of “The Fault in Our sorts that prevents Stars,” moviegoers are eternally their relationship from ever truly transfixed by the storyline of love wavering. Despite the frustration persisting in the face of imminent that the unrealistic resiliency of death. In Stephanie Laing’s Netflix their relationship evokes, there is original “Irreplaceable You,” Abbie something strangely commendable (Gugu Mbatha-Raw, “Belle”), about the film’s ability to restrain a headstrong woman freshly from trying to do too much with diagnosed with stage four cancer, such minimal potential. SAMANTHA NELSON
This acceptance of its limitations aside, the film is still fundamentally flawed in its initial failure to invest viewers into Sam and Abbie’s relationship, a misstep that slows the already dry and uninspired plotline. The brief, commercial-like montage filled with slow motion flashbacks of Abbie and Sam as children and teenagers near the beginning of the film serves as a stab at providing background. However, attempting to sum up Abbie and Sam’s history within the span of a few unbearably cheesy minutes is ineffective, and unintentionally forms a gap between the characters and the audience. Instead of providing detail or substance about why Sam and Abbie fell in love or giving context for the backbone of their relationship, the montage is
BOOK NOTEBOOK
Book recommendations for your spring break bag MIRIAM FRANCISCO Daily Arts Writer
“In books I have traveled, not only to other worlds, but into my own.” - Anna Quindlen It’s the end of February, spring break is looming and all I want to do is get out of Michigan. Whenever I’m struck by a case of wanderlust, the cause and the cure are usually the same: books. So, in honor of spring break, here is a list of books that will both get you itching to travel and allow you to do so from the comfort of your own home. Accompanying each book is a song to listen to while reading — something that will set the mood for the specific type of adventure the author is describing. 1.“Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert / “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield The first time I read “Eat, Pray, Love” was on a family road trip to Maine. I was 13, so obviously a family vacation was the last thing I wanted to do. Like, Mom — I can’t believe you made me skip Sam Zipin’s bat mitzvah for this. In a huff, I ended up reading “Eat, Pray, Love” twice over the course of that trip. Liz became my guide on a journey I hadn’t even known I wanted to take. She’s not fearless — instead, she is unafraid of her own fear. Her descriptions of traveling alone make the adult world seem exciting rather than scary, which was exactly the kind of escapism I needed as a nervous middleschooler (and also the kind I need right now). Gilbert’s eloquent rendering of Italy is enough to make any snow-sorry Michigander sigh: “Just for a few months of one’s life, is it so awful to… nap in a garden, in a patch of sunlight, in the middle of the day, right next to your favorite fountain? And then to do it again the next day?” I dare you to read this book and not want to go on a year-long solo adventure of self-discovery (and also somehow to feel as though you already have). 2. “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho / “El Condor Pasa (If I Could)” by Simon & Garfunkel I’ll be honest: My inaugural experience with this book was in my eighth-grade English class, and I definitely Spark-noted some of it (sorry, Mrs. P). I reread it last year, and it’s so good. Coelho is a master storyteller. His tale takes the reader on a literal and metaphorical journey with Santiago, the young Andalusian
shepherd who is searching for meaning in the fantastical, miragefilled Egyptian desert. Coelho’s language is awe-inspiring and almost spiritual: “We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.” It’s hard to finish this book without feeling like you carry with you a new trove of secrets about the nature of the universe. 3. “On the Road” by Jack Kerouac / “Tangled Up in Blue” by Bob Dylan I know this is cliché. I know, I know. Still, it’s hard to deny how beautifully ambitious, heady and breathlessly raucous “On the Road” is. Kerouac clearly articulates a youthful, bohemian longing for freedom: “There was nowhere to go but everywhere, so just keep on rolling under the stars. Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road.” Kerouac is particularly popular among angsty college students, and I get why — he’s kind of a hipster, and so are his characters. The endless cigarettes, the messy hair, the moody nights spent drinking black coffee and writing poetry — can’t you imagine Timothée Chalamet playing Sal Paradise? There’s also something bittersweet about reading “On the Road” in 2018: Kerouac’s beatnik America is a place we cannot travel to outside of books and poetry. We’re lucky, then, that Kerouac is such a skilled tour guide, a fanatic host who, like us, is “desirous of everything at the same time.” 4. “In a Sunburned Country” by Bill Bryson / “Down Under” by Men at Work I came away from this travelogue with two things. The first is that I want Bill Bryson to narrate my life. The second is that Australia seems like the most incredible, strange and beautiful place on Earth. Australia, Bryson says, “is at once staggeringly empty and yet packed with stuff. Interesting stuff, ancient stuff, stuff not readily explained. Stuff yet to be found.” It is so delightful to hear Bryson discuss all this stuff! Like Agatha Christie’s classic “Murder on the Orient Express,” a large part of the narrative of “In a Sunburned Country” takes place on a cross-continental
train trip. Rather than murder, however, this trip is dominated by Bryson’s boundless curiosity and his extensive, detailed recollections of his own bumbling American ways. Bryson is uniquely talented at injecting humor into nearly every meandering tangent and anecdote about Australian history, and the experience of reading is one of complete immersion into a richly textured and singularly bizarre country.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
feebly unoriginal and monotonous, framing Sam and Abbie as simply “meant to be.” Posing their love as so eternally perfect consequentially makes it near impossible for viewers to interpret the relationship as genuine or believable. This bare-bones and over-idealized initial portrayal of Sam and Abbie establishes a onedimensional foundation and causes the first half of the movie to fall flat. Despite its rough start, the film progressively gains more momentum and finds moderate success in reviving audiences through the tension that emerges as a result of Abbie’s search for her own replacement. Though somewhat morbid and undeniably odd, the tension that Abbie’s efforts breed between her and Sam breaths a bit more life into the storyline, creating friction and directing the relationship away
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triumph is not this film’s intention. There is no insight offered and no profound message mulled over when the screen goes dark. However, despite its general lack of oomph, there is something commendable about the film’s ability to understand itself. This self-awareness comes from a clear comprehension of the audience, who for the most part is not looking to be blown away with emotion but rather just wants mild entertainment, a tinge of sorrow and a familiar narrative. Viewers get exactly what they expect with “Irreplaceable You.” Deficient of pomp, fluff and overdramatization, this film does not push too hard or dig too deep. It accepts the limitations of its plotline, conceals nothing from the audience and spares itself the embarrassment of striving to be more than it is.
ALBUM REVIEW
‘In a Poem Unlimited’ is as cathartic as it is groovy SELENA AGUILERA Daily Arts Writer
In a Poem Unlimited is musician Meghan Remy’s (a.k.a U.S. Girls) eighth studio album since she started exploring the depths of the pop genre with the release of Introduction in 2008. At first listen, U.S. Girls’s In a Poem Unlimited is a groovy experimental pop record with horn-laced tracks and whammy guitar hits that move through the decades. It’s a record of emotional exploration jumping across the base of free psychedelic rock to peaks of rigid electronic pop all in 37 minutes. Despite its varied sound, In a Poem Unlimited contains three constants: Remy’s disco-era, flower petal voice, the theme of domestic abuse and her emotional reactions to the state of the world in her lyrics. While the entertaining instrumental diversity makes it hard to pick up the emotionally exhausting content at first, the second listen slams into you with each note and every carried out synth. Remy begins the record showcasing her talent to hit a nostalgic ’70s groove tune with the clean and precise sounds of modern production using combinations of
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from its preliminary artificiality. Perhaps even more responsible for the recovery of the later portion of the film is the introduction of a new relationship: an oddball friendship between Abbie and Myron (Christopher Walken, “Seven Psychopaths”) — a fatherlike, sardonic old man from Abbie’s cancer support group. The bond formed between these two unlikely friends over their illnesses adds a sprinkle of spunk and light humor that spices up the narrative. Myron and Abbie both maintain exceptionally “so-be-it” attitudes about their impending fates, not wasting time dwelling on the inevitable and instead exchanging pithy banter and enjoying each other’s company. The overall weakness of its story does not exactly set “Irreplaceable You” up to triumph. Ironically, this works out quite well because
