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Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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City Council members push to fail Prop A The panel, which featured Mayor Taylor and Councilmember Ackerman, was hosted by College Democrats and the Roosevelt Institute ABBY TAKAS For the Daily
With the midterm elections just around the corner, the University of Michigan chapter of College Democrats, the Roosevelt Institute and the Michigan Affordability and Advocacy Coalition hosted a panel Monday night to discuss
and explain Proposal A to University students at the Ford School of Public Policy. Panel members included Mayor Chris Taylor, Councilmember Zack Ackerman, D-Ward 3, and Public Policy Kellie Lounds, president of College Democrats. Proposal A was introduced following the City Council’s approvalof the Library Lot development in June, with plans of creating a 17-story commercial development complex on top of the 711
Students bring housing concerns to CSG town hall
University is working with landlords, city government to reduce rush in off-campus housing search BENJAMIN ROSENFELD For the Daily
As students begin the search for their housing arrangements for next year, the University of Michigan’s Central Student Government held a town hall Monday night to address the challenges of finding off-campus housing. CSG president Daniel Greene, a Public Policy senior, began the town hall discussing the dynamics of student and landlord relationships. “A lot of students blindly sign their lease,” Greene said. “They don’t know the information they should look out for, and a lot of students find themselves unsure of what to do when they have a
conf lict with their landlord or housing management company.” Dean of Students Laura Blake Jones followed Greene, going into further detail about the resources that are available to students searching for help. The University offers resources including Tenant Rights and Responsibilities materials, Student Legal Services for issues with landlords and more. “We’re committed to making sure that when you move off campus and go into residential environments that you have those that are among the highest quality,” Jones said. According to Jones, now is a stressful time for students, as many landlords
Underground Parking Structure in downtown Ann Arbor. The building would include 43 affordable housing units, office spaces, hotel rooms and a public plaza. If passed, Proposal A would reject these development plans, and instead, propose the city builds an additional urban park and civic center commons. The panelists argued the $5 million price tag of this park could instead be allocated towards affordable housing, which, according to the panelists, is a more pressing and relevant issue. Ackerman said with this new privatelyowned complex, students or Ann Arbor residents that use federal
begin to accept applications and deposits during the fall semester. For many freshmen, the search for off-campus housing can begin only a few months into their college careers and can present many obstacles for those unfamiliar with the ins and outs of securing and negotiating housing contracts. “We’ve been working really hard to correct a misperception that you have to rush and be in a hurry to make a decision about your housing for the subsequent year,” she said. “We’re working really hard with landlords and city officials to make it more comfortable for you to know, at whatever time of the year is right for you, that you will be able to find housing that works for you.” LSA sophomore Mikaela Uddfolk said she signed a lease by the end of October of her freshman year. Uddfolk, who is currently living in an off-campus apartment, said due to her plans to study abroad next year, the process has been significantly less stressful
Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor and Ann Arbor City Councilmember Zach Ackerman discuss how Proposal a will affect affordable housing in Ann Arbor in Weill Hall Monday. SARAH KUNKEL/DAILY
housing
compared to her freshman year. “I’m planning on finding a sublease for next year,” she said. “If I was just starting to look into housing now, to actually sign a lease, I think I’d be pretty stressed out.” Uddfolk said it would be helpful if the University included information about the housing search during orientation so new students could be better prepared for it. Among the other speakers at the event was Gayle Rosen, an attorney working for Student Legal Services, the University’s law office for students. Rosen is in charge of advising students in negotiating their leases and housing contracts. “We do anything from renewing leases to helping you with security deposits, as well as helping you deal with construction, noise, eating issues, air conditioning issues and
vouchers to pay their rent would be able to live in the central downtown area, rather than on the outskirts of the city. “If we truly want to
permitting emotional support animals,” Rosen said. The event also included a question and answer session with student representatives from Beyond the Diag, the university’s program intended to “improve off-campus safety resources, communication, and education for UM students.” Jones specifically referred to the program in her comments, citing the support they provide to undergraduates. “A lot of people think their problem or concern is a little too personal or specific to them,” Jones explained. “I want you to know that our help can be very personalized to your needs. If you
remain a diverse and inclusive community, housing is the crux of this entire equation,” Ackerman said. Ackerman said this complex would bridge the gap between the adult population in the Main Street area with the student population in the State Street See COUNCIL, Page 2A
“We’ve been working really hard to correct a misperception that you have to rush and be in a hurry to make a decision”
See CSG, Page 3A
ANN ARBOR
CAMPUS LIFE
Officials criticize A2 partisan elections
Experts on Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions discuss origins and intent of movement
Ann Arbor is one of three cities in MI with partisan local elections, Lumm wants change LEAH GRAHAM Daily Staff Reporter
Ann Arbor’s highly partisan local elections make it an outlier among cities in Michigan, and City Councilmember Jane Lumm, I-Ward 2, wants to change that. According to Lumm, only two other cities in Michigan — Ionia and Ypsilanti— have partisan local elections, while most have nonpartisan races, meaning candidates do not run as members of a particular political party. She also noted that Ann Arbor’s usual
Speakers refute allegations of anti-Semitism against movement, emphasizing solidarity with Jews ELIZABETH LAWRENCE Daily Staff Reporter
Students and faculty gathered in Palmer Commons at the University of Michigan Monday morning to listen to panelists describe the origins and mission of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. The movement has always been a contentious issue on campus, but has become a rising issue recently after a Graduate Student Instructor and a professor declined to write letters of recommendation for students hoping to study abroad in Israel last month. The panel was hosted by the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies. CMENAS director Samer Mahdy Ali opened up the event, first recognizing the tragedy of the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh this past weekend. Ali then noted some people might MATT VAILLIENCOURT/Daily
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Huwaida Arraf, a civil rights attorney and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement, discusses the BDS movement at a CMENAS Teach-In Town Hall at Palmer Commons Monday morning.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 20 ©2018 The Michigan Daily
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................5
SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS...............5 SPORTS....................7
News
2A —Tuesday, October 30, 2018
MONDAY: Looking at the Numbers
TUESDAY: By Design
WEDNESDAY: This Week in History
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residents who were vocal against Proposal A were in the audience and, though audience members were not allowed time to speak during the event, they passed out written materials to other audience members. In a letter passed out, Ann Arbor resident Daniel Rubenstein said the housing and business complex would contribute to the urban clutter of downtown Ann Arbor and urged the audience to vote yes on the proposal. “Unless we protect this parcel now, it is more than likely that we will never again have an opportunity to create public open space in the heart of downtown,” Rubenstein wrote. LSA junior Yosef Gross,
COUNCIL From Page 1A and South University Avenue area. According to Ackerman, this building would fill an otherwise desolate area and give students walking home at night a greater sense of security. The panelists explained even though the Library Lot development isn’t a comprehensive solution to affordable housing in Ann Arbor, this is a necessary first step in the process. “With respect to affordable housing in the city of Ann Arbor, we have nowhere near enough of it,” Taylor said. Many Ann Arbor
“With respect to affordable housing in the city of Ann Arbor, we have nowhere near enough of it”
co-president of the Roosevelt Institute, said the event was intended to inform students and young voters of the implications of Proposal A. “We think this is an event that is being portrayed in across Ann Arbor and through the ballot proposal question as an event about development and about a park, but really it’s … a ballot proposal about affordable housing and we wanted to make sure that students at the University of Michigan — people who are going to be voting on this — are clear about that,” Gross said.
