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Tuesday, September 11, 2018

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COMMUNITY AFFAIRS

Community challenges benefits of new turbine University says natural gas addition will reduce greenhouse gas emissions MAEVE O’BRIEN Daily Staff Reporter

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Author Leif Wenar introduces his new book, “Blood Oil,” at the Donia Human Rights Center Distinguished Lecture in Weiser Hall Monday afternoon.

Law professor talks relationship between fossil fuels and militarism Leif Wenar addresses crowd at Donia Human Rights Center Distinguished Lecture KATHERINA SOURINE Daily Staff Reporter

More than 70 students and faculty members gathered Monday night in Weiser Hall to hear Leif Wenar’s lecture titled “Blood Oil: Tyrants, Violence, and the Rules that Run the World.” The lecture, based on Wenar’s book, explored the

history of conf lict in nations that carry rich oil deposits and the “blood oil curse” — an idea that mandates if a country is present at the time of oil discovery and mining, it will be involved in political and economic decisions involving the resource. Wenar is the chair of Philosophy and Law at King’s College London School of Law, in addition to working

GOVERNMENT

Whitmer, Dingell talk ‘U’ turnout in midterm

abundant natural resources while also suffering from issues of widespread poverty, hunger, lack of human rights, armed conf lict and refugees. “Our governments have engaged in unjust actions for the sake of oil, all over the world, for many years, especially in the Middle East,” Wenar said. “The oil curse is behind the news we see all the time.” See FOSSIL, Page 3

One week later, students still have Bird Rides mixed feelings about “Tower Time” appear in ANN ARBOR

Supporters of Michigan Time attempt to organize protest of shift in class schedules CATHERINE NOUHAN Daily Staff Reporter

College Democrats plan event to increase voter participation in November LEAH GRAHAM Daily Staff Reporter

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gretchen Whitmer and running mate Garlin Gilchrist spoke to more than 120 students Monday night at Lorch Hall during a special meeting of the University of Michigan’s chapter of College Democrats. Several local elected officials including U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., and state Rep. Adam Zemke, D-Ann Arbor, were in attendance as Whitmer and Gilchrist discussed issues ranging from infrastructure and clean drinking water to student voter turnout and the so-called “blue wave” — an anticipated influx of liberal candidates to elected office in November. “To have a good life, you gotta be able to get into a good job, which means a solid education and skills, but also, you gotta be able to get there, whether it is through public transit or through affordable car insurance or through roads that will get you there safely,” Whitmer said. “...Regional transit is critical to us making this a state where not just businesses but where we have a good quality of life.”

as a visiting professor at Stanford University, Princeton University and the Australian National University. Wenar began his lecture by outlining the current state of global affairs, tracing both national security threats and human rights abuses from war to failed states with rich oil deposits. He explained the paradox that arises when considering these states hold

Last semester, University of Michigan officials put an end to the campus tradition of Michigan Time. Upon hearing the initial announcement, students and faculty voiced their concerns but now, with a new class of freshmen entering campus on the newly designed Tower Time, the push to reinstate Michigan Time is much less prevalent but still present. Michigan Time allowed a

ten-minute grace period for students arriving to class. Classes would start ten minutes late and end at their listed times. Under

to class, while others are just waiting for the grumbling to end. Engineering senior Sam Morris has been one of the students leading the fight against Tower Time on the Facebook page, “Umich Memes For Wolverteens.” He said he has not seen many students in favor of the new system. “I have not found one person saying that they enjoy Tower Time,” Morris said. “The popular Facebook meme page ‘Umich Memes for Wolverteens’ is full of disheartened students making cathartic memes about the death of Michigan Time. A lot of them get between 500 the and 1,000 likes, ROSEANNE CHAO/Daily new Tower Time, so it’s easy to classes start at the time they see that the pulse of campus are listed and students are is pretty much on the same excused ten minutes before page.” their listed end time. Morris started an event Many ardent supporters for Monday, Sept. 10, in an of Michigan Time have been attempt to have all students bombarding Facebook pages arrive to class 10 minutes past with Tower Time memes the hour. Morris claims he did to express their disdain for it partly as a joke, however, arriving 10 minutes earlier only 100 of the 15,000 group

See WHITMER, Page 3

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With a new natural gas turbine in the works at the University of Michigan, environmentalists have expressed concerns over the University’s continued investment in fossil fuelbased energy. The Board of Regents approved an $80 million expansion to the Central Power Plant in March 2017, which serves as the main source of heat and energy for the Central and Medical Campus buildings. The project includes the addition of a natural gas turbine to the plant, which the University says will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80,000 metric tons a year. According to the University press release last year, the installation would help get the University halfway to its

2025 goal of reducing campus emissions by 25 percent. “Our targeted greenhouse gas emissions reduction is an ambitious goal and this project marks a significant step in the right direction as well as providing a sound financial projection for the university,” Kevin Hegarty, chief financial officer, said. While no construction has begun, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality greenlit the project over the summer by granting the University an air permit for the natural gas turbine. The permit was granted after a required public hearing in August. LSA junior Timothy Arvan attended the hearing, along with a handful of faculty and community members, though he recalled no more than 15 people present. Arvan learned of the natural gas turbine over the summer while interning at the Ecology Center, a nonSee TURBINE, Page 2

members said they would be attending. Not all students are as frustrated with the end of Michigan Time. LSA junior Emily Furstenberg said she was initially surprised about the switch, but said it does not really affect her daily schedule. “I’m usually a person who gets to class early anyways, so Tower Time hasn’t affected me much,” Furstenberg said. “Most people I’ve talked to have already gotten used to Tower Time and only complain about it for 8 a.m. classes, which I get.” When the end of Michigan Time was first announced, students worried about whether professors would honor the 10-minute early dismissal, or just keep lecturing. Engineering sophomore Jeff Yin said the only reason professors are ending on the scheduled time is because students start packing up their books. “The only reason most of them let people out 10 minutes early is because people just start packing up, which makes noise,” Yin said. “If people don’t do that, professors just keep on going.” Yin also expressed frustration when Tower Time was first announced. “I was annoyed, shocked and sad I suppose,” Yin said. “I had only transferred to Michigan winter of 2017 as a See TOWER, Page 3

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Ann Arbor, City balks Students take to electric scooters despite threats of citations from City ANDREW HIYAMA Daily News Editor

Bird Rides are familiar to residents of places like California –– and more recently, Detroit –– but the motorized scooters made their debut for anyone with a smartphone in Ann Arbor on Friday. The company says it “works closely with the cities in which it operates,” but it has a reputation for leaving “nests” of its scooters available to users of its app in cities, often without notifying city officials. Though the company communicated with city officials in Detroit ahead of the scooters’ installation there in early August, the city of Ann Arbor appeared to have been caught off guard. On Friday, the city sent an email to residents warning them that usage of the scooters could merit a ticket. “It came to the city of Ann Arbor’s attention today, Sept. 7, that a vendor, Bird Rides, Inc., has deposited motorized scooters around the City for short-term use by City residents,” the email read. “Residents should be See BIRD, Page 3

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News

2 — Tuesday, September 11, 2018

TUESDAY: By Design

MONDAY: Looking at the Numbers

WEDNESDAY: This Week in History

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THURSDAY: Twitter Talk

FRIDAY: Behind the Story

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TURBINE From Page 1 profit environmental organization based in Ann Arbor. The group was notified earlier in the summer that the University had submitted a request for an air permit, and began to raise questions over why the University was making such a long-term investment into fossil fuelbased energy. To voice the Ecology Center’s concerns, Arvan penned a public comment to MDEQ on the organization’s behalf highlighting the shortcomings of the University’s proposal and asking the department to “suspend its assessment of the Permit to Install in question.” Arvan’s letter discussed the lack of transparency in the Board of Regents’ decision-making process, the project’s commitment to fossil fuels over renewable energy and the lack of the University’s environmental leadership compared to its peer institutions. “The problem here is that they haven’t looked at relative alternatives,” Arvan said. “So what could they do instead of spending $80 million on a natural gas turbine? Could they have explored renewable energy? Could they have explored various alternatives that could’ve been better for the environment and maybe even economically?” Given that MDEQ has no regulatory power over the University and is compelled to grant the air permit if the University meets predetermined criteria for natural gas turbines, Arvan saidLoading the purpose of the public “Sudoku Syndication” comment was to express the

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of money,” Arvan said. “It’s clearly a big decision and it seems like the university did a lot of the decision-making in private without consulting anybody in the community.” The central concern Arvan and the Ecology Center have with the natural gas turbine is that it commits the University to rely on natural gas for decades. Meanwhile, in a fast-evolving market for renewable energy, more sustainable options could become more affordable over the course of that time. “Renewables are becoming more and more and more effective,” Arvan said. “This plant HARD is basically going to have a lifetime of 20 years or longer, so what this project is is it forces the university to commit to natural gas for a really long time. In that time, we don’t really know the extent to which renewables might become even more competitive than natural gas.” LSA Earth and Environmental Sciences Professor Adam Simon is “not absolutely convinced” that the upgrade is the smartest decision for UM. He agrees with Arvan that the turbine commits the university to natural gas for too long, but pointed out that there © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. isn’t a consensus within puzzle by sudokusyndication.com the environmental

Ecology Center’s concerns and make the issue known publicly. Arvan is concerned by the air permit hearing being held over the summer when the bulk of the student body was out of town. “I think it’s by design that this thing kind of f lew under the radar,” Arvan said. Given the $80 million cost of the project, Arvan insists transparency is key. “One of our concerns is just that this is a huge magnitude

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community about whether natural gas is more sustainable than coal. “While it is true that at the point of combustion, natural gas emits less greenhouse gases than does coal, that is only when emissions are counted at the point of combustion,” Simon wrote. “During mining and transport of natural gas, we know that fugitive leaks of natural gas occur where natural gas leaks to1/29/09 the atmosphere.” 1:41 PM Simon said that the university does not count potential fugitive emissions of natural gas, which is standard practice. And while natural gas is cheap at the moment, Simon said its price is volatile, and could become economically unsustainable. University officials stand behind the environmental sustainability of the Central Power Plant expansion, touting its improvement over current energy generation. “The new 15-megawatt combustion turbine to be added to the power plant will reduce the university’s overall greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 80,000 metric tons per year,” University spokeswoman Kim Broekhuizen wrote in an email to The Daily. “That is the equivalent of removing more than 17,000 passenger vehicles from the road annually.” Broekhuizen said the

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The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University OF Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for September-April are $250 and year long subscriptions are $275. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid.