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light drum taps and dragging synth notes in “Velvet 4 Sale.” Its light sounding nature is contradicted in Remy’s vengeful lyrics. She sings, “But don’t forget the revenge / Act like you got some velvet for sale / Then, you destroy their hope for deliverance / Don’t offer no reason / Instill in them the fear that comes with being prey,” offering a piece
parallels the smooth and forwardmoving sound of her voice. But, Remy doesn’t allow her listeners to get comfortable with her style as she moves in an entirely different direction and circles back into a place of rigid trauma in “Incidental Boogie.” Remy sings “Life made no sense without a beating, you see? / And life was just too quiet / Without no one screaming at me,” turning over ear-aching synths and robotic voices expressing the bottom level of acceptance with abuse. Her troubled vocals move through this disturbing numbness throughout the entire record until she interrupts with “Poem.” Remy moves through the soft electric sounds of “Poem” and ends with the lyrics, “What are we gonna do to change?” and begins a journey of recovery in her final song “Time.” She sings, “When there is nothing there is still time,” over a fast and groovy pop sound giving herself and listeners a place to step out of the muddy past. Each song on In a Poem Unlimited is carefully crafted to stand on its own, but listening to it in the context of its whole cultivates a cathartic experience of heavy reconciliation and recovery from domestic abuse laid over a deep exploration of all things pop.
In a Poem Unlimited U.S. Girls 4AD of advice to others who may have been taken advantage of or abused in a similar way to how she was that’s revealed in the later songs of the record. This disco pop tone of the record flows through the first few songs and grows into a more calm and easy flowing beat with hints of violin and light ’90s nightclub pop notes. It sounds smooth and free, even with its noticeably repetitive nature and leaves us in a place of relief with “Rosebud.” Remy sings “Who holds the key is what you need to know / you and you alone,” giving listeners a note of hope as she displays a moment of self-saving from the turmoil she’s endured that
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RELEASE DATE– Friday, January 5, 2018
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
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Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
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37 One who doesn’t pick up much 39 __ Gay 40 “The Complete Short Game” author 43 Fettuccine sauce 45 Bar attraction 47 Ministry 49 Bed with enclosed sides 50 Absurd 51 Annoys
52 Celebrated seasons 53 Pipe cleaner 54 Chemise fabric 58 Salon assortment 59 Site for handicrafts 62 “Reflection” musician 63 Issuer of five million-plus IDs annually
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Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Thursday, February 22, 2018 — 7
Notebook: Disciplined defense fuels Wolverines in recent surge JACOB SHAMES Daily Sports Writer
During the last weekend of January, the Michigan hockey team suffered two straight defeats to Ohio State. There are much worse things than going on the road and being swept by the sixth-ranked team in the country. But Wolverines coach Mel Pearson saw it slightly differently. “At Ohio State we beat ourselves,” Pearson said Tuesday. “They’re a good team, I give them credit, they’ve got good players but we beat ourselves down there. … Giving (the puck) away too much and then being caught out of position defensively.” Over Michigan’s last six games, however, the exact opposite has occurred. Since Feb. 2, the Wolverines have given up exactly two goals per game, a display that Pearson attributes to “a little bit of everything.” Last weekend’s series against then-No. 1 Notre Dame perhaps best encapsulates this. Michigan allowed two power-play goals on Friday and nothing else. Both contests seemed to follow a similar script — the Wolverines came out on fire, controlling the puck in the Fighting Irish zone, and then calmly settled back in front of their own net after gaining the lead, absorbing Notre Dame’s desperate attacking efforts with disciplined team defense. “I think we’re managing the puck better — by that, I mean we’re controlling it in the offensive zone, we’re playing with it more,” Pearson said. “In our defensive zone we’re doing a much better job of our defensive zone system, and that’s allowed us not to give up as many grade-A chances. It’s just better overall team defense which starts in net and it starts with our play with the puck. We’re managing, holding on to it and possessing it
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Michigan coach Mel Pearson believes that his team is controlling the puck in the offense zone better than it has in the past.