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University kicks off first annual First Gen Week with community gathering According to the ‘U’s 2016 campus climate survey, first-generation students make up 8 % of the student body, First Year Experience wants to serve as a resource ALYSSA McMURTRY For The Daily
First Year Experience, a division of the University of Michigan’s Office of Student Life, hosted “First Gen? First Year? Questions and Community” Monday, an event intended to help firstgeneration students navigate their freshman years, in Couzens Multipurpose Room. Two of the student coordinators, LSA junior Khanh Le and LSA sophomore Sudoku Syndication Mariah Benford, voiced their opinions on what this event
meant for first-generation students. “There are definitely specific problems that firstgeneration students have to go through and I think it’s for that,” Le said. “First-gen students make up a small population of overall students here. Problems that firstgen students face can be overshadowed or ignored by bigger priorities.” According to a 2016 campus climate survey, first-generation students constitute 8 percent of the student body. First-gen students in the past have
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said the coupling of lack things like ‘How am I going to of parental guidance and, get involved?’ but it’s not like, typically, a low-income status ‘If I’m not involved, I’m going has made the transition to to be homeless.’” higher education difficult. LSA freshman Richard Benford said she “appreciated Demeter said the event made the fact that there’s a space him feel welcome at the for first-gen students,” University. especially through events “I was a little worried about such as Monday’s coming to a big university and In her opening remarks, Allie Harte, the associate director of FYE, said as the event marked the beginning of the first annual First Gen Week at the University, FYE wanted to help first-year http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ students on campus in their first months at the University. “First Year Experience really wanted to partner and be a part of that and provide resources and a place and space for communityfor first year, first-gen students specifically,” Harte said. Several tables were set up, each focused on a different issue, and students had the opportunity to rotate to whichever table suited their concerns. One of the tables discussed housing, specifically finances and the pros and cons of different types of housing. LSA sophomore not knowing what to expect,” Alexandria Bly, a student Demeter said. coordinator for FYE, said Nursing freshman Kaylee the pressure of searching Johnson was able to benefit for housing was of from other resources particular concern for available.` first-generation students. “I learned about a new “Housing next year is course I could take and about a big topic on campus,” community service,” Johnson Bly said. “This is probably said. “They should definitely one of the best programs do it again in the future.” we’ve had so far. Students are worried about a lot of
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“First-gen students make up a small population of overall students. Problems that firstgen students face can be overshadowed or ignored ”
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2018 FIRST GEN WEEK
CSG From Page 1A
NATALIE STEPHENS/Daily Students attend the First Gen? First Year? community gathering in a series of 2018 First Gen Week events in Couzens Hall Monday evening. First Gen Week continues until this Friday, with events on topics like mentorship, mental health, and networking.
ELECTIONS From Page 1A “benchmarks” — university cities like Berkeley, California; Austin, Texas; and Madison, Wisconsin — have nonpartisan local elections. Since 2015, Lumm has introduced three ballot proposals before City Council to allow voters to decide if they want to get rid of partisan city elections. Each time, her proposal was voted down. Her most recent attempt in July 2018 fell one vote short of making the November ballot. “It is, frankly, very frustrating, because I think that while one can debate the merits of nonpartisan versus partisan local elections, there’s no argument that I can see for not allowing voters to decide the question,” Lumm said. Lumm said nonpartisan elections would shift the focus from Democratic primaries held in August to the November general election, when voter turnout is typically higher. “Ann Arbor is a clear outlier in holding local elections on a partisan basis. We’ve been an outlier for a very long time,” Lumm said. “… None of our traditional benchmarks have partisan local elections. So that fact, coupled with the fact that Ann Arbor residents have not had an opportunity in 60 years to weigh in on this, are compelling reasons why this question about nonpartisan elections should, I think, be on the ballot.” Lumm pointed out that despite the fact the council is composed primarily of Democrats, members still have disagreements and spirited debates over municipal issues, pointing out political parties are not particularly relevant in local races. She also said her efforts were not related to the fact that she is the only Independent on the majorityDemocratic City Council. “This isn’t about me,” Lumm said. “Local elections are not philosophical, ideological issues where party matters. It’s best practice. We’ll have higher turnout, we’ll attract more qualified candidates. It would require more voter scrutiny on the issues or candidates’ positions on the issues and the candidates’ priorities, and those are all really good things. I think it’s just good government, and that’s why I think we should be doing this.” Jeff Hayner, D-Ward 1 candidate, disregarded party affiliation when he ran as an Independent against incumbent Democrat Sabra Briere in 2013. Hayner said he did so to spend more time
talking about the issues central to his campaign. “I’ve been a registered Democrat since ’84,” Hayner said. “The Democratic Party is where it’s at. In 2013, I knew I didn’t really have a chance to win because the woman who held the seat was sort of a beloved figure in local politics. I ran as an Independent so I could go all the way to November and talk about two issues that I ran on, which hadn’t been talked about at the time, which was the Gelman plume — the dioxane plume that’s creeping under our city — and also our city’s woefully underfunded
“So in terms of next steps, where we go from here, I remain determined to provide voters an opportunity to decide this question ”
pension mandates.” Hayner said he focused more on the issues than political ideology. “I know we’re a heavily Democratic city — that’s pretty evident — but there’s all kinds of people that live here and some of them aren’t as interested in politics as issues, so I’m just more of an issues guy,” Hayner said. “I guess that would make me a moderate.” Councilmember Sumi Kailasapathy, D-Ward 1, announced she would not be seeking re-election in April, and endorsed Hayner, who then narrowly won the Aug. 7 primary in a contentious race against Ron Ginyard, who was backed by Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor. Ginyard, a retired financial adviser, faced criticism for his failure to vote in an election since moving to Ann Arbor four years ago, while Hayner received scrutiny over several uncouth tweets as well as his membership in the National Rif le Association. “It was closer than I would have hoped since he had never voted, which I think is sort of a big red f lag for a Democrat, you know, but people are
involved and active,” Hayner said. “There was a lot of getout-the-vote efforts on one side or another. He had a backing from the current council majority, so you know, that’s a powerful lobby.” In the general election, Hayner is facing off against Ryan Hughes, a Democratic Socialist. Hughes said he ended up running as an Independent rather than a Democrat because, by the time Kailasapathy announced she was not running for re-election, he felt there wasn’t enough time for him to marshal the resources necessary to compete as Democrat. “I was worried if people saw the word ‘Independent’ on the ballot they would think I was just a Republican who was too ashamed to admit it or something like that,” Hughes said. “So I said, ‘I got to write Democratic Socialist on everything that I do.’ People have to know that’s what I stand for — I think this is the time and this is the place to be a Democratic Socialist right now.” Hughes centered his campaign around the issue of affordable housing in Ann Arbor. He has called for the city to intervene directly to provide low-cost public housing. Hughes said there was a dichotomy between those who believed the problem could be solved with market forces alone and those who were preoccupied with concerns that building new housing would cause the price of existing housing to increase. “That’s kind of been the spectrum of debate in the city, and I don’t think that either of those are very realistic plans, just in and of themselves,” Hughes said. “My whole point in running was kind of to say, there’s something else we could be doing. We could be tackling this problem more directly than either of those things will allow us to do.” Lumm said she plans to introduce the ballot measure again after the November election, once the new members of City Council are seated. “So in terms of next steps, where we go from here, I remain determined to provide voters an opportunity to decide this question and obviously I very much believe that we should afford residents the opportunity, not force folks to collect ballot signatures,” Lumm said. “If council rejects the ballot question for the fourth time, I am fully prepared to help folks obtain the necessary signatures.”