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T H E R A PAW S

WHITMER From Page 1

Hawkeye the Alaskan Malamute plays with students at a “Therapaws Wellness Dog” event at UHS Monday.

FOSSIL From Page 1 Wenar described a law by which the United States and other countries buy oil: the law of effectiveness. The law stipulates that whoever controls the oil by force has the right to sell the product, leading to authoritarian regimes and armed groups taking advantage of these regions and profiting from production. “Our money goes back to these militias,” Wenar said. “We are in legal business relationships with these coercive and corrupt actors overseas, and for many years they’ve been causing a lot of trouble with our money. This archaic law insights oppression and violence. Oil is absolute power, and we know what happens when people get absolute power” Citing some of the most significant foreign policy threats andcrises in last 40 years, Wenar concluded oil interests have always been at the root of these issues, and U.S policy strategies, such as military actions and sanctions, have been insufficient in preserving peace. He affirmed the problem will only get worse

BIRD From Page 1 aware that operating or leaving these scooters on City sidewalks or leaving them in City streets is prohibited and subjects violators to citation by the City, penalties, and City removal of any left scooters.” City officials were not available for comment by the time of publication. A month after the scooters originally appeared in Santa Monica, Calif., local police had issued almost 100 citations to users. Melissa Overton, public information officer of the University of Michigan’s Division of Public Safety and Security, said on Monday the University police had not issued any tickets involving Bird scooters. Representatives from the Ann Arbor Police Department did not respond to requests for comment at the time of publication. Users must be 18 or older with a credit card and driver’s license to operate the scooters. The Bird’s electric motor is activated through an app, and the scooters emit loud chirping if moved without being activated through the app. They do not have to be left at a docking station, as some other transportation

without reform, especially for nations close to the equator that will be the first victims of the earth’s slow increase in temperature from climate change. Wenar said positive change is plausible if the U.S abolishes the law of effectiveness and instead institutes public accountability of resources and U.S divestment from companies that buy oil from organizations that abuse human rights. One initiative, developed by Wenar himself, is called Clean Trade — a charity that advocates with governments, investors, firms and NGOs to implement standards for the purchasing of crude oil. Wenar explained how the law of effectiveness has justified various atrocities in the past, such as slavery and apartheid, but he said these issues were eventually outlawed through advocacy. Though oil profits have not been accounted for by citizens of these countries, Wenar concluded with an optimistic note, claiming it is possible to create positive change. “Insofar as humanity has heroes, it’s men like Ghandi and Mandela, who fought and won the battle for a country that belongs to its citizens,” Wenar said.

LSA junior Charles Zinn expressed his excitement for the topic, as well as the ways he learned he could advocate for global change on an individual level. “I came to this lecture to learn more about how authoritarian regimes benefit off of oil and how liberal democracies could work to combat this issue,” Zinn said. “I was satisfied with the speaker and his assessment of the issue, as well as the potential solutions and how we can help.” This lecture, the first event of the Donia Human Rights Center Distinguished Lecture series, was co-sponsored by the African Studies Center, the Department of Philosophy and other University departments. Kiyoteru Tsutsui, director of the Donia Human Rights Center Director, explained how this series highlights both University professors and guest speakers. “Last year we had Carol Anderson come in, talking about her book ‘White Rage,’” Tsutsui said. ”So those distinguished lectures are held a few times a year, we also have more younger, up and coming scholars and practitioners, all while hosting conferences and panels.”

startups require, including MoGo bikes in Detroit. They cost $1 to use, with an additional charge of 15 cents per minute of usage. The scooters are only intended to be active from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. According to the company’s website, it has launched operations in at least 41 cities, including Paris and Tel Aviv, Israel. On Aug. 16, Bird announced the beginning of its “University Pop-Up Tour.” “The Bird University PopUp Tour will visit a range of large public universities and smaller private colleges,” according to a company press release. “Colleges and universities interested in signing up for the Bird University Pop-Up Tour are encouraged to email universities@bird.co for more information.” In the release, Bird founder and CEO Travis VanderZanden said the popups were designed to address the demand for transportation in college towns, which “often do not have robust public transit programs and heavily rely on pollution-emitting cars for short-distance trips on or around campus.” “This year, as the summer comes to a close and students return to campus, they might be able to leave their

cars behind by Birding,” VanderZanden said. “Whether it’s making it to a class on time, clocking in for work, or simply getting to campus from the nearest

“The Bird scooter company did not seek permission from U-M regarding the company’s deployment” public transit stop, Bird will help eliminate transportation gaps so students and faculty can focus on what really matters: education.” University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald confirmed the University had received no notice from Bird about the deployment of the scooters. “The Bird scooter company did not seek permission from U-M regarding the company’s deployment of scooters in Ann Arbor,” Fitzgerald wrote in an email to The Daily. “That appears to be the company’s approach: Not seeking

Tuesday, September 11, 2018 — 3

MATT VAILLIENCOURT/Daily

TOWER From Page 1 freshman. So, to hear such a sudden change in policy the first semester I was here kind of pissed me off.” LSA freshman Abby Snyder said she has heard about Michigan Time, but cannot understand the concers upperclassmen have. “It sounds like it could have been helpful, especially if you oversleep or something like that,” Snyder said. “But since I never had Michigan Time, it’s not an issue for me. I could see it being a bigger issue for older students who were used to it and now have to adjust back.” According to University Provost Martin Philbert, the decision to eliminate Michigan Time had been a topic of conversation for years, but was finally acted upon in an effort to unify the schedules across the University. Schools including the School of Nursing never adopted Michigan Time because it would conf lict with the punctuality necessary for a career in medicine. In a previous Daily article, Philbert said the switch to Tower Time would also

permission in advance. As motorized vehicles, it is my understanding that scooters are not allowed on campus sidewalks and are subject to all regulations under U-M ordinances as motor vehicles.” Currently, some cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles and Denver have made attempts to ban the scooters altogether, but most are simply cautioning safety and promising to enforce local laws if the scooters create violations. Regardless of their future in Ann Arbor, students are taking advantage of the opportunity the scooters present. LSA junior Seth Allen had used the scooters in Detroit, but was not expecting to see them on campus. Since Friday, though, Allen has signed up to be a charger, bringing home scooters at night to charge and returning them in the morning for monetary compensation –– a position for which “there’s not really a screening process,” Allen said. After reading a three-page set of instructions on how to be a charger, Allen sent the company his address and is now waiting to receive the charging equipment.

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

University administration feels the need to take on this change. “Their reasoning to ending Michigan Time was mostly because they viewed it as being ‘for our own good,’” Morris said. “But why should the administration decide what is best for us? We are adults. If an overwhelming majority is in support of Michigan time, I think our opinions should be taken seriously.” He still believes others will join him in a resistance against Tower Time, and says there is a real protest in the works. “I’m in the process of organizing a real protest, this time posting it to the ‘University of Michigan Class of 2019, 2020, etc.’ Facebook pages so that they’re taken seriously,” Morris said. “If enough people participate and it garners enough attention, it may cause the administration to act.” According to Furstenberg, other students are over it. “I think the Michigan Time meme has run its course and, eventually, we’ll move onto something else,” Furstenberg said.

“Since I never had Michigan Time it’s not an issue for me. I could see it being a bigger issue for older studmets who were used to it and now have to adjust .”

up the number and types of classrooms available.” Morris still does not understand why the

TURBINE From Page 2 University is looking into renewable energy options for projects other than the Central Power Plant expansion.