more.” The mistakes Michigan made against the Buckeyes never reared their ugly heads against the Fighting Irish, signaling the latest step in the full implementation of Pearson’s overall offensive and defensive system. “We’re not beating ourselves,” Pearson said. “Our risk-reward — we’re picking our spots when to get on the offensive side of the puck. Before we were just selling out offensively with turnovers and we’d get trapped. I don’t think Notre Dame — I don’t know if they had any two-on-ones — we’re giving up a limited number of odd number rushes.” Added junior defenseman Joseph Cecconi: “We always preach playing the right side of the puck, playing the defensive
side because that creates offense. If you’re playing good defense, you’re probably playing good offense.” New Big Ten Tournament format Michigan’s win in South Bend on Friday, coupled with Michigan State defeating Penn State, would have been just another night in the Big Ten — albeit a very significant one — if it had taken place a year ago. Instead, Friday’s results locked the Wolverines into hosting the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Unlike the format from previous seasons, which took place over a single weekend at a neutral location, this year’s conference tournament is a three-week event that will take place at campus sites. “Yost Ice Arena — when it
gets rocking it’s a home ice advantage. This Sunday proved that,” Pearson said. “We’re a better team at home. It’s going to be tough wherever you play, but it’s really important that you get home ice and you get that crowd behind you. It’s like you start at one-nothing.” For Pearson, nothing’s changed. Last season, he coached Michigan Tech to a victory in the WCHA Tournament, which followed almost the exact same format. “I thought it was outstanding,” Pearson said. “... The crowds were great and I remember Bowling Green in the last game saying they couldn’t believe it — soldout building, great atmosphere for both teams, and that’s what you’re trying to get instead of playing in a 15, 16 thousand seat
building where you get three thousand people. We’re trying to create that atmosphere in the Big Ten and I think it’s a great move.” There are a few changes to the system that Pearson would like to see. While the first round is a best-of-three series, the semifinal and final rounds are both single games. In the seven-team tournament, the top seed — Notre Dame — has a bye for the first round, meaning that if it lost its semifinal game, it would enter the NCAA Tournament having played only once in nearly a month — a disadvantageous situation that Pearson would like to guard against. “I’ll put my two cents in this year,” Pearson said. “I think it will be this spring in April when we have the Big Ten hockey
meetings. It’ll come up again, I’m going to bring it up and then (Notre Dame coach Jeff ) Jackson will bring it up.” A deceptive test The Wolverines came into last weekend with an all-or-nothing mentality. Failing to earn points of any kind against the Fighting Irish would have been a serious, while not fatal, blow to their hopes at securing an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. Instead, Michigan shot up to No. 11 in the Pairwise rankings, and according to College Hockey News, it possesses a 95 percent chance of qualifying for the postseason. The Wolverines are safely in the field — for now. This weekend’s regular-season finale against Arizona State is by no means challenging, per se. The Sun Devils, in just their third season as a fully-fledged Division I team, rank 55th out of 60 teams in Pairwise. But at this time of year, opponents such as Arizona State can be even scarier than teams like Notre Dame. For all that was gained last weekend, Michigan falling on its face against the Sun Devils — the weakest team on its schedule — would take that all away, and then some. “Last weekend was huge for us, winning against Notre Dame, but if we can’t keep focused this weekend it’s all for nothing,” said sophomore forward Adam Winborg. “We have to come out and play our best hockey again.” Of course, Arizona State is No. 55 in Pairwise for a reason. Losing even one of the next two games is far from likely. But don’t tell the Wolverines that. “We have to treat Arizona State like a No. 1 team,” Cecconi said. “If we don’t beat them twice that’s going to hurt us big time in the Pairwise. We have to prepare basically just like any other game, any other Big Ten game. It might be these two games are the most important for our season.”