Tuesday, October 30, 2018 — 3A
BOYCOTT From Page 1A question CMENAS’s decision to hold an event discussing a movement some equate with anti-Semitism. He explained CMENAS decided BDS is too vital a movement to not be discussed, claiming the movement is against a racist institution rather than a group of people. “Why hold an event like this after such a terrible tragedy?” Ali said. “Frankly, we considered canceling the event altogether. But violence is contagious … BDS is the most important global issue for thousands of students on the U-M campus. This nonviolent movement is part of who they are. BDS is not against any group, but against a racist structure that oppresses millions of people daily.” The first speaker was Susan Abulhawa, a political commentator, poet and founder of Playgrounds for Palestine. Abulhawa began her presentation by reading aloud some of Israel’s laws. One of these was a law put into effect this summer, which declared Israel as the nationstate of the Jewish people and downgraded Arabic from its official language status. Abulhawa then talked about the history of Palestine and Zionism. Seventy years ago, she said, Palestine was a thriving, pluralistic country with sophisticated businesses and infrastructure. She said this changed with the introduction of Zionism, which was seen as a movement for Jews to return to a land devoid of a culture and a people. “They said it was a land without a people for a people without a land,” Abulhawa said. She showed an image of an online recipe for falafel, calling it an Israeli dish. This, Abulhawa said, illustrates how Israel has co-opted Palestinian culture. “You get to see this kind of stuff,” Abulhawa said. “Israeli cuisine, falafel, shakshuka, hummus, which has nothing to do with Israel. Not only has Israel stolen our home, and our lands and our dignity, and our heritage. But they’re also stealing our culture and our story and our history.” Abulhawa continued to describe some of the Israeli government’s policies, including former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin’s instruction to Israeli soldiers to break Palestinians’ bones while he was the minister of defense. She said in response to these types of policies, and despite what she described as the U.S.’s perception of Israel as a start-up nation, protesters and activists in the BDS
movement work to hold Israel accountable. The next speaker, Israeli sociologist and activist Tom Pessah, spoke of the difference between anti-Semitism and what he called “antiSemitizing.” He delved into the history of anti-Semitism and explained anti-Semitizing is a way of equating criticism of Israel with the hatred against Jews. “The most common response that you see is what I would call anti-Semitizing, which means casting the words and the deeds of the opponents of Israel as resembling traditional anti-
“You see many Palestinians, many Jews, many Israelis working side by side, acknowledging the rights of Palestians as we said. ”
Jewish posts,” Pessah said. “This is a way of stigmatizing people as anti-Jewish in order to silence opposition.” This conf lation is bad for everyone, Pessah said. He said he believes strongly in solidarity and noted he has found that while working with the BDS movement — a movement which he said works to end the Israeli occupation — to recognize equality of Palestinians, and to allow Palestinian refugees to return home. Pessah said BDS is a strong opponent of antiSemitism. “BDS has been a model of solidarity from my knowledge of participation in the movement,” Pessah said. “You see many Palestinians, many Jews, many Israelis working side by side, acknowledging the rights of Palestinians as we said. But also, the BDS movement has been outspoken in combating anti-Semitism.” Huwaida Arraf, a civil rights attorney and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement talked about state policies targeting institutions that participate in the BDS movement. Arraf explained the foundation BDS is built on. “In 2004, Palestinian civil society, 170 organizations, unions, representing really all
come in and seek the support, we will find a way to work with your concerns.” Housing prices in Ann Arbor have long been on the rise. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median rate for rent in Ann Arbor has increased 14 percent from 2010 to 2015 and now sits at approximately $1,075 per month. Last spring CSG received backlash for its Campus Affordability Guide, which offered tips to make University living more affordable. Suggestions such as cutting down on housekeeping services, laundry delivery or limiting impulse purchases were deemed out of touch by much of the student body. Students responded negatively to the Guide, calling it “out of touch.” Public Policy senior Lauren Schandevel and LSA senior Griffin St. Onge, in collaboration with other student groups, wrote an abridged guide called Being Not-Rich at UM which improved the advice from
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facets of Palestinian society, political factions came together and announced this call to the world to help us achieve our freedom by instituting the same kind of pressure on Israel that the world instituted against apartheid in South Africa that helped bring it to an end,” Arraf said. Arraf encouraged the audience to research and verify anything her or the other panelists discussed in order to form their own opinions. But she said she expects independent research will affirm her points. “Anything I’ve said here, I don’t expect you to take as a given — please go and research yourself to learn more about it,” Arraf said. “Anything that Susan said, anything that Tom said. We want people to do the research themselves and then I’m confident you will also sign on.” In November 2017, for the first time in the school’s history after years of attempts, Central Student Government passed a divestment resolution calling for the University to investigate several companies it had investments in which have contracts with the Israeli military. The Board of Regents later rejected the resolution. One student later asked how the panelists felt about the incidents of faculty and staff members declining recommendation letters. Abulhawa denied these actions were discriminatory, as the professors had originally agreed to write the letters before learning they wanted to study in Israel. “I don’t believe the professors were discriminating against the students,” Abulhawa said. “The professors were pointing out, they were discriminating against Israel if you want to call it discrimination. My understanding is that they had actually agreed to write recommendation letters for those students, but when they learned that these students were applying to a colonial institution, they exercised their conscience not to be party to that.” After these recommendation letter incidents, Shay Vaughn, an administrative partner and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advocate in LSA, said she received many phone calls about this issue. That’s why she attended the panel — she hoped to learn how to support as many people through DEI as possible. “When it comes to being the DEI advocate, I think there is a responsibility to know certain things, and I take that very seriously, so I shared this event out to everyone in the office,” Vaughn said. “I just really appreciate being allowed to be here.”