“Separate from the project, the university is pursuing renewable energy options”

“Separate from this project, the university is pursuing renewable energy options through power purchase agreements in accordance with the 2015 report,” Broekhuizen wrote. “This fall the university will further evaluate renewableenergy options as the next step to achieve a 25 percent reduction in GHG ahead of the 2025 goal.” In Arvan’s public

comment, however, he asserts the University should be doing more to pioneer in the field of environmental sustainability. “In this age of heightened politicization of the environment, national leadership on issues of climate change and energy must come from universities; it is both the fundamental purpose and moral imperative of universities across the globe to cultivate groundbreaking collaborative research, encourage innovative solutions, and inspire the next generation of thinkers to unleash their potential,” Arvan wrote. Arvan also pointed out the University’s decision to build a natural gas turbine stood out when compared to the efforts of the other big research institutions on environmental sustainability. “If you look at some of the similar, comparable universities to U-M, they’re not doing this kind of thing,” Arvan said. “There’s nobody building big natural gas turbines right now. People are looking at carbon taxes on their campuses. People are looking at renewable projects and kind of investing in the future of the energy landscape.”

Opinion

4 — Tuesday, September 11, 2018

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ALEX KUBIE | COLUMN

Love me in pieces

always pondered the idea of love and what it looked like: How would I know if I truly felt it? Would I ever find it in the first place? And, if so, what did that love even look like? Yet, at 15 years old, the questions I had found myself mulling over almost every night quickly took a turn in a new direction. Instead of the innocuous ruminating on the prospect of what love would hold, I deliberated: Can love be selective? Is it love when we choose to only accept a part of someone while disregarding the whole? Or is love unconditional — bound by no stipulation or circumstance? This newfound suspicion of love erupted from something I had never secondguessed before. It wasn’t from the progression of a relationship or even the fawning over a crush. In fact, it wasn’t romantic at all. It came from a form of love that is inherent, marked upon us before the day we are even born — or so I thought. In the face of my own uncertainty — coupled with a phone left open and my inability to lie with any conviction — I had “come out” to my parents. Erasing the narrative they had written for me, I had transformed from their sensitive yet “normal” boy to their vulnerable, gay son. While it took some time for my parents to adjust to this new “reality,” they eventually came to one simple conclusion: I was their son. And that meant a love that was unconditional. However, this understanding of what being family means was not a universally-held belief. For some, in fact, it didn’t mean this at all. Aunts. Cousins. People I had spent weekends and holidays with. People that shared my blood. They couldn’t — or didn’t want to — accept me for all of who I was. I heard varying explanations, some stinging more than the others. “A sickness.” “It was for attention.” “An immoral choice.” But, there was one phrase in particular uttered by everyone that had accompanied each of these diagnoses — words that stung the most. “But we still love him.” So, there I found myself, my face warm with frustration, offsetting the cold chill that lingered in the winter air, asking myself a question I didn’t want to know the answer to: Can someone only love a part of you? “Maybe,” I told myself half-heartedly. Love came in all different forms,

after all, and maybe this was just another version of that seemingly undefinable four-letter word. That biting winter drew to a close, and the coming spring months began to thaw its lingering chill. Each day, I began to warm to the idea of this new aspect of my identity and what embracing it could entail. Eventually, that waiting worked. More and more, I became comfortable with who I was. No longer did I view my future as something devastated — fractured by the reality of my sexuality. Rather, I simply viewed it with a new lens: a life filled with possibilities different than previously conceived, but still possibilities nonetheless Then, I met Eric. We went out for ice cream. I treated him to a meal at our local diner. He surprised me with tickets to a movie (one that I had already seen, but I kept that part to myself). It didn’t matter. We were dating, and that was something I had imagined could only come to fruition within the private quarters of my mind. Our relationship grew quickly — faster than I had anticipated. With each passing day, I opened up about things tucked away so deeply that I had almost forgotten they still remained: the confusion, the shame, the acceptance. Our mangled skin shed with each breath of understanding. With it came a new shell built from shared experience and new questions that extended beyond the visceral: “Who can we share this with?” “When can we tell our friends?” And most importantly: “Can we introduce each other to our families?” My mind began to race. “I know there are holidays coming up, and this way we could share them together,” he remarked. I thought about what my relationship meant — how I could show them the person who had such a profound impact on my path toward self-acceptance. I could finally bridge the gap between these two significant pieces of my life. However, the grin marked on my face began to sink as the reality that I had dug away began to break the surface. “I would love to, but we can’t,” I conceded. The gaping divide between my two worlds began to grow even further. The prospect of bringing someone home to my family had been discussed before with great enthusiasm. It had been met with an excitement that knew no reservations. “How could we

MAECY LIGHTHALL | CONTACT MAECY AT MAECYL@UMICH.EDU

not want to meet the person who makes you happy?” I knew those words, however, came with a condition. Yet, the assurance that I was loved began to reverberate in my mind. Maybe, I thought, those words still rung true. A solemn discussion with my parents quickly dispelled this fleeting hope. They had affirmed that I would always have a place to go see my family, but that Eric, regrettably, would probably not receive the same warm welcome from our relatives. I understood their convictions — the way they were raised, what they were taught. But the affirmation of their love for me could not escape my mind. I experienced what love had brought — the way it shaped my own father and his own perspective. It was that understanding that left a part of me in despair. I grappled with how my family could turn away someone whose words of clarity and acceptance had become ingrained as a part of my being. That night, the air felt especially cold. With the lights off, I nestled into bed as my mind began to drift to questions I did not want to face. The darkness of the room was interrupted by a single light. I glanced over to see my phone displaying a new message. “They still love you,” it read. It was from my father. Maybe he was right. Maybe there was a love there. But that love was for someone who did not exist. I could not leave Eric — and all that he had meant to me — at the door. It went beyond the refusal to acknowledge him. Eric was a part of my life that I had grappled with for so long. Those nights of hurting had forged the understanding that I had to accept every part of me to reach the love in myself that I needed to go on each day. To claim a love in only one of these parts was like ignoring a deep red stain of wine on your favorite shirt. No matter how many times you wash it to a shade that is light enough for you to ignore, it is still there. While my family tried to focus on anything but the stain that they could not erase, I chose to simply embrace the new colors. A greater clarity set in my mind. Finally, I let the question in that I had tried so exhaustively to ignore. Can someone only love a part of you? In that now-illuminated room, I had my answer.

Alex Kubie can be reached at akubie@umich.edu.

Hair-raising controversy

hile sitting in the hair salon attempting a “new look” for the new school year, one of the stylists mentioned a nasty Facebook post about illegal immigrants. I froze, waiting to see which side of the debate my chatty new friends would fall on. “Ridiculous!” she yelled. “Time to unfriend this one.” I let out a small breath and allowed myself a grin. My hairdresser explained that they never talk about politics in the salon, but I laughed and told her it was refreshing. We began discussing the matter at hand, but soon the conversation morphed into other hot topics, from immigration to religion to freedom of the press to Trump’s politics. Despite the generation gap and perspective on religion, we agreed on many topics plaguing the current news. But, the most interesting part was how we both viewed controversy. I have always enjoyed open conversations about politics. I’ll never claim to be conservative, but I can at least try to understand their point of view. Even if I don’t agree with the person I am talking to, I try to understand and hopefully respect their views. However, often times we see people who get into debates become more polarized in their opinions by the time they are done. Instead of listening to each other and trying to find common ground, they dig in their heels at the slightest opposition — halting the opportunity to grow. But this conversation went differently. My hairdresser considered herself a moderate liberal, but she told me how important she thinks it is to talk to people who don’t have the same opinions. She encourages her mother, a staunch liberal, to do the same. In a country that doesn’t take well to controversy, she is a rare breed. Some of our wisest and most beloved presidents have been the ones to speak out against this polarization. When George Washington left office, he begged America not to develop political parties. Abraham Lincoln told us a

house divided cannot stand. So why do we continually let our increasing polarization tear our country apart? According to a study done by Pew Research Center, America is becoming more and more polarized by the year. While 20 years ago, your views on racism had no relevance to your views on the environment, in today’s society, it is becoming increasingly more likely that, if you hold liberal or conservative views on certain topics, it translates to other topics as well, despite not having anything to do with each other.

The first and most important step for depolarization is conversation.

In the Pew Research Center survey in 1994, only 3 percent of the American population fell into the consistently liberal category and 7 percent identified as consistently conservative. However, in 2014, 12 percent of Americans were consistently liberal and 9 percent were consistently conservative. Even people who previously considered themselves moderate are moving further to the right and left, with less little middle ground. This in itself is not necessarily a bad thing. However, this streamline of ideals has been slowly leading to more and more polarization within parties, to the point where one side cannot acknowledge the other side’s good ideas simply because they don’t come from their own party. America is getting to the point where people don’t just disagree with the “other side,” but they consider them bad people, and occasionally a threat to the nation. Pew Research Center found

that the percentage of Republicans who had a very unfavorable opinion of Democrats rose 26 percent between 1994 and 2014, and the percentage of Democrats who had very unfavorable opinions of Republicans rose 22 percent. With this dramatic increase in animosity, it’s no wonder Congress shuts down so often. It’s hard enough to come to a consensus on an issue no one agrees on. It’s even harder when everyone actively dislikes each other. There are many factors involved in the rise of polarization in politics. David Blankenhorn, in his article in The American Interest, highlights the impact of growing diversity, geographic and political sorting and new political rules as some of the ultimate causes of polarization — some of which cannot and should not be helped. However, some of the more direct causes are ones for which we ourselves are responsible: the either/or mindset, thinking uncertainty is a weakness and looking for evidence that supports a conclusion and ignoring facts, to name a few. With simple answers such as these, they should be simple fixes. However, this polarization runs deeper and is more prevalent than we think. The first and most important step for depolarization is conversation. Not debate, not arguing — conversation. If we can stop looking at each other as Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, and start seeing each other as people with different ideas, we might start listening to each other. The second step is to change our general views on controversy. If we start viewing it as challenging and enlightening instead of frustrating and polarizing, we can begin to grow as individuals and as a society. When we can start having civil, controversial conversations with our hairdressers, then maybe we’ll finally understand each other.