Grounds crew makes impact for ‘M’ Senior night provides one last chance ROHAN KUMAR Daily Sports Writer
PRASHANTH PANICKER/Daily
The Michigan men’s lacrosse team got help from an unexpected source after a winter storm.
TEDDY GUTKIN Daily Sports Writer
After every game, Michigan men’s lacrosse coach Kevin Conry gives “The Hammer” to the player who he deems made the most impact. But after the Wolverines’ win against Cleveland State on February 10, the honor was given to Josh Fryd — the head of the grounds crew. “We wouldn’t have had this game if it wasn’t for the unbelievable facility department,” Conry said. “(Junior attacker Brent) Noseworthy may have scored five goals, but those guys were the real MVPs.” The grounds crew, who spent 48 hours plowing the field at U-M Lacrosse Stadium after Ann Arbor was hit with a terrible snowstorm, worked from five in the morning to seven at night. Initially, the 10-day forecast didn’t look to project anything too serious, but Fryd soon learned the hard way that Michigan’s weather is anything but predictable. “I’m learning here in Southeast Michigan that the
forecast can change in an instant,” he laughed. Around seven in the morning, the team believed that the field was finally prepared, but the snow continued to fall from the cloudy skies above and didn’t let up for the rest of the day. “They came out for warmups, and it kept snowing, so we had to start handshoveling lines,” grounds crew plow driver Tony Pell said. “We plowed out as much as we could with the time we had left. It was challenging, but we had a bunch of people. Teamwork helped, and we got the job done.” Pell, who has worked with the grounds crew for 15 years, is a valued member of the team, and his position helped to offer him a luxury that some of his fellow colleagues didn’t have access to — a plow that was both heated and allowed him to listen to music. “We’re lucky that the vehicles we have are heated,” Pell joked. Pell, who heard about the praise given to them by Conry after the game, was ecstatic. Fryd received a shoutout in the locker room from
Conry after the win and even received the honor of “The Hammer.” Fryd appreciated the honor, but still acknowledged that the effort would not have been possible without the incredible work and determination of his team. “The team that I am lucky enough to be a part of, to have on staff, the guys, they are amazing,” Fryd said. “I think I have some of the best guys in the country.” Fryd feels that his unit is an incredibly tight-knit one, forming a unit that bonds over much more than their passion for working the fields. “We’re a family,” Fryd said. “We probably spend more time together than we do with our own families.” While they may not be playing on the field in front of the Wolverine faithful, the Michigan grounds crew is just as integral as any player who dons the maize and blue on gameday. Their uncanny ability to prepare the fields even in the face of a snowstorm is an effort that deserves to be noticed and celebrated. “That makes it all worth it,” he said.