Opinion
4 — Tuesday, October 30, 2018
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L
Everybody wants to be famous
ying on the couch side and are still living in the era by side, my sister and of social media. There are I shoved potato chips famous people on varying into our mouths as we spent applications such as YouTube, Vine, Instagram and our Sunday Twitter accounts afternoon that people subscribe watching a to and follow for marathon of E! updates. With all True Hollywood of these different Story. During one platforms, there is of the episodes this new culture of about the artist following, creating P!nk, her closest and posting content friends shared ELLERY for others to see. But their memories of P!nk as a teenager ROSENZWEIG even everyday people are treating their and how she was given her iconic name. My normal accounts as if they sister paused the show and maintain great viewership. passed me the bag of potato For example, in the recent chips, asking, “Who do you film “Eighth Grade,” main think would be interviewed character Kayla has a YouTube about you in your True Hollywood Story?” Without any hesitation, I begin How is it that we drafting out loud which family members, friends and teachers all established the would tell stories about same mindset that me because I had already fantasized about becoming a we would one day be famous star. When I was younger, I famous for our work? always thought I would grow up to be famous for some reason. I wasn’t sure exactly for what, but my dream was to be as a famous singer. I channel where she has themed thought I would be discovered videos with advice and talks through all my beautifully to the camera like she has a awkward solos in choir or by large following. We later find a stranger finding my covers out she only has a small circle of songs on YouTube, just like of friends. Our commonly used Justin Bieber. However, here I have been am, somewhat grown up and applications not famous or well known for updating so there is more any of my spectacular talents. audience user communication Last week, when I was and interaction. For instance, hanging out with a group of the new “ask question” sticker on Instagram friends, one of them asked available all of us what we would want stories allows people to ask to be famous for. We all had you questions and you can different answers, from visual post the responses or the arts, to music, writing and ability to respond to stories sports. Yet we still all have by sliding into the direct this dream to be known for message section. Also, normal our passions, crafts and skills. people are being sponsored This piqued my interest, by different companies and because how is it that we all posting about products for followers. Accounts established the same mindset their that one day we would be by everyday people changed famous for our work? Where from just for your friends did we get this idea or is it into platforms or “inf luencer” for audiences of human nature to want to be pages well known and have a legacy? strangers or potential bosses Looking back at the media to explore. For most of us, we don’t I consumed as a preteen, many of my favorite shows and have a big following and we movies were about normal kids only have our friends and who become famous for their family members interacting different talents. For instance, with our content. But we are Hannah Montana, the Jonas still treating and preparing Brothers, the Naked Brothers our accounts like they are Band and the Cheetah Girls made for a general audience. all were about normal teens When I was younger, I was who also doubled as famous always nervous about posting singers and musicians. In things to Instagram and would “iCarly,” three friends become spend large amounts of time well known on the internet for going through my pictures their web show. Seeing these to post the best one with storylines repeated over and the most creatively crafted over again has impacted the caption — but in retrospect, way I think about fame today. there was no reason for me Additionally, we grew up and my friends to spend so
much time on one picture that someone is just going to scroll through in a second. Ref lecting on this occurrence, it reminded me of a theory that I learned in my developmental psycholog y class called “adolescent egocentrism.” During adolescence, teens feel as if they are the center of the world. During this stage, adolescents can experience a feeling of an imaginary audience, where they feel like everyone is paying attention to their appearance, actions and behaviors. Also, they may experience the personal fable, where they think their experience is incredibly unique and no one is having a similar experience. These theories explain why my friends and I spent so much time and energ y thinking about how others would perceive our posts and the content we were posting online. But the truth is that you are probably the only one spending time on your page and others are not even thinking about your content for that long. Our culture right now seems to highlight those with the most likes and views, but not everyone is going to have a large following. So instead of spending time and energ y crafting content for others, you might as well post your content for yourself. As I am writing this column, I have the song “Everybody Wants To Be Famous” by the band Superorganism repeating in my head. It is really catchy and highlights the point that everyone does want to be famous and have their name well-known — but what is the cost? We spend so much time thinking about how to make ourselves well-known and remembered. I find myself dropping my handle (cough cough, @elleswag) and writing my name all over the place when I have the chance. I think this is just the hope that the things we create and impact we make in our field, community and world is recognized and used because then all of our efforts would be worthless. So, instead of spending our time and energ y creating and doing things for others to enjoy and consume, consider thinking about sharing your talents and skills because you love doing them. You may become well-known and famous from this, but it is probably better for your own motivation, well-being and time. Ellery Rosenzweig can be reached at erosenz@umich.edu.
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I
t’s a word you have read a million times, it’s a word you have used a million times, but you have no idea what it actually means. An initial reaction would be to say that “lol” isn’t actually a word, it’s an acronym. While it is true that in 1989, when it is believed that “lol” was first used, “lol” did literally mean “laugh out loud,” but it is hard to arg ue that is still the case. Just quickly looking at my recent text messages “lol” has been used in the following ways: “Lol it’s nothing,” “Excellent lol,” “Maybe it’s not better for u lol?,” “I have never heard of him lol,” “lol no worries it’s on the second f loor next to the reference room.” While all these texts are stripped from their context it is pretty clear that in none of these conversations “lol” was used to mean laugh out loud. So what does “lol” actually mean? And what role does it play in our lang uage? In a 2008 paper studying teen usage of acronyms and instant messaging lang uage, researchers Sali Tagliamonte and Derek Denis find that “lol” is used “in the f low of conversation as a signal of interlocutor involvement, just as one might say mm-hm in the course of a conversation.” This understanding of “lol” is certainly useful and describes some of the ways “lol” is used. If a friend is in the middle of sending a series of texts telling a story, I often drop “lol” in the middle just to let them know that I am reading and keeping up with what they are saying. Tagliamonte’s and Denis’s definition, however, fails to describe how “lol” is being used in most of the sample texts. In “I have
never heard of him lol,” the “lol” was not at all necessary to maintain the f low of the conversation, nor did it imply the idea of mm-hmm. John McWhorter, a ling uist at Columbia Universit y, believes that “lol” “no longer ‘means’ any thing. Rather, it ‘does something ’ — conveying an attitude — just as the ending ‘-ed’ doesn’t ‘mean’ any thing, but conveys past tense. “Lol” is, of all things, g rammar.”
Will ‘lol’ escape the realm of digital messaging and seep its way into other linguistic contexts?
McWhorter’s understanding of “lol” does a much better job of describing the wide variet y of ways that “lol” is used. In all of the sample texts, “lol” was used as a way of implying a certain tone or adding a feeling to the text message. McWhor ter ’s int uition, t hat “lol” is a n at tit udina l expression seems correct, but his t heor y ca n be f ur t her specif ied. What act ua lly constit utes g ra mma r is a highly t heoretica l a nd loaded discussion t hat ling uists debate endlessly. “ Lol,” in my v iew, should be understood a s a “sy mbol” just like comma s, colons a nd excla mation points. The purpose of sy mbols w it hin our la ng uage
is to help convey emotion a nd at tit ude of t he deliver y of words. For exa mple, a n excla mation point ma rks t hat somet hing ha s been sa id w it h a specia l a mount of v igor a nd empha sis. By adding “lol” to t he end of “I have never hea rd of him,” I sig na led to my f riend t hat I had a slight bit of emba rra ssment about my ig nora nce. In t he exa mple of “ Lol it ’s not hing,” “lol” helped sig na l t hat my f riend wa nted to ca sua lly move on in t he conversation. If t he text read simply a s “It ’s not hing,” t he level of seriousness a nd t he overa ll mood of t he conversation would have been a lot more unclea r to me. A s texting ha s become a more ubiquitous pa r t of societ y, so ha s t he new forms of la ng uage t hat texting ha s brought a long w it h it. If my t heor y is correct — t hat “lol,” more t ha n a ny t hing else, is used a sy mbol to help express emotion — what does t he mea n for t he f ut ure of “lol? ” Will “lol” escape t he rea lm of dig ita l messag ing a nd seep its way into ot her ling uistic contexts? Pa r t of my int uitions lea ns towa rds yes — “lol” is of ten ut tered in face-to-face conversation w it hout hesitation. A not her pa r t of me, however, ha s a ver y ha rd time imag ining a world where “lol” is used a s a g ra mmatica l sy mbol in a novel or a n a r ticle. If “lol” shows us one t hing, it ’s t hat la ng uage is f lexible a nd unpredictable which mea ns predicting t he f ut ure of “lol” is a nea rly impossible project. Reed Rosenbacher can be reached at rrosenb@umich.edu.