Dana Pierangeli can be reached at dmpier@umich.edu.

ALI SAFAWI | COLUMN

A call to action on substance use

ccording to a story published in The Michigan Daily last spring, 25 percent of students at the University use Adderall and related drugs, despite only 9 percent of them having a prescription. Substance use disorder, an umbrella term for the harmful use of psychoactive substances, is increasingly being recognized as a chronic brain disease. Therefore, I use the term “substance use” as opposed to “substance abuse” or “addiction” because I do not want to pass judgment on anyone’s behaviors nor do I want to use words with the weight of stigma attached. Substance use rewires the brain’s natural reward response, causing the cravings so often associated with these conditions. Despite this new framework, Alcoholics/Narcotics Anonymous persists in promoting the old dogma — that substance use is a moral failing. But, is the use of psychoactive substances at the University of Michigan a problem worth addressing? I think so. The Daily’s survey on Adderall brought the misuse and trafficking of prescription drugs on campus into the limelight for many people. Putting aside the legal implications of the Adderall trade on campus — it is a federal crime to divert a controlled substance to people without a prescription — there are also serious health risks associated with these behaviors. Stimulants like Adderall (as well as illicit ones like cocaine and methamphetamine) can be deadly to students with heart conditions, and conditions that they might not even know they have until it is too late. Adderall, despite student beliefs, is highly addictive and can cause psychosis that can lead to suicide, as in the tragic case of a Vanderbilt University student in 2010. Writing this column to my own standards of evidence is proving difficult because, well, we do not have good data on substance use at the University. Most of my evidence is, admittedly, anecdotal. I have heard from several sources that cocaine is a frequent feature of Greek life and co-op parties, as is the mixing of prescription drugs Adderall and

Xanax with alcohol — a potentially lethal combination. Yes, there was the aforementioned Adderall survey and several others focused on marijuana and alcohol. However, what about other substances like opioids — you know, the drugs that killed more Americans in one year than the Vietnam War or the HIV/ AIDS epidemic during its peak? A large, eight-year cohort study out of the University of Maryland found that prescription analgesics — which includes opioids — are the third most misused drug by college students, following marijuana and prescription stimulants (alcohol and tobacco were not considered in this study). According to that study, 35 percent of college students have used prescription stimulants non-medically at least once. The stereotype of an opioid user is someone of the working class in downtrodden areas in states like Michigan and Ohio. However, it only takes a prescription for Norco or Oxycontin after a sports injury or surgery for something to go wrong. Anyone, including high-achieving University students, is at risk for opioid addiction.

Anyone, including high-achieving University students, is at risk for opioid addiction. Some university communities, such as the University of Texas at Austin, have acted on opioid use on their campus. A student group at the university has been educating students and faculty there and at two other Texas universities on how to administer Narcan, the opioid overdose reversal drug. To my knowledge, nothing like this exists at the University of Michigan. While interning within the

realm of addiction treatment, I learned a lot about treatment options for substance use disorder. There are effective therapies, either psychological or medical, to help people break an addiction to psychoactive substances. While the University does a good job of educating students on the risk of the three most abused substances among our age group — tobacco, alcohol and marijuana — not much else is being done. If you take a look at the “Alcohol and Other Drugs” page of the University Health Service website, you can see their many educational programs. This is all well and good, however, educational programs only help prevent people from getting addicted in the first place. There are many tools and programs for alcohol listed on that page, such as the “Stay in the Blue” app and the “Alcohol e-CHECKUP TO GO.” None of these programs help students break an addiction to alcohol. Is the University even offering treatment for alcohol use disorder, such as cognitive behavioral therapy and the anticravings drug naltrexone to students through CAPS and UHS? If so, they need to do a better job of advertising these services. I would like to see a new UHS page or a new website made by the University dedicated to presenting comprehensive information on substance use, including screening and treatment options. I urge the University administration to take a serious look at substance use on campus. We need a comprehensive survey looking at all psychoactive substances to have good data to act on. Furthermore, we need dedicated divisions of UHS and CAPS focused on addiction treatment that offers evidencebased counseling and medicationassisted treatment for students. The University community should look to the University of Texas at Austin as an example of how to proactively address student substance use. We cannot be reactive and wait until one of our students dies from an overdose because that would be a completely avoidable tragedy. Ali Safawi can be reached at asafawi@umich.edu.

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Arts

FILM REVIEW

Riddled with issues, ‘The Nun’ proves enjoyable JEREMIAH VANDERHELM Daily Arts Writer

By just about any measure, “The Nun” is a subpar movie, at best. What plot it has is inconsistent, and its characters are little more than a name, a face and a generic backstory, yet after a summer that began with “Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare” and ended with “Slender Man,” there’s a playfulness to the

“The Nun” Ann Arbor 20 + IMAX, Goodrich Quality 16 Warner Bros.

horror that’s easy to appreciate. Towards the end of the first act, during a lengthy sequence revolving around a Black Plagueera cemetery, I wrote in my notebook, “I don’t know who any of these people are, what they’re doing or why I’m supposed to care.” At the end of that same sequence, I wrote simply, “Well, that was fun.” That’s the duality of “The Nun” in a snapshot. It has undeniable problems — more on that in a moment — but it’s fun in a way those aforementioned movies nix for po-faced tedium. If nothing else, it proves that a little bit of personality goes a long way — though I’ll add that this is the second release of the year, after “Winchester,” in which a character shoots a ghost. I didn’t care for it then, and I don’t care for it now. In another welcome change

from the norm, director Corin Hardy (“The Hallow”) makes an admirable attempt in the first half to focus more on building tension and dread than on assaulting his viewers with sudden blasts of sound. It isn’t devoid of jump scares, but in what may be the greatest twist of 2018, they’re occasionally sacrificed in favor of dramatic irony — we see the Nun looming in the background, but the characters remain blissfully unaware, resulting in a much scarier scene. Of course, I may be biased; after I saw “The Conjuring 2,” the Nun stuck with me, and I lost a good deal of sleep. However, it doesn’t take long to notice that despite Hardy’s competent direction and despite those fun touches, Gary Dauberman’s (“It”) script doesn’t do much else than ferry us from one scare to another. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the final act, which succumbs to its lack of strong foundation and becomes an out-of-nowhere “Da Vinci Code”-style treasure hunt that’s completely at odds with the haunted castle horror flick that led up to it. The movie’s greatest weakness is its writing — beyond just the general feeling of plotlessness. Several characters are laden with exposition-filled monologues that aren’t unfamiliar ground for this series but are more perfunctory here than they have been elsewhere. Unlike similar scenes in “The Conjuring,” it’s simple information vomit instead of answers to questions. There’s no catharsis to gaining this knowledge because the story is so muddled that we’re not sure what questions we’re supposed

to ask. It’s like the endless march of “Lost” rip-offs from the late 2000s and early 2010s; the premise is hypothetically interesting, but it’s playing its cards so close to the chest in service of some Big Mystery that it’s hard to get invested. More importantly, for all the fun it is in the moment, the movie misses out on what attracted people to the Nun and the “Conjuring” universe as a whole in

Tuesday, September 11, 2018 — 5

his name, Nelly sets out to track down Jody himself. Nelly, unlike a certain famous onscreen father, has no very particular set of skills with which to rescue his daughter. He’s a downon-his-luck womanizer with little going for him besides his sheer charm, spending his days at a local pub and his nights on whichever girlfriend’s couch is available. Lennie James is a treat to watch in the role, equal parts swagger and desperation. He is matched by the brilliant Suranne Jones, whose performance as Jody’s mother Claire is muted but rich and stirring. In one especially wrenching scene, a chokedup Claire watches the police film a Jody lookalike walking

the first place. In “The Conjuring 2,” the Nun was a surprisingly character-based scare, a profaned image of what should have been a holy figure that was meant as an attack on Lorraine Warren’s faith. It’s a simple idea — a villain tries to turn a hero’s strengths against her — but it’s that sort of good-versusevil simplicity that’s central to the series’ appeal. “The Nun” follows in the footsteps of “Annabelle” and even the otherwise engaging “Annabelle: Creation” and forsakes that accessibility in favor of lore dumps and horror tropes that never work as well.

Warner Bros.