Crisler Center is having senior night Thursday, as the Michigan women’s basketball team (9-6 Big Ten, 20-8 overall) takes on No. 13 Maryland (11-3, 22-5). It will be the last home game for senior guard Katelynn Flaherty and senior forward Jillian Dunston. The matchup is best described by rapper Eminem’s Academy Awardwinning song “Lose Yourself.” Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity To seize everything you ever wanted, in one moment Would you capture it or just let it slip? Yo! This is the Wolverines’ last chance to end the regular season on a positive note. They excelled at the start of the year and even reached No. 13 in the national rankings. Michigan looked destined to make the NCAA Tournament early on. The team found multiple successes — including a road victory over then-No. 8 Ohio State — and was projected by ESPN to be a four seed in the Tournament in late January. But things have taken a change of course since then. Michigan has lost four out of its last five contests, falling to Purdue, Rutgers, Michigan State and Minnesota — all opponents the Wolverines were expected to defeat. Because of yet another end-ofseason collapse, the Wolverines find themselves on the bubble, and the game against the Terrapins is their last shot during the regular season to secure a spot. Snap back to reality, oh, there goes gravity The way things are going, Michigan could very well be disappointed come post season. If the Wolverines fail to make the NCAA Tournament it would indeed be a snap back to reality — the reality being that coach Kim Barnes Arico’s squad hasn’t qualified for the tournament since 2013. He’s nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready It makes sense for Michigan to be nervous. The offense has been unsteady during this rough stretch. Turnovers have been a problem all
season, due to sloppy passes. In the upsets against the Scarlet Knights and the Spartans, the Wolverines committed 26 and 23 turnovers, respectively. And while Michigan had 16 turnovers in the recent loss against the Golden Gophers — less than the season average of 16.5 — they still came at the wrong time to the team’s detriment. Last season, Maryland won the Big Ten Tournament, reached the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament and finished with a 32-3 record. Though guards Kaila Charles and Kristen Confroy are their only returning starters, the Terrapins have continued to thrive this year. “Maryland is a tremendous team,” Barnes Arico told WTKA. Maryland is tied with the Buckeyes for first in the conference. The Terrapins have the highest scoring margin in the conference and are led by Charles, who averages 17.8 points. “(She’s) just a great scorer around the rim,” Barnes Arico said. “Can face up, can play with her back to the basket.” Sophomore guard Blair Watson and junior forward Eleanna Christinaki are also major contributors who average 13.8 and 13.5 points, respectively. Christinaki — who is from Athens, Greece — transferred from Florida. She became eligible to compete midway through December. “She’s just a shooter, shooter, shooter, shooter, shooter,” Barnes Arico said.
Freshman forward Hailey Brown sustained a leg injury in the loss to Michigan State and has been out ever since. She has been a starter all season, so her absence could cause the Wolverines to be even more nervous. “We don’t think we’re probably gonna get her back this season, which is tough,” Barnes Arico said. “I mean, she’s a freshman for us that has had an outstanding, outstanding year. Was really kinda coming into her own here late in the season, playing with a lot of confidence. “Nothing is torn, so really positive, positive news, but with the end of the season, in the next month — month and a half — she’s probably not gonna be able to return. So that’s tough.” But the Terrapins have struggled recently too. Having lost to Purdue and Minnesota, they are now on a two-game losing streak. In a sense, Michigan is trying to keep calm and ready because of this, and wants to capitalize. “They’re a team that’s kinda on a tough stretch right now too,” Barnes Arico said. “They’re beatable, and I think that’s what’s exciting, coming into this game.” Maryland appears to have the upper hand, but the game is still critical for the Wolverines. Flaherty and Dunston have never been to the NCAA Tournament, so it will be interesting to see if they can make the most out of senior night by securing a spot. Because after all, this opportunity comes once in a lifetime, yo.
RUCHITA IYER/Daily
Michigan has a big chance to bolster its NCAA Tournament resume.