ERIN WHITE | COLUMN
C
Nostalgia’s place in popular culture
ertain senses, and and online inf luencers. On certain media, can put social media accounts with you in the past. A rerun large followings, “inf luencers” of “Tom and Jerry” takes me can be making well into six figures, and this is back to 5 years old, often dependent on sitting on my longviewership. Josh gone fabric couch, Peck, an actor best eating a peanut butter known for his role sandwich with my as Josh Nichols dad before afternoon on the popular kindergarten. This Nickelodeon show bittersweet feeling “Drake & Josh,” has of nostalgia can moved his career be incited by the in the direction simplest of senses ERIN of social media, and can make you WHITE becoming active on smile about a past memory while also longing for platforms like Instagram and those good times. But scientists YouTube. Peck has also created have explored the feeling and a close association with fellow determined that nostalgia is inf luencer David Dobrik, who an overall positive experience recently reunited Peck with his — not holding you in the past “Drake & Josh” costar Miranda but rather lifting your spirits. Cosgrove. The resulting video Nostalgia provides a sense got over 9.6 million views, is of continuity in your life and nearly double the average views personality, which is something for Dobrik’s content. The use of nostalgia in an that can bring people peace with themselves. And because of this emotional pull of nostalgia, it’s no surprise that marketing officials and personal brands have been increasingly pulling on these feelings in exchange for profits. One of the most prominent examples of this is the new wave of Disney live-action remakes, beginning with “Alice in Wonderland” in 2010, which was later joined by “The Jungle Book,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Cinderella” and “Christopher Robin.” The films did quite well overall in the box office, attempt to generate viewership with “Beauty and the Beast” and excite audiences has its hitting a record-breaking $170 place, but if taken too far can million in its opening weekend. feel disingenuous. Disney, one These films, based on Disney of the six most inf luential cartoons, pull the attention of media conglomerates in the those who grew up watching United States, is consistently the originals, a media-favorite producing original content, from the childhood of both however, a large portion of millennials and Gen Z. Due to their current work stays based their unprecedented success, in these recreations. While Disney plans on producing the reboots are well done, it’s at least five more live-action difficult not to see the trend of remakes increasing alongside versions through 2020. The use of nostalgia is not box office sales. They know limited to media conglomerates that nostalgia sells tickets. like Disney. This marketing The authenticity of a reunion tool has been extended into between childhood stars who the world of personal brands have not seen each other for
Nostalgia provides a sense of continuity in your life and personality
years can be questioned in the same way. But nostalgia gets clicks. As a sentimental person, I enjoy these nostalgic media moments, and more often than not, they do draw me to certain content. The enjoyment of nostalgia is a natural response, which is why it remains an effective tactic despite its prominence in our media. And the content certainly can be artistic, thought out and strong. Not all nostalgic media is bad content, but it’s important that as consumers we acknowledge nostalgia’s new role as a marketing strateg y in popular culture. At what point does nostalgic media stop being a worthwhile extension of the original content and instead begin to stif le authenticity? Each use of nostalg ia can be examined with these criteria, and it’s up to the consumer to determine the worthiness of these projects and whether or not they stand as strong pieces of content, outside the realm of the orig inal. We have all seen a bad sequel or remake — the cult classic “Scream” did get three sequels — and those are the t ypes of projects that simply tr y to prof it off of the extension of a successf ul orig inal. Media content is a blend of art and entertainment, but its g reatest purpose has become making money. We live in an attention economy where the media is constantly v ying for our viewership, and it’s no surprise that nostalg ia has become so central in doing this. We need to become more active in our media decisions. Consumers should be more aware of their choices and understand the intentions of brands before they passively accept the recycled content coming across their screens — separating exciting nostalg ia from lazy recreation. Erin White can be reached at ekwhite@umich.edu.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Tuesday, October 30, 2018 — 5
CONCERT REVIEW
Mitski achieves rock star status at The Magic Stick DOMINIC POLSINELLI Senior Arts Editor
Ironically enough, with the release of Be The Cowboy, Mitski’s most experimental and pop-inf lected album to date, Mitski has finally become the true rock ‘n’ roll star she was clearly born to be. Untethered from her guitar with a full band and backing tracks, Mitski completely owned the stage and attention of the audience, diving deep into the emotionality of her music with a newly developed, incredibly intense stage presence. In an interview with The Fader, Mitski said, “How can I use my voice as an instrument and make this interesting?” and she delivers on all fronts when it’s the only instrument she’s focusing on. Only limited by the struggling sound system of a club venue like The Magic Stick, Mitski brought her new material to life this past Tuesday among a surprising number of deep cuts from her earlier material, including tracks like “Townie” and “First Love / Late Spring,” closing with “Goodbye, My Danish Sweetheart,” which elicited much screaming and excitement from the crowd. Surprisingly, Mitski only has three full-length studio albums under her name, yet her 21-song set felt surprisingly evolutionary for such a young artist; she f lashed all of her best facets within an hour and a half, revealing growth not only in songwriting but in performance as well. Yet, this is precisely the unfortunate paradox of a Mitski performance: She
played a full set spanning her entire career, and it still left me wanting more. This isn’t to the fault of the artist, but speaks more to the fact that the only way to be satisfied by a Mitski set is a full three
Mitski only has three fulllength studio albums under her name, yet her 21-song set felt surprisingly evolutionary for such a young artist; she f lashed all of her best facets within an hour and a half
hours to perform her entire catalogue. I was heartbroken that “Fireworks” had lost its spot in her setlists, while I heard others mourn the losses of “A Burning Hill” and “Texas
Reznikoff.” Simply put, she’s that talented, and while her set perfectly exemplified her growth as an artist, her individual tracks are too nuanced to not notice when they’re missing. Regardless of these selfish tendencies of her fans, Mitski’s live performances are spectacular, and her vocal abilities and new emotional investment in movement contribute to her magnetic nature. Her control of volume in particular weighed heavily on the room’s atmosphere; she can just as easily overpower the room with bellowing, soaring vocals like those of “Geyser” as she can softly tease out sadness and nostalgia as witnessed during “Two Slow Dancers,” which completely silenced the crowd. While her older songs more or less carry an indie-rock sound with them, her newer material added the perfect amount of diversity to her setlist. Playing “Washing Machine Heart” only three songs into the set, the crowd bobbed and swayed with the disjointed synth and drum lines, which perfectly accent her soft ruminations before the song falls into an elegant melody over it all. It’s an aching song masked in some of the most inventive pop music written this year, and her delivery perfectly mirrored this. She proceeded to pull this off several more times, especially with singles “Geyser” and “Nobody” which both pull from a similar vein of songwriting style. Having sold out The Magic Stick weeks in advance of the concert, it’d be shocking if Mitski doesn’t start to take
her shows to larger venues that can better accommodate her demanding vocal range and complex arrangements. But for now, she continues to put out incredible work that is
deeply moving to see delivered live. Mitski is an artist that has proved her dedication to her art time and time again, and it seeps into every aspect of her shows, from her dancing
and singing to her interaction with the crowd. Mitski is truly loved by her fans, and based on last week’s performance, it’s likely she truly loves them back.