TV REVIEW

‘Save Me’ is a masterclass in subtle understatement Daily Arts Writer

“Save Me,” a six-episode series making its U.S. debut on Starz this fall, is a British crime drama only in the

“Save Me” Starz Season 1 Premiere sense that it’s both British and a crime drama. Anything else that phrase might evoke isn’t found here. There are no sleepy towns rocked by scandal or collectively grieving; In “Save Me,” South London hums along unperturbed by the horrible crime. There are no roughhewn, mismatched detectives deconstructing leads in dimly-lit rooms, with one exception: when the motionsensing lights at the police station turn themselves off.

hours before the abduction in the hopes it will trigger a

Starz

HEALTH AND WELLNESS COLUMN

The unexpected key to health and wellness is in Judge Judy’s hands Daily Health and Wellness Columnist

And the story isn’t a languid slow-burn that unfolds drop by drop, but one that moves at an absorbing, steady clip. In short, it’s the rare show that’s dark, but doesn’t feel the need to constantly remind you of it. Like many of those atmospheric British dramas (think “Broadchurch” or “Doctor Foster”), the mystery of “Save Me” surrounds a missing child. Thirteenyear-old Jody (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness, “Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie”), has left her pristine suburban home in Surbiton to visit her estranged biological father Nelly (Lennie James, “The Walking Dead”) for a week. In a video message Jody leaves for her mother (Suranne Jones, “Doctor Foster”), she explains that she and her father have been in correspondence for a while, and that he has expressed interest in seeing her. The problem? Nelly hasn’t seen, spoken with or thought about Jody in 10 years. So when Nelly is arrested on

The show is granted some levity through small, lovely moments of London color

witness’s memory. Along the way, as it begins to feel more and more grim, the show is granted some levity through small, lovely moments of London color. A woman in a burqa walks down the street carrying a f lamepainted skateboard. A man in Nelly’s neighborhood doesn’t let the deafening sound of police sirens interrupt his morning tai chi. “Save Me” is also brightened by Dustin O’Halloran’s (“Transparent”) gorgeous score, which opts for delicate strings in favor of anything too bombastic or obvious. And that’s the real beauty of this show — its ability to steer itself clear of sensationalism and horror, and instead tell a story so quietly devastating.

The movie’s greatest weakness is its writing — beyond just the general feeling of plotlessness

JOEY SCHUMAN

MAITREYI ANANTHARAMAN

through London, re-enacting the CCTV footage of the

suspicion of Jody’s abduction, he’s initially confused, and

The story isn’t a languid slow-burn that unfolds drop by drop, but one that moves at an absorbing, steady clip then horrified. Someone has been chatting online with Jody, pretending to be Nelly. And as he reviews the chat logs, which are peppered with accurate details about his life and family, it dawns on him that the kidnapper must be someone he knows. To clear

I think I was in eighth grade when I made perhaps my greatest clothing acquisition: an NPR “Get Smarter” t-shirt. Never mind that, at that time of my life, “Morning Edition” meant a big bowl of Reese’s Puffs, and the word “podcast” connoted some form of nap. It would be years before I was blessed with my first Terry Gross interview. But I looked past the qualifications. I liked the implication behind the shirt; it was a statement. It suggested that maybe, just maybe, my cool, progressive parents had surrounded me with formative cultural intellectualism, an exposure to a level of enlightenment my peers wouldn’t begin to sniff until at least 2014. It was conceit in its purest form. Be still, my subservient plebeian fourth period lunch tablesharers. I did it all in the name of the smarts, existent or not. Those brain cells? The key to feeling good. And that’s the point of this column. They’ll feel replenished, rejuvenated even, by someone transcendent. Bold. Fair. If you haven’t guessed by now, I’m talking about judicial royalty. The original enforcer. When we look for fairness, we find that it lies in due process. In due process lies life improvement. And here, we arrive at Judge Judy. You might be wondering what separates the judge from the rest of daytime television. Well, Maury is exploitative and tasteless. Jerry is not nice. They’re unkosher entertainers who live to stir the pot each Tuesday afternoon. On the other end of things, Oprah is sanctified, and Ellen is an angel. In my mind none of these icons (good or bad) can challenge Judy’s unique place in TV. Judy, in fact, shouldn’t need her credibility vindicated by anyone, but for those skeptical, here’s one endorsement: Jim Harbaugh. In March 2016, Michigan’s

head football coach tweeted, “I urge President Obama to nominate to the Supreme Court the wise and competent, Judge Extraordinaire Judith Sheindlin.”

Some of my most vulnerable moments have come in that overwhelming blur of everythingness, but all of my most triumphant resurgences have occurred at a point of extreme nothingness

Harbaugh is an Xs and Os mastermind. A quarterback guru. Even after disappointing finishes in his past two years in Ann Arbor, he remains one of the most well-respected coaches in the sport. It says a lot then, that for a break — a meditative pause — this jackhammer of a human turns to Judge Judy. Why shouldn’t you do the same? There’s something about her fiery mix of authority and subtle warmth that adds up to an intangible sort of feng shui for viewers. For 22 minutes each day, you know what you’re getting, and there’s legitimate

therapeutic value in that. Sit back, relax and enjoy the show, because it might be the only semblance of normalcy in your life. I know that has been the case for me. At the very least, you get a meme. A notgood meme. 2012-core. But a chuckle. What exactly about Judge Judy makes us feel better? Consider how she handled this dog’s reunion with its owner. The judge is hands-off yet observant. Calculated and articulate. When she realizes the authenticity of the moment, she allows it to resonate in the room. As she orchestrates the scene, we, the (hooked) audience, better understand the bond between owner and dog. There’s nothing cheap about it. So maybe it’s her feel for things, her procedural digging into visceral emotion. She uncovers the truth, of course. It’s resettling, internally. And it’s no bit. Not really, at least. I don’t quite know what self-care means and I can’t pretend to know how to nurture myself or, more importantly, improve the well-being of others. I do know, however, when I need to slow things down while everything else goes blurring by. Some of my most vulnerable moments have come in that overwhelming blur of everythingness, but all of my most triumphant resurgences have occurred at a point of extreme nothingness. For me, that point is often on a grandparent’s couch in a part of the universe far, far away from real shit. The change of scenery is the machine, but Judy is the mindlessly wholesome engine that keeps the mental regroup going. It’s my cliché “stop, take a breath and reassess,” and it’s of an un-underminable importance. Sometimes you need background noise. Other times you need mind-bendingly cathartic entertainment to distract. Luckily, Judge Judy’s show can do both. Besides: If you’ve made it this far in this piece, you’re either my mom or someone undergoing a lastditch effort to improve your wellness. Why not give Judy a shot?

Arts

6 — Tuesday, September 11, 2018

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

MUSIC REVIEW

‘Egypt Station’ is the perfect McCartney album LAURA DZUBAY Daily Arts Writer

It goes without saying that the name “Paul McCartney” is the name of a legend. Over the last six decades, it has gathered enough mythic credibility to

Egypt Station Paul McCartney Capitol Records almost be synonymous with “legend” in itself. Diehard fans across the globe (of which there are no doubt millions) are plenty familiar with McCartney as he stands today, from the frequent musical collaborations to the sworn veganism to (perhaps most notoriously) the explosively impressive live performances and firework-spurred stadium tours. But roped in with McCartney’s many current ventures is the fact that to most of the world, and even to many of those diehard fans, McCartney is a Beatle (or rather, a former Beatle) first and foremost. The classic McCartney sound — and he has so many sounds — is the sound of the ’60s

and the ’70s. Distinguished bass and catchy guitar riffs, lyrics and melodies sometimes tender and wholesome, sometimes snarled or even screamed. Think “Maybe I’m Amazed,” “Live and Let Die” or “Blackbird.” This is all what makes Egypt Station, McCartney’s new release through Capitol Records, such a thoroughly classic record at its core. It’s his most Beatle-y album in ages, permeated with unmistakable touches from his time in Wings and even The Fireman. For all the different meanings McCartney’s name has taken on, Egypt Station embodies almost all of them. When you think of McCartney, you might think of his screaming on the earliest Beatles tracks like the “Long Tall Sally” cover; you might think of the tender empathy of “Here Today” or “And I Love Her”; you might think of electric guitars, ambient Fireman-style electronica, piano cascades or acoustic familiarity. If you think of any one of these things, you are thinking of Egypt Station. The album begins with the scenic “Opening Station,” which offers us a flash of the strange atmospherics with which McCartney experimented during his Fireman projects alongside

Youth. He then gets heavy right away with “I Don’t Know,” a sweeping look inward that begins with a “Let It Be”-esque piano solo and rapidly evolves into a heartfelt ballad, repeatedly questioning, “What’s wrong with me?/ I don’t know, I don’t know.” Egypt Station is full of these introspective moments, which recur in “Confidante” and in “Happy With You,” a genuinely soft-hearted song faintly reminiscent of John Lennon’s “Watching the Wheels.” Even in his more thoughtful songs, McCartney sacrifices none of his energy, nor the trademark creative edge that has brought so much variety into his catalogue. Yet it is on a few of the album’s jumpier songs that this side of him really gets a chance to shine. “Come On To Me,” released as a striking single back in Jun., is jaunty, fun, irresistible and above all else, unmistakably McCartney. It’s almost too easy to picture him in concert, slamming his guitar and singing wide-eyed into a microphone, cocking his head. “You know we can’t be seen exchanging information,” he sings, as suggestive and sly as he has been ever since his days as a Quarryman. Thrumming electronica eclipses into a classic-feeling rock

riff in “Who Cares,” with Macca showing off his impressive vocal range with several high-pitched whoops. When he shouts his way through the second chorus (“Who cares what the idiots say

It’s his most Beatle-y album in ages, permeated with unmistakable touches from his time in Wings and even The Fireman