Sports
8 — Thursday, February 22, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan fends off early second-half run, takes down Penn State, 72-63 MAX MARCOVITCH Daily Sports Editor
Jordan Poole cocked his arm back and the Bryce Jordan Center crowd gasped. The freshman guard finished the fastbreak dunk with a flush, putting Penn State forward Julian Moore on a poster and sending the Michigan men’s basketball team well on its way to a statement win, as the 17th-ranked Wolverines (12-5 Big Ten, 23-7 overall) took down a resurgent Penn State, 72-63 Wednesday night. And just for a little effect, the always-affable Poole turned and mean-mugged the camera. It was the look of a freshman guard who was more than happy to ruin Senior Night in State College. “I definitely knew the camera was right there,” Poole joked after the game. Once again Poole lifted Michigan with a much-needed offensive spark, finishing with 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting. Once again, the Wolverines’ defense carried them to a big win. And once again, Michigan showed signs of peaking as the Big Ten and NCAA Tournament approach. “I think (Poole is) heading in the right direction, that’s for sure, of what winning basketball really looks like,” Beilein said. “Part of that is really making simple plays. … He’s sort of learning what to do at the right times. But he’s got so much swag to him, we can teach the other stuff. He’s got so much confidence, we can teach the other stuff. We can’t teach his DNA right now.” It wasn’t always as smooth as the charismatic freshman made it seem, though, especially offensively. Michigan turned the ball over five times in its first eight possessions, but kept the Nittany Lions (9-8, 19-11) largely in check on the other end thanks to strong post defense. Penn State seemed content letting redshirt sophomore wing Charles
RUCHITA IYER/Daily
Freshman guard Jordan Poole provided a spark off the bench once again, finishing with 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting with a couple highlight plays.
Matthews, who finished the game with zero points and three turnovers, attack off the dribble. That plan was effective early on, prompting Beilein to turn to freshman guard Jordan Poole and fifth-year senior forward Duncan Robinson to spark the offense. Both responded emphatically. First, Robinson dotted a 3-pointer in the face of his defender. Then he cut on the baseline, catching a laser pass and laying it in. Two possessions later, he pump-faked his defender and pulled up for a smooth, midrange jumper.
Robinson paced the Wolverines in the half, scoring 12 points of his team-high 19 points in the frame. Poole added a 3-pointer and a lay-in to his highlight reel dunk for eight points of his own in the first half. But the Nittany Lions wouldn’t go down without a fight. They started the second half with a jumper from star guard Tony Carr, a 3-pointer from forward Lamar Stevens and another three from Carr. The barrage continued, with 10 unanswered points in total to grad a 41-38 lead.
“I think (Poole is) heading in the right direction ...”
Carr, in particular, grabbed the reigns of the previously sputtering Penn State offense and did his part to rejuvenate it. The Big Ten scoring leader finished with 21 points on 18 shots, but ultimately couldn’t get enough support to turn the tide for good. “We just knew what he was capable of doing. He’s a great point guard in the Big Ten,” said sophomore point guard Zavier Simpson, the man tasked with guarding Carr for the majority of Wednesday’s game. “He’s putting up great numbers and leading his team to victories. So me being the starting point guard for my team, I just wanted to come in with a defensive mindset to make it contagious. He hit some good shots, but I think, overall, we played some pretty good defense.”
From 18:36 to 13:38 of the second half, Michigan failed to score, offering grim flashbacks to road comeback losses at Northwestern and Ohio State, prompting Beilein to call timeout. “We seemed like we were tired and didn’t want to play with the same conviction we did in the first half,” Beilein said. “I can’t tell you the timeout worked, but in the last 12 minutes we played with a lot of conviction.” With Michigan’s back against the walls, suddenly trailing on the road and in need of a basket, junior center Moritz Wagner answered the call. With
the shot clock winding down, Wagner nailed a corner three, tying the game back up. He followed that up with another crowd-silencing three two possessions later, wrestling the lead back to the Wolverines. “Those two buckets were definitely huge,” Poole said. “Obviously we couldn’t get shots to fall. Obviously, the momentum was swinging their way. But he’s a big-time player — he’s been here making big-time shots this year and last year. Wagner finished with 18 points and 8 rebounds. The teams traded haymakers as the game headed towards its dawn — a Reaves three, an Abdur-Rahkman answer. A Poole three, a Carr jumper. It was Robinson who would throw the knockout punch, blocking two key shots at the rim and nailing a transition 3-pointer to extend the lead to nine with just 1:28 left. “I just feel a little bit more engaged when I step on the floor,” Robinson said. “These are the final minutes and games of my college career. I’m trying to make it all count.” In the end, with the defense doing its part to hold Penn State in check, Michigan held its slim lead for the final 12:04 of the game. And yet, with a 12th conference win in tow and just a game left in the regular season, Bryce Jordan Center wasn’t the place for macroscopic reflection on the season. That time will come. This is a team continuing to improve at the time of year that is paramount. “The expectation is we’re going to keep getting better,” Beilein said. “If that’s our rule of thumb, we are getting better.”