DEAD OCEANS
DEAD OCEANS
COMMUNITY CULTURE NOTEBOOK
A love letter to New York City’s The Drama Book Shop ELI RALLO
Daily Arts Writer
I am 16 years old, standing on West 40th Street in Manhattan, freezing and naive. There’s a Dec. chill in the air, a longing beating in my chest and a day-of Broadway ticket burning a hole through my jacket pocket. My hands reach for the door in front of my wide eyes and pink nose and I exhale. I stare up at the published plays and musicals lining the shelves and wonder what it would take to get my name printed down one of the slim, glossy spines. In that moment, I commit myself to the goal of making it here. This is my first time in New York City’s The Drama Book Shop. Anyone who knows me knows that my two greatest loves are theatre and books. I cannot choose between the two, because they share my affection both passionately and evenly. If you get me started on either topic, I’m likely to never stop ranting on some romantic diatribe about one or the other or both. The Drama Book Shop marries the comfort and security I feel in a bookstore with the magic and passion the theatre brings me. They have 8,000 original plays in stock — waiting to be read, waiting to be picked up, waiting to live. The shop nurtures and sponsors new and established playwrights alike with a 50-seat theatre in the basement for new performances, workshops and trial runs. It’s a theatre inside a bookstore — one inside of the other, like the Russian doll of my dreams. Walk through the front doors and be in the arms of the playwright — ready to be transported to whatever world you so choose as you scan the shelves. Moments later, descend a f light of stairs and be removed from reality entirely as you’re inspired and pushed as an artist and a human being. New work is enthralling. It is imaginative
and energizing. There is no place quite like this one anywhere in the world. When I’m leaving The Drama Book Shop, my backpack weighed down by a few new plays and perhaps another book or two that caught my eye on my way to the checkout, I wish to
Anyone who knows me knows that my two greatest loves are theatre and books. I cannot choose between the two, because they share my affection both passionately and evenly
bottle up the feeling the place gives me. For the fear and the knowledge that there’s no other place like it in the world. The Drama Book Shop, for me and for so many other creators, is what some call a home away from home. The people who have passed through those doors — artists, visionaries, appreciators, designers and tourists — all share a universal love for theatre. This is not your normal
bookstore; it is the safe haven for theatre lovers and readers. It is specifically unique and a wild idiosyncrasy: a bookstore for plays, bulletins with audition listings lining the wooden walls, musical scripts, biographies, guides and history books filling the place like air. This store is a staple in the theatre community. It has thrived in Manhattan for over 100 years. Like oxygen and water, it fulfills a specific need for so many of us. Theatre people need to be brought together with other theatre people because collaboration is where the magic happens. Theatre people understand the rise and fall, the trial and error, the effortless pushing and pushing and pushing to break through into something magnificent. So it comes as a heartbreak, and somewhat of a personal tragedy for me, to see that The Drama Book Shop has had to announce that it is being forced out of its home (not its first location, but the only location I’ve ever known) due to New York’s classic rising rents. Patrons and theatregoers and customers of the shop have f looded the store’s moderately-sized interior since, declaring they will spend as much money as they can to attempt to make even the smallest dent in the shop’s rent cost. In addition, Lin Manuel Miranda, who wrote much of “In The Heights” in that very The Drama Book Shop basement, stopped by the store recently to sign copies of everything with his name on it. But even then, with this outpouring of support, the owners are unsure if they’ll be able to stay af loat. For some people, Pete Davidson and Ariana Grande’s breakup or Kim Kardashian losing a diamond earring in a tropical destination overseas hits hard, but in the past few days, I’ve held back tears more than once thinking of one of my favorite places in the world closing its doors, potentially
for good. As a playwright and a theatre creator and an avid reader, I’m constantly terrified nobody will ever read my plays or stories, and that one day soon there will be nowhere to see them on shelves. I wonder where the childhood dream of being published on a shelf at The Drama Book Shop will go long after they’re gone. I wonder what young playwrights are supposed to do in a world that doesn’t seem to be buying enough plays. I wonder how we’re supposed to find communities or little safe havens in cities as large and looming as New York, if our safe spaces are struggling to survive. I wonder what this says about our society — one where it’s becoming increasingly easier to choose online ordering to standing outside on a cold Dec. day and waiting for The Drama Book Shop to open. Everything is an iPhone click away — all of our books and words and human moments. I fear there’s no solution. I want my children to see The Drama Book Shop and I want them to get the feeling I do when I go there: empowered as an artist, thrilled that places exist to celebrate our
artistry and excited that there are communities for
I wonder how we’re supposed to find communities or little safe havens in cities as large and looming as New York, if our safe spaces are struggling to survive
burgeoning playwrights. I want so desperately for my
children to know book shops — independent book shops — or something, anything other than Amazon Prime. I feel foolish by adding to the problem. How easy it is to send myself books and plays from the comfort of my bed, and I feverishly and angrily decide to stop doing it all together. I need to walk to a bookstore, to open the door and feel at home in its warm glow, a feeling I lose when I order online. I am terrified that we are going to AmazonPrime away the experience of independent bookstores. I wonder again if there’s a way to bottle up the feeling of The Drama Book Shop so I can hold it near when I’m longing for it halfway across the country, or in a few months, when it says its forced goodbyes. But more than this, and maybe selfishly so, I’m sad that there’s a very real potential that I’ll never have the chance to see my own plays lining a shelf. That there will never come a day that a young, naive, freezing-cold girl with a dayof Broadway ticket burning a hole in her pocket stares up at my name printed on the sleek, slim spines, wondering if maybe one day, that will be her, too.