/ Who cares what the idiots do”), it’s so easy to hear the much younger man who once belted out hits like “Twist and Shout.” On “Fuh You,” he sings, “On the night that I met you, I was out

on the town,” and it rings true; listening, you can’t help but think, “Sure, I bet Paul McCartney does have nights out on the town!” He also plays with our expectations in the chorus: “Want a love that’s so proud and real / You make me wanna go out and steal / I just want it fuh you.” His enunciation brings a different meaning to mind, though, and the wording is almost certainly McCartney’s way of lyrically “fuh”-ing with us. Amid an album that takes us through worlds where love can be stolen, and where butterflies “stomp around the forest / chanting long lost anthems,” some quality songs — like the tender “Hand in Hand” and the obligatory-ish peace anthem “People Want Peace” — are left a little forgettable compared to the rest. The truly thoughtful political track is not “People Want Peace” but rather “Despite Repeated Warnings,” a song similar to “Band on the Run” in its creative and sprightly multipleact structure. Lines about a ship doomed under an incompetent captain feel decidedly allegorical. It is difficult to hear lines like “Those who shout the loudest / May not always be the smartest,” “How can we stop him? / Grab the keys and lock him up” and

“The captain’s crazy, but he doesn’t let them know it / He’ll take us with him if we don’t do something soon to slow it,” and not think of Donald Trump, whom McCartney has repeatedly and vocally criticized. Egypt Station is stunningly fresh, relentlessly energetic and simultaneously fun and thoughtful. It is noteworthy that we are getting an album like this not only from an artist well into his 70s, but from an artist who proves himself to the world anew every single decade, every year, every day. One would have thought McCartney had nothing left to prove as early as 1971, but his career since then has been anything but coasting, from his musical work (including regular album releases — both solo and with The Fireman — and his wildly popular live tours) to his activism. “Do It Now” offers us a window into the icon’s motivation, a song that looks toward a cloudy future with lines like “I’ll be leaving in the morning / Watch me go” and “I don’t know where the wind is blowing,” and entreats the listener to “Do it now / While the vision is clear / Do it now / While the feeling is here.” Paul McCartney is doing it now; he has been his whole life.

COMMUNITY CUTURE NOTEBOOK

On the art of America’s most neglected wonders TRINA PAL

Daily Arts Writer

Pixabay

Release Date: Tuesday, September 11, 2018

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

ACROSS 1 Setting for smooth sailing 8 Aptly, it rhymes with “ahh” 11 Cease and desist order? 14 Stuffed oneself 15 Pursue romantically 16 Valuable metal 17 “NCIS: Los Angeles” actress 18 Court order? 20 Remove varnish from 21 NBC weekend fixture, briefly 22 Distinctive flair 23 Modern renewable fuel 27 Reverse order? 30 Assures the sad fate of 34 Easy throw 35 “Angie Tribeca” TV network 36 “Help me out, will ya?” 37 Facilitates 40 Bergen of “Murphy Brown” 41 Stay behind 42 Drunkard 43 Dubai’s fed. 44 Former Russian rulers 45 Money order? 48 Words said with an extended fork 50 Continent explored by Marco Polo 53 Talk on and on 54 Scalawag 58 Work order? 60 Shoe cushions 62 Abbr. used to save space 63 Not worth a __ 64 Muzzle-loading gadgets 65 Gag order? 66 Kindle download 67 Chart-reading exam

4 Beach city near Hollywood 5 Restraining order? 6 Quite some time 7 Taiwan-born director Lee 8 River in a Stephen Foster song 9 Voting sites 10 Pioneering ISP 11 Wind up like a snake 12 Celestial bear 13 High-schooler, typically 19 Put another roll of film in 21 Incites to attack, with “on” 24 More than occasionally 25 Blots gently 26 Biblical garden 27 Warning 28 Scraps for Fido 29 President between Bush and Trump 31 Poppy product 32 Gambling mecca near Hong Kong 33 Catch some z’s

36 Cookie recipe yield 38 Bill for drinks 39 Bart Simpson’s sister 40 San Francisco’s __ Tower 42 Dance move 45 Postpone one’s bedtime 46 Pecking order? 47 Go along with 49 Online admin

50 Quite some time 51 “Family Guy” creator MacFarlane 52 Nagging desire 55 Sunburn reliever 56 Rx items 57 Sibilant summons 59 NATO founding member 60 Fury 61 “Aye? Not!”

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

09/11/18

This summer, I literally stumbled upon a waterfall. Walking off the beaten path, my family’s only directions to this said wonder were delivered by word of mouth. The deeper we ventured into the deciduous woods — hot, sticky, perspiration running down our backs — the more desolate our surroundings became. A few stray hikers passed us in the opposite direction, which was enough to confirm that something lay beyond the immediate reaches of our sight. Yet there were no wooden signs to indicate anything spectacular around the corner, as if travelers were expected to discover the storybook-like wonder by accident. The Great Falls in Cleveland Metro Park was our destination. A Google search revealed an abundance of spectacular images, but a Google Maps search revealed almost nothing. Finally, bordering on frustration, we met a traveler who took us as far as a cluster of bushes slightly off the trail. “Follow this path down, and you’ll see it,” the man said, a hint of a smile tracing his features. The “path” he described was nothing more than a narrow, sharp downhill slope of chocolatebrown mud, mostly disguised by criss-crossing sharp thorns. Staggering down the path, sinking our shoes into the soft earth and wincing at every prick, we saw it. Soaring above us, thundering sheets of water crashing down onto the rocks, the Great Falls roared.

Finding rare gems like these can be exhilarating, giving you a top-of-the-world-like high. But I believe it’s more humbling than anything. Mother Nature is reminiscent of an artist who feels no need to show off her brilliance. Some of her most beautiful waterfalls are concealed behind thickets of rainforest trees, inaccessible to man. Her canyons take days to cross and her tallest mountains are unreachable. The beauty in the world’s most magnificent rock formations, deserts and hot springs is that they would shine even if they were never seen by our eyes. There’s no need for public appreciation or popularity. If anyone is humble, it’s the earth. As I sat among the rocks at the base of the Great Falls, reaching down and feeling the icy-cool water tickle my fingertips, I felt so small. Small, but comforted. I was a tiny, passing speck in the face of the world, but this world embraced me with open arms. It called to me to explore and to educate myself on my surroundings. Nature’s canvas is rocks and water, and her art is in the sandy pebbles bouncing along the stream and the purple wildflowers poking their heads out of the green shrubs along the bank. Famous Barcelona-based artist Antoni Gaudí never used any straight lines in his sculptures, drawing from nature’s brilliant asymmetry. The world around us isn’t symmetric, but instead slanted and sloping in all the right places. The National Park System estimates that over 330 million people visited U.S. National Parks and 807 million visited America’s State Parks last year. The statistics

are staggering, but I can’t help but wonder: How many of these visitors actually saw the parks? I don’t mean taking a weekend trip, snapping some pictures and leaving. Truly seeing the parks means sitting in a spot for hours and thinking of nothing but the art around you. Closing your eyes and realizing that the tunes of the blue jays combined with the shrill calls of the red-wing blackbirds sounds an awful lot like a duet, like a sweet harmony. Staring up through the highest canopy of trees to glimpse the brilliant, untainted blue sky. America’s parks have so much to offer, and my heart breaks a little every time I see a tourist stare at a waterfall for much less time than they take pictures of it. The relationship between humans and technology becomes more complex with every passing day. Can’t nature be the one place where we put our phones away? America’s parks are receiving record high visitors, but are still neglected. Climb the Rocky Mountains and see the conifers rustle like paintbrush bristles in the breeze. Let the brilliant hues of Yellowstone’s hot springs sink into your being. Feel the ferocity of the Atlantic waves crashing onto the stony beaches of Maine. The introspection that comes with being immersed in nature is much more valuable than the site itself. Ann Arbor is no exception. On the rare chance that you have free time during the school year, sit in the Arb. Or along Barton Lake. If nothing else, The Diag. Something, anything, to offer perspective on how beautiful this planet is.