“The expectation is we’re going to keep getting better.”
Wagner finds Michigan’s answer MIKE PERSAK
Managing Sports Editor
Early in the second half, the “Wagner” chants returned. It was reminiscent of Michigan’s January trip to Nebraska. The Wolverines lost by 20 in Lincoln, and Wagner — opposing crowds’ favorite guy to heckle — struggled mightily. Back then, the junior forward had no comeback for the taunts. He was frustrated by the Cornhuskers all night, and at the end of the contest, he sat quietly on the bench as the crowd chanted his name. Nebraska trounced Michigan. Wednesday, the Wolverines were in danger of something similar. But this time, Wagner had an answer. It was after he had been blocked on a layup attempt by Penn State’s Lamar Stevens, leading to an and-one to put the Nittany Lions on top. Michigan’s eight-point halftime lead had evaporated. Two minutes later, Stevens threw down an alley-oop to increase the lead to three, and the Bryce Jordan Center broke out the Wagner chants. The Wolverines looked helpless on offense. Michigan coach John Beilein admitted he was frustrated with that side of the ball at the time. The next possession didn’t look much better. The shot clock was trickling down, and the Wolverines still couldn’t find their flow. Senior guard Muhammad-Ali AbdurRahkman probed into the lane and kicked it out to Wagner with five on the clock. The junior rose up from the right corner and tied the game with a three. With just over 12 minutes to go, Wagner did it again off a pickand-pop to give Michigan its lead back. The Wolverines never trailed again, winning 72-63. “During that situation, we just look to try to get a good shot,” said sophomore guard Zavier Simpson. “Moe had big enough balls to take them, so we appreciate him. He made them, and we’re glad for that. It kind of settled us down and made us
enjoy the situation of us being up. We took advantage of it. So we were proud of that, and a big shoutout to Moe for knocking those shots down.” Added Beilein: “(We had) very poor direction at that time. … Usually in the second half, I can help them with that. ... He got open, luckily, and he made them both, and now, all of the sudden, it’s a one-point game, and now we’re back playing.” It was that kind of shooting that sealed the game for Michigan. Wagner finished the game 4-for-5 from deep with 18 points. Fifth-year senior forward Duncan Robinson went 3-for-6 from beyond the arc and finished with 19 points. Both hit clutch shots when the Wolverines needed them. Beilein complimented how they “don’t have a conscience.” That’s especially important for Wagner. He knows he draws the ire of opposing crowds wherever he goes, and Michigan struggled on the road early in the season. Wagner somewhat relishes the villain role though, as he’s shooting 46% from three
in opposing arenas. It’s a phenomenon he can’t really explain, just like he can’t explain why he’s the center of road crowds’ attention. “For some reason they hate me everywhere, but I just play honestly,” Wagner said. “I don’t think about that type of stuff. Last year, I remember people asking me why my shooting numbers were so low on the road. Now it’s the other way around. If you know me, I don’t look like I’m not enjoying this out there. I definitely have fun, and it’s cool.” It’s a unique perspective for sure. It would be easy to crumble under the pressure knowing that 13,000 people are dying to see you get your shot blocked or turn the ball over. They’d revel in any frustration at all. They loved it in Lincoln. It was the sideshow to the game, as the student section pestered Wagner into submission. But despite the same chant raining down on the court and the other team threatening a similar run to put the Wolverines away, there was one, key difference. Wagner had an answer.
“For some reason they hate me everywhere ...”
RUCHITA IYER/Daily
Moritz Wagner hit several big shots against Penn State on Wednesday.