Courtesy of The Drama Book Shop
Arts
6— Tuesday, October 30, 2018
TV REVIEW
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
FILM REVIEW
PARAMOUNT NETWORK
BLEECKER STREET
Paramount’s ‘Heathers’ Keira Knightley shines reboot needs to be buried and keeps ‘Colette’ afloat ALLY OWENS
Daily Arts Writer
Where to begin? The new “Heathers” has a simple message: People from marginalized groups do not deserve to have confidence and
“Heathers” Series Premiere Paramount Network should be stopped at all costs. That’s it. Roll credits. I had my suspicions that this would more or less be the central message undercutting the “Heathers” reboot, but I decided to watch it for myself before I crucified it. It’s crucifying time. Just in case everyone else forgot (like the showrunners clearly did), the pitch-black humor of the 1987 “Heathers” solely worked because the victims of the murders themselves were horrendous people. They were hyperprivileged, conventionally attractive, evil embodiments of the conformist, white suburban culture the movie set out to skewer. The three Heathers and their comrades having enormous privilege is a non-negotiable factor in constructing the humor of the movie, which is why the universe took a collective sideeye when it was announced that the new eponymous clique would be re-cast with actors who all come from a different marginalized group. Blonde-haired, blue-eyed,
statuesque Heather Chandler has been reimagined as plussized and androgynous, yet her cold persona remains. However, rather than her evil energies being directed at nerds and losers, it is being directed at a popular jock for wearing a culturally insensitive shirt. And we’re supposed to hate her. The new Heathers are rounded out by Heather McNamara (Jasmine Matthews, “Sweetbitter”), now a lesbian of color, and a genderqueer Heather Duke (Brenden Scannell, “Bonding”). As aforementioned, the choice to “diversify” the Heathers was eyebrow-raising, a decision that felt like a case of goodintentioned tone-deafness at best. The episode quickly contradicted this perception. It is very clear that we are supposed to hate the Heathers for supposedly using their “differences” to guilt people into making them popular. Icky. This pilot represents a stark misunderstanding of what marginalized groups mean in terms of better representation and inclusion in media. It also proves to be a missed opportunity for quality content. The new “Heathers” could have easily been a satire on disingenuous allyship that exposed the vapidness that so often lingers beneath the surface. Instead, “Heathers” is an unfunny mess where our villains are minorities who dare enough to not take anyone’s shit, and our “sympathetic” protagonist, Veronica, (Grace Victoria Cox, “Twin Peaks”) is a self-important white woman. Go figure. In addition to the weak foundation the show is built
Release Date: Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Beauty queen’s topper 6 Standoffish 11 Irish folk dance 14 Naysayers 15 “Z: The Beginning of Everything” star Christina 16 Santa __ winds 17 *Easy-to-read character 19 “Real World” channel 20 Triangular Indian pastry 21 Skinny fish 22 Buzzing insect 23 Luxury bag monogram 24 *Cruise stop 28 Like much Scotch 30 Purchase at Lowe’s 31 July 4th nonstarter 34 Kagan of the Court 37 “Grr!,” say 40 *Microsoft Outlook service 42 Freight weight 43 *FaceTime alternative 44 1988 film farce fish 45 Asian part of Egypt 47 Assist 48 Goes to seed 50 “Enchanted” fantasy film girl 52 *Emphatic typeface 56 Patriots’ org. 59 Stool pigeon 60 Put a spell on 61 Decline to participate 64 Cigar refuse 65 Parting words suggested by all or part of the answers to starred clues 67 Peg for a round 68 “Grr!” 69 “Tomorrow” musical 70 Slip up 71 Cozy spots 72 Rent-a-car choice
DOWN 1 File folder projections 2 Mosaic technique 3 Molecule parts 4 Cough drop name sung in ads 5 Seeks answers 6 “__ you listening?” 7 Soda bottle size 8 Four pairs 9 Spotted wildcat 10 Evergreen tree 11 One-pot New Orleans dish 12 Major chip maker 13 Chairperson’s order keeper 18 Place for a campaign button 25 “Waiting for Lefty” playwright 26 Archaeologist’s find 27 Fail suddenly, with “out” 29 Desserts in Little Italy 31 Morning drops 32 Actress Thurman 33 Longtime “CBS Evening News” anchor
35 “There’s __ in team” 36 Building add-on 38 Hudson Riv. tech school 39 Went first 41 Worshiped star 46 “Iron Chef Gauntlet” host Brown 49 Devious plan 51 San __: Texas city, familiarly 52 Steaming mad
53 Law enforcement shocker 54 Overflows (with) 55 Yank in Yemen, for short 57 No longer lost 58 Saint __: Caribbean island 62 School bake sale orgs. 63 In that case 65 They’re related 66 Cards checked at the gate, briefly
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
By C.C. Burnikel ©2018 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
10/30/18
10/30/18
upon, it also fails to take a solid stance on anything. It attempts to mimic Ryan Murphy’s acerbic wit found in the first seasons of “Glee” and “Scream Queens,” but fails miserably — primarily because from scene to scene it is unclear what they are arguing for or against. Veronica calling
MEGHAN CHOU Daily Arts Writer
Keira Knightley (“The Imitation Game”) and European period dramas go hand in hand. Whether she
“Colette” Bleecker Street State Theatre
For a show that so desperately wants to distinguish itself from its movie predecessor, it still allows the 1987 film to do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to characterization
takes on the role of Elizabeth Bennett or Anna Karenina, Knightley delivers wittiness and sells the historical throwback with ease. She could be a time traveler, an actress actually born in the 1800s and 1900s, sent to the future to give audiences a taste of life before computers and social media and clubbing. Set at the turn of the 20th century, “Colette” follows Gabrielle Colette, the true author of the popular French Claudine novels, and her husband, Henry Gauthier-Villars, pen name Willy (Dominic West, “The Square”). Willy has relied on ghost writers for his success, approaching literature as a marketing challenge rather
than an artistic pursuit. When bills pile up and he can no longer afford the men who wrote his earlier works, he turns to his wife, Colette. Colette draws from her memories and deepest thoughts to create what Willy initially rejects: the most popular book in France, particularly among women readers. However, since Willy publishes the book and its sequels under his own name, Colette receives none of the acclaim or credit. The great American (or British) novel has always been a male-dominated pursuit. The lists of classic “greats” usually showcase white men like Ernest Hemingway, Tom Wolfe and Jonathan Franzen. “Colette” dives into the psyche of this obsession, showing Willy’s views of what makes a book enjoyable — plot, sex, action — versus Colette, who focuses instead on literary elements. Willy wants a story about school girls for the fantasy-fulfillment factor, while Colette wishes to connect with her readers and convey her personal truths. Along the way, Colette discovers a taboo truth about herself: She does not solely love men. As Willy openly pursues
other women, so does Colette. Their marriage reaches a surprisingly progressive state where the two spouses carry out affairs and inform one another. However, as Colette soon realizes, she is still an oppressed woman. Willy only allows her to take on female, not male, lovers, and does so in the hope of sparking a higher rate of production for the Claudine novels. “Colette” explores the hidden LGBTQ+ community in the early 1900s with simultaneously refreshing casualness and an alarming lack of politics. Although Colette and her trans lover are harassed at a show, the film does not address how the society as a whole treated or was aware of nonheterosexual relationships. “Colette” suffers from trying to cover a large period of time, but does justice to the woman who was almost written out of history. Knightley carries the weight of the film, appearing in nearly every scene and making a lasting impression in one particular uncut monologue. She embodies the role with thoughtfulness and a quiet rage. Knightley and the real life Colette remind the world why women should not be ignored.
BOOK REVIEW Heather Chandler “fatty” is supposed to be lauded, and J.D. (James Scully, “Quantico”), who for some reason is in possession of serious Nazi paraphernalia, is still treated as the unquestionable, smoldering hottie. For a show that so desperately wants to distinguish itself from its movie predecessor, it still allows the 1987 film to do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to characterization. Viewers who have no prior knowledge of the movie would be deeply confused by many elements of the pilot episode. Character relationships, personalities and motivations are murky and hastily thrown at the audience. For example, in the movie, Veronica latches onto J.D. after he pulls a gun on bullies Kurt and Ram; in the show, J.D. just randomly approaches Veronica, a member of a top clique. Based on the politics of Woodcrest High School that the show itself presented to us, this feels unrealistic. In addition to J.D. and Veronica’s torrid relationship feeling rushed and contrived, Veronica’s urge to kill Heather Chandler comes across as baseless. A movie should not feel as though it has better pacing than a show that has nine episodes to lay everything out. Hopefully, the havoc “Heathers” is wrecking on television will be limited to the nine episodes already released. Not only is the show irresponsible in many of its “daring” social stances, but also the show has nowhere else to go. “Heathers” is a narrative best told with a clear ending in sight, and with the pointless plotlines the show is opening up, I fear what else is next.