Courtesy of Trina Pal

Sports

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Tuesday, September 11, 2018 — 7

Paige Jones has been the difference in the Wolverines’ successful season TIEN LE

Daily Sports Writer

Last year, matchups with Colorado State ended in two losses for Michigan — one of which was season-ending. This year, however, the Wolverines seemed to have f lipped a new page. Despite all the talk about about revenge and redemption against the Rams, the difference maker for Michigan was the one person that thought none of that — freshman Paige Jones just wanted to win. Coming into the game, the outside hitter knew nothing of the small rivalry. Though, to be fair, she barely even knew that the Wolverines played Colorado State last year. But what she did know was how much her teammates wanted the game, and she delivered accordingly. In a career night, Jones stunned the arena with a personal-best 18 kills on .500 hitting percentage and seven service aces. Though her services have always come as a problem to opponents, they don’t come without drawbacks for Michigan. The jump topspin serve that she does is a high risk, high reward serve, but on Saturday night, Jones reaped all of the reward and little of the risk. “(Jones) has been trying to find a rhythm with that,” said Michigan coach Mark Rosen. “It’s a high-risk serve, and if you don’t hit it just right, then it takes off on you. And you look kinda silly, like ‘Hey, I just missed that by a lot.’ But you just missed a little bit on your hand. “... Her contact was really good, and I thought she got into a really good rhythm tonight,

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Michigan coach Mark Rosen praised the play of his freshman outside hitter Paige Jones after she had a career night in Michigan’s win over Colorado State.

and that’s what she’s been working on. And she’s been working hard in practice and in matches where she can get that contact and control it and tonight she did a great job and Colorado State paid the price.” For the most part, serving set the tone early in the match. The game plan for the Rams was to serve hard to get Michigan out of system. And they succeeded early on, as Michigan came out slow and was unable to properly corral the ball. But Jones answered

“(Jones) has been trying to find a rhythm with that.”

immediately, getting aggressive — despite being out of system — hammering the ball home to set the tone for Michigan to follow. The change in momentum allowed the Wolverines to fight out of their slump, with Jones leading the way with a then-game-high six kills. The turning point in the first set came at 13-10. The game had been back and forth, but Colorado State had seen the better end of a few closely contested rallies. But with a kill and a series of serves from Jones, Michigan went on a

seven-point run that shifted the momentum firmly in its favor. With control of the pace, the Wolverines didn’t relinquish the lead the remainder of the set. And if there was any better way to close out the set, the team wouldn’t have had it. At 23-21 in the first set, Michigan fell into a scramble. The dig hadn’t come off clean and junior setter Mackenzi Welsh did a backwards jog to get to the ball. In an attempt to salvage the play, she did a twohanded backwards bump to

“And she’s been working hard in practice and in matches.”

send the ball high into the air to Jones’ general vicinity. As she had done all game, Jones bailed out the out-ofsystem play. And then she saw her turn to serve again. If it was any testament to her serving skills, no other play or player managed to draw the attention of the arena the way Jones did as she approached the service line with the ball in her hands. Ushering a wave of silence and drawing everyone to their feet, she delivered a serve worthy of the attention. It was

an ace, her sixth of the night. And even though her serving was mitigated due to the adjustments in the second set, the Rams failed to shut her down. Despite a still productive set, her impact was forced to just four kills and three digs. While that’s what it says on the stat sheet, the story on the court was entirely different. Jones attracted more attention from the defense that freed up senior outside hitter Carly Skjodt and redshirt junior middle blocker Cori Crocker, who Rosen stated were “at the top of every scouting report.” “They were committed on (Jones) more,” Rosen said. “I mean, when someone gets six kills in the first set, they’re going to focus on her some more and I thought there were a lot of times when they formed a really good block and she found a way to bang around them and off of her.” The third set was a return to form for Jones after a brief set out of the spotlight. Jones tallied eight kills in the third set alone. The next closest to her on the team was Skjodt with seven — for the entire game. And it wasn’t long into the third before she recovered her groove, scoring the first earned point for the Wolverines. And in a more controlled set than the first two, with Michigan leading until the end, Jones — coming off of her serve — curled to the front of the net and ended the game on her terms, something she did the entire night. But if you ask her, you won’t get the slightest bit of a boast or gloat. Because it wasn’t about her in her eyes. It was a team win, and to her, that was plenty.

“... she found a way to bang around them and off of her.”

Michigan beats WMU Hernandez, offense inspire confidence for ‘M’ thanks to some heart RIAN RATNAVALE Daily Sports Writer

Sometimes, it takes a little bit more than sheer athletic prowess to take a match in the beautiful game. While the Michigan men’s soccer team’s match against Western Michigan ended in overtime jubilation, the road there was not quite as rosy. At the 82nd minute, Michigan coach Chaka Daley brought the team together on the sideline after conceding a gametying empty-net goal to Western Michigan. Along with senior midfielders Robbie Mertz and Ivo Cerda, Daley reminded the team to calm down. “We prepare for these moments and we always say things can go wrong and you prepare for those times,” said Cerda, who scored the game-winning header. “We make sure we’re engaging in positivity and encouraging each other. Doing all the right stuff.” To that point, the Wolverines had not only squandered a 2-0 lead, but many other opportunities to put the game away, as well — sophomore forwards Umar Farouk Osman and Mohammed Zakyi both repeatedly got deep into the belly of the Broncos’ defense in the first half, but neither could blow the game open. Seventeen minutes in, Osman raced untouched 70 yards downfield, but laid his pass just in front of Zakyi. A few minutes later, Osman sent a high pass across the

box. He watched for what seemed like an eternity as Zakyi waited and chopped the ball just right of the Broncos’ goalie. The duo almost connected again twice in the 59th and 60th minute, but yet again couldn’t finish. “I thought we were a little bit too impatient,” Daley said. “We were trying to just run, run, run, run and we didn’t show enough patience in the buildup. When we just go and don’t connect we all have to run back 50, 60, 70 yards. We wanted to show some patience and composure.” Western Michigan gave the Wolverines its best shot — both figuratively and literally. Rather than buckling to the pressure of being down 2-0, the Broncos were the more patient team in the second half, controlling the pace of the game and even throwing in some shoves and pushes to intimidate Michigan. Historically, the Wolverines haven’t fared well against their in-state rivals from Kalamazoo. And it certainly wasn’t easy for Michigan to just pick it up after watching its lead evaporate and getting tossed around. But in doing so, Michigan established itself as a team with heart, unity and resilience. “We have a mantra,” Cerda said. “We like to stick together. Robbie and I as captains make sure we actually practice that ... Doing all the right stuff. We don’t give up, and we’re confident if things go astray that we’ll be able to overcome them.”

AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily

Michigan coach Chaka Daley preached patience to his team on Saturday.

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Sophomore midfielder Nicki Hernandez has accumulated six goals and four assists for Michigan this season, leading her team in both categories.

THEO MACKIE

Daily Sports Writer

Michigan women’s soccer coach Jennifer Klein found herself in a pickle in the Wolverines’ final game of the spring. Thanks to a number of absences, the first-year coach was missing all of her topchoice striker options. She analyzed her options, and with no better alternative, settled on using thenfreshman midfielder Nicki Hernandez as her striker. Hernandez put up a strong performance, convincing Klein she had stumbled upon a new winning formula. Seven games into 2018, the move looks like a stroke of genius, as Hernandez has six goals and four assists, leading the team in both categories. “I think because we’re getting her higher and into the goal zone in and around the net, she’s able to able to put the ball in the net,” Klein said. “She has good skill and she’s

not scared to shoot.” Hernandez started 12 games last year but managed just a goal and an assist as sophomore midfielder Sarah Stratigakis and senior forward Reilly Martin made headlines for Michigan. Now, Hernandez has elevated herself to their level as the team’s most important player in non-conference play. But while Hernandez has been the best player, Stratigakis and Martin have been critical to her success. The trio notched both the goal and assist on five of the Wolverines’ six goals in their 6-1 win over Central Michigan on Friday night and regularly practice in tandem to build chemistry for game days. Off the field, Hernandez and Stratigakis are best friends, helping to fortify their mutual understanding. “Having a close relationship off the field really helps on the field,” said Hernandez. “It’s really important for us to know

each other. We always look for each other and it’s good for us to connect with each other, especially in these upcoming games because that’s how we’re going to succeed.” Coming off a three-game losing streak — in which Hernandez and Stratigakis scored Michigan’s only two goals — Klein knew she could trust her offensive stars to right the ship against Central Michigan. That safety net is what gives Klein and the team confidence heading into Big Ten play. “Coming in with our new staff,” Klein said, “we wanted to establish an attacking identity and really try to make sure we have options in numbers going forward. “They’re really thriving in this system of play. I know Strat and Reilly both have been really impactful with their years before and I think we found a good spot for Nicki and we’ve freed her up and she’s been able to be creative

and impactful.” But while the locker room remained upbeat through the Wolverines’ losing streak, the team needed a strong performance Friday to regain its confidence. Thanks to Hernandez, Martin, and Stratigakis, that’s what it got. “It totally (impacts our confidence) and that’s what we were looking for coming in,” said Klein. That confidence is more than coach speak. It’s obvious in the way the team plays, pressuring opponents at every turn and always looking to get forward, in contrast to a defensive mindset preached under coach Greg Ryan last season. But more than that, it’s obvious in the players. “In the Big Ten, if we go down,” Hernandez says, before pausing and cracking a laugh, “which we won’t.” In her current form, that prediction might not be too far off.

Sports

8 — Tuesday, September 11, 2018

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Kemp adjusting to new defensive tackle spot Wolverines get shots The redshirt sophomore got his first start of his college career in Saturday’s win but struggle to score FIELD HOCKEY

MARK CALCAGNO

BAILEY JOHNSON Daily Sports Writer

For two straight games, Emma Way came through in the clutch for the Michigan field hockey team. On both Friday and Sunday, the senior forward scored game-winning goals in overtime, and she even managed to score with 8:17 remaining in the extra period in both games. But Way’s f lashy gamewinners hid the fact that the Wolverines (3-3) shouldn’t have been in overtime in the first place. They tallied 17 shots against Pacific on Friday and 24 against Monmouth on Sunday, despite emerging with just four goals across the two games. With that many shots, Michigan expected to score more goals. “Obviously it’s really frustrating,” Way said. “When you see the stats saying we have a lot of shots and no goals, you know you have to work on something.” For the Wolverines, that something could be finishing scoring chances off penalty corners. Michigan scored off of just one penalty corner this weekend — scoring on only one of its 13 chances Sunday and none of its 12 chances Friday. The lone penalty corner the Wolverines managed to score from was Way’s second gamewinner, where there were just six Hawks on the field — just seven players on each side take the field for overtime and Pacific received a green card moments earlier — and the extra space on the field may have contributed to the scoring success. “I think we felt good, having a little bit more room on the field now,” said Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz. “We

were able to execute. I think we felt confident about that.” Despite the last-minute scoring, the shots throughout each game were frequently saved, blocked, or just wide of the goal. When a shot misses, sometimes it’s doomed from the start. Maybe it was sent at a bad angle or directly towards the goalie, or it just wasn’t strong enough to get through the defenders. But sometimes, it’s a case of bad luck. “It’s a game of wins and losses, sometimes you get it and sometimes you don’t,” said sophomore midfielder Kayla Reed. “Sometimes it’s just the luck of the bounce. I’m really confident in the girls, I know they’re all great goal scorers, but now it’s just getting that into play. It’s definitely something we’re going to work on as a team.” The Wolverines had four shots that bounced off the side or the crossbar of the goal in Sunday’s game, including a shot that hit off the side of the goal after a penalty corner. While Michigan can certainly improve its finishing, some of this weekend’s inefficiency may come down to unlucky bounces. “We got 24 shots to (Monmouth’s) six, so we’re getting there, we’re making the opportunities,” Reed said. “Over time, we’ll start slotting them in, and when we do, hopefully that scoreboard will read a little bit more difference between the two teams.” Misfortune likely played a part in the Wolverines’ scoring difficulty. But when they score just four goals on 41 shots in a weekend, it may take more than just improved luck for them to increase their output.

Daily Sports Editor

Carlo Kemp started the first game of his career Saturday at defensive tackle. With both sophomore nose guard Aubrey Solomon and fifth-year senior defensive tackle Lawrence Marshall out due to injuries, it was a moment three years in the making for the redshirt sophomore. “It was my first time playing and having a majority of snaps during a football game, so it just felt really good to be out there and run around and just play football,” Kemp said. “It’s been a while since I got a lot of snaps.” That’s partly because Kemp has twice changed positions with the Michigan football team. When he first came to Ann Arbor in the spring of 2016, Kemp cut ten pounds to practice at outside linebacker. But he didn’t feel comfortable there, and after receiving limited action his freshman year, Kemp switched back to defensive end. Drawing from familiarity playing the position in high school, it was a more natural fit for him. That still didn’t equate to playing time. Firmly behind now-junior Rashan Gary at Michigan’s anchor spot, Kemp registered just three tackles and one quarterback pressure in 2017. So early this past winter, he went to defensive line coach Greg Mattison with a proposal: move to the three-technique defensive tackle. Kemp didn’t have interior line experience, and he knew the change meant embarking on an ultra-intense workout and eating regimen to gain weight. It was a challenge Kemp was ultimately willing to undertake. “Even if it meant being a backup, just letting coach Mattison know, ‘Hey, I want

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily

Redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Carlo Kemp filled in for Aubrey Solomon and Lawrence Marshall on Saturday.

to learn it at least’ just so he has that option,” Kemp said. “I think he liked the idea of me coming to him and asking him.” Thus Kemp began working at both defensive tackle and anchor during spring practices, picking up on sometimes subtle differences in footwork and blocking. Kemp now feels like he’s honing in his technique, but it wasn’t an easy process. “For me, it was pretty tough just because I hadn’t done it and it’s a whole lot faster,” Kemp said. “At the anchor position, you just got to watch that tight end and whatever he does you just kinda play off it. If you try to mirror anyone’s footwork inside, you’re gonna end up 10 yards running into your linebackers messing up the whole defensive play. “On the inside, you got to play

even more aggressive since you got the guard and the tackle to worry about, and you’re getting 600 pounds on you on every play.” More on the mental side, that number represented Kemp’s biggest hurdle to changing positions. He’d already cut 10 pounds to play outside linebacker. Now, Kemp would have to beef up to hold his own at threetech. And with plenty of targeted eating and protein shakes, Kemp did just that. He went from around 275 to 295 pounds, becoming one of the team’s most physically imposing players in the process. “Just really strong, he’s playing really strong,” said coach Jim Harbaugh. “Very dedicated player who we had no hesitation starting and playing him a lot. He’s coming into his

“It’s been a while since I got a lot of snaps.”

own. Physically, the strength is showing up.” It showed when Michigan needed it on Saturday. Kemp, who rotated with junior Michael Dwumfour and fifth-year senior Bryan Mone, made two tackles and was instrumental on junior defensive end Rashan Gary’s first sack of the season. Bull rushing the left guard in the first quarter, Kemp closed off both inside gaps, allowing Gary to come off the edge and tackle Western Michigan quarterback Jon Wassink for a loss. Kemp is far from a finished product at defensive tackle, and the Wolverines would benefit significantly from the returns of Solomon and Marshall, who are “week to week” according to Harbaugh. But so far, Kemp’s long transition has worked out for both him and Michigan. “You just want to get on the field,” Kemp said. “So if they recommend moving inside, I’m not gonna fight that. I’m going to be the best at the three-tech that I can and just fight my way on the field.”

Through criticism, Michigan looks at silver lining with offensive line ETHAN WOLFE Daily Sports Writer

When asked to evaluate his offensive line’s play thus far, Jim Harbaugh predictably offered a rosier picture than what one would have found on an online message board. But Harbaugh didn’t even mention the five guys who have played seven of the season’s first eight quarters. “It was good to see (freshman) Jalen Mayfield get in the game, it was good to see (redshirt sophomore) James Hudson get in the game and do well,” Harbaugh said during Monday’s press conference. “We’ve got good hopes for both those tackles. It’s kind of a race to see how fast they can get up to speed.” It’s no secret that the Wolverines’ offensive line is the offense’s — and perhaps the entire team’s — bottleneck capping its potential. But Harbaugh has steadfastly stood by his starting five. So why would Harbaugh mention two backup linemen unprompted? “They’re in the ballpark,” he said of the competition at both tackle spots. “So that bodes well for us. Want depth there. … Whether they’re the best player at the position? Time will tell.” With two games under Michigan’s belt, the time for Mayfield and Hudson’s possible ascendence is now. Junior quarterback Shea Patterson has flashed his savvy with accurate on-the-run throws and evading pass rushers, but it hardly seems sustainable. Patterson’s mobility was relatively capped against No. 8 Notre Dame, with three sacks coming on the left side past senior tackle Jon Runyan Jr. The frequency of quarterback hurries allowed by the leaky o-line alarms the naked eye, but the Wolverines are protective of the starting rotation, trying to remain loose and disregard any ire from the fanbase. “Most people do not understand fundamentally what offensive line play is and what it entails,” said junior backup

AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily

Senior left tackle Jon Runyan Jr. has come under increasing fire, especially after junior quarterback Shea Patterson was sacked three times by defenders from the left side against Notre Dame.

center Stephen Spanellis. “Someone might perceive something as bad offensive line play that in reality is not on us or they don’t understand what our assignments are, so they don’t know what we’re supposed to do. “It’s a complicated thing, so people often blame us but we just try to block that out and know that as a unit we’re solid and improving and we’re gonna continue to do that.” Against Western Michigan on Saturday, the offensive line was being credited left and

right for the success of the run game, which amassed 308 yards. Junior running back Chris Evans said “you could drive a car through” the holes they produced. Patterson said the offensive line “had a heck of a game.” But even against an inferior team like the Broncos, pass rushers made it to the backfield several times. Spanellis admitted that even on some of the successful plays, like Evans’ 27-yard touchdown run, the offensive line missed blocks. Thus,

“It’s kind of a race to see how fast they can get up to speed.”

frustration persists as eyes peer to future foes like Wisconsin and Ohio State. The candid Spanellis, though, sees things from a more assured, theoretical point of view. One of the most intelligent players on the roster, Spanellis explained the nuances of the offensive line schemes academically. “If we’re in a five-man protection and the call-side tackle has to come down on a blitzing linebacker and leave the end and let him go free, the average fan will

say ‘What the hell is that guy doing? He just let up a sack,’ ” Spanellis said. “But no, that’s his assignment, that’s what he’s supposed to do. … You’re gonna have to take the most dangerous guy, in terms of if you’re gonna look at a Pythagorean triangle, the guy that’s inside is closer to the quarterback.” Harbaugh boils down his offensive line in simpler terms. After praising Mayfield and Hudson, he later circled back to compliment the his starters. Sophomore center Cesar Ruiz

“... the guy that’s inside is closer to the quarterback.”

was “really good,” junior right guard Michael Onwenu “made a lot strides,” and Harbaugh was “very pleased” with Runyan and fifth-year senior right tackle Juwann Bushell-Beatty. Harbaugh’s words were a far cry from any animated, overjoyed commendation. But his team continues the waitand-see approach to display pass-blocking improvement. “I think we’re close,” Spanellis said. “I’m not an expert, I don’t know when exactly you’ll be able to tell exactly when. But I think we’re gonna get there. I’m not exactly sure what it’s gonna look like, but I’m sure it’ll be great.” But through two games and with much still to improve, impatience can justifiably grow.