‘Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart’ glimmers hope TESSA ROSE
Daily Arts Writer
“Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart” is the first bilingual poetry book of Alice Walker’s 35 published and prolific works. The
“Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart” Alice Walker Atria Books Oct. 2, 2018 first female African American winner of a Pulitzer Prize in fiction, Walker’s writing shows all the marks of a revered author, poet and activist; each poem is eloquent, honest and touching. Many admirers recognize Walker for her work in “The Color Purple,” a novel tracing the life of Celie, an African American girl who is impregnated by her stepfather. In “Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart,” Walker once more explores themes of feminism and humanity, while writing with a sense of urgency for action and constructive contemplation. If Mother Earth could form audible words, they would be the words of Walker in “Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart.” Walker chooses to opt out of polarized political circles, but makes it clear she is on the side of
the oppressed. Through poetry, Walker replaces bereavement for the past with valuable fragments of hope for the future, but she makes clear that a better humanity is only feasible through immediate action against past wrongdoings. Her words lead you towards the light, but doing that involves a sense of humanity, sorrow and action against the darker shades that infiltrate the world at large. With poems for the children of Palestine, Iraqi women, the mothers of police brutality victims and many more oppressed groups, Walker’s words of sorrow and redemption account for all forms of oppression against the intersections of marginalized people globally. She further memorializes artists, activists and other brave fighters of oppression and injustice, like Martin Luther King Jr. Walker recognizes the deprivation of all forms of life beyond humans with lines like “Anybody who assassinates rivers, oceans, and the air, is not from here. / You can sleep on if you like. But this is the easiest way to tell who is not Earthling.” Alice Walker is not blindly optimistic, but rather pragmatic and compassionate. She asks if dreams for the future are at the climax of possibility with the following questions: “Is it the peaceful nation in which every child is wanted and adored; where every woman has a voice? Where every man’s dignity is rooted in nonviolence?” Walker further interrogates power structures that employ
privileges to favor some while leaving others silenced and unheard. She rightly confirms that people who have the privilege to ignore the disparities faced by so many are basking in ignorant grandeur and not stepping up to the plate of dignity for humankind. Within the 70 poems in “Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart,” lines like “Blackness is not where whiteness wanders off to die: but that it is like the dark matter between stars and galaxies in the Universe that ultimately holds us together” really stick out. These lines are from the poem “Here It Is,” commemorating Jesse Williams’s (you may also recognize him as Dr. Avery from the TV series, “Grey’s Anatomy”) speech after winning the Humanitarian Award at the 2016 BET Awards for his work with the Black Lives Matter movement. Walker, like Williams, refuses to define Blackness as the absence of whiteness, and further speaks to eliminate “fear of Blackness in white culture.” “Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart” is a four leaf clover for all activists and fighters against injustice needing a glimmer of hope. Alice Walker writes with patience and understanding, but remains demanding while posing reformative thoughts. Kind but necessary; grateful but urgent. Walker doesn’t just capture the reader’s attention — she pulls you soothingly against her chest and gets right to the heart of the matter.
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Tuesday, October 30, 2018 — 7
Mel Pearson adjusting to new NCAA rule allowing an extra skater Michigan has used four different players in its first five games as the 19th skater allowed on the ice BAILEY JOHNSON Daily Sports Writer
After 36 years of coaching college hockey, Michigan coach Mel Pearson is learning something new. For the 2018-19 season, the NCAA increased the number of skaters each team is allowed to have dressed for a game from 18 to 19. So, for the first time, Pearson has to balance an extra level of decision-making when he’s setting his lineup. “I’ve gone 36 years in college hockey with a certain way, and now all of a sudden you have an extra body,” Pearson said. “I think it’s taken me and will take me a little time to learn how to really maximize that position and get the most out of them.” Five games into the season, the No. 12 Michigan hockey team (3-2) has had different lineups almost every night. Other than keeping the same skaters for two games against Western Michigan, Pearson has made a different decision about his 19th skater for the other three games. In the first game against Vermont, freshman forward Jack Randl saw his first collegiate action as the 13th forward. Against the Broncos, freshman defenseman Nick Blankenburg earned his first two starts. And in last weekend’s series against St. Lawrence, two different forwards — freshman Jimmy Lambert and junior Adam Winborg — saw time as the extra man on the line chart. Lambert was listed as the 19th man on Friday night, after playing on the second and third lines in the previous four games. Saturday, he was back in his spot as the right winger on a line with senior forward Brendan Warren and redshirt sophomore forward Luke Morgan and Winborg made his season debut. The frequent changes are all
EVAN AARON/Daily
Michigan coach Mel Pearson has had to adjust, in his 36th season, to the new NCAA rule for the 2018-19 season which allows teams to employ a 19th skater on the ice for each game.
part of Pearson’s plan to figure out the best way to use the extra skater and create competition amongst his players. “We just want to give everyone an opportunity to see what we have,” Pearson said. “We just want to create some competition and some players have played well, so we give them the opportunity to get in the lineup.” In Saturday’s game, Pearson scratched freshman forward Nolan Moyle, sophomore forward Dakota Raabe and junior defenseman Griffin Luce.
And while Pearson wanted to reward players who deserve an opportunity, he has a hard time taking players out of the lineup. “You have to reward guys who have played well in practice,” Pearson said. “It’s always hard taking somebody out. It’s easy to throw somebody in, but it’s always hard to take somebody out. “The guys we took out didn’t necessarily have a bad game, like I thought (Moyle) had maybe his best game for us. We just want to continue to create
some competition and get them to push each other and one of the best ways to do that is by changing the lineup.” The addition of a 19th skater complicates the already-difficult process of setting a lineup. It gives an extra chance to play someone who has worked hard and is ready for an opportunity, but it also creates more ambiguity. Adding a forward without a line or a defenseman without a partner adds a layer of complexity to the decision of who to play at what times.
That difficulty showed itself Saturday night, as Winborg — dressed for the first time all season — was listed as the 13th forward. Pearson planned to play him on the penalty kill, but the Wolverines were penalized only one time in the game. “We thought he was more of a specialty player that’s gonna kill penalties for us,” Pearson said. “Then we had one penalty again, and I didn’t get (Winborg) in the game, which I felt bad about. “He’s earned a chance to play. He played last year for us in the
Frozen Four, so he’s not a bad hockey player, we just gotta find a way to get him in and get him involved. That’s on me.” The addition of the 19th skater offers Pearson more opportunities to get players like Winborg involved. It gives space on the bench for a penalty kill or power play specialist but figuring out who those players are takes time. And after 36 years as a coach, Pearson is taking his time to figure out the best way to use his extra man.
Freshman Paige Jones emerging as a leader Wolverines finish fall season on strong note WOMEN’S GOLF
AKUL VIJAYVARGIYA Daily Sports Writer
When No. 3 Minnesota rolled into Crisler Center on Saturday night, everyone in the arena knew it would be an uphill battle. Without starting setter Mackenzi Welsh, outside hitter Sydney Wetterstrom, middle back Cori Crocker and an entirely new formation? An even steeper hill to climb. What the audience might not have seen coming, however, was freshman Paige Jones’ 18-kill performance at a .349 clip while almost singlehandedly winning the first set for the No. 12 Michigan volleyball team. With junior outside hitter Carly Skjodt playing through a sprained ankle after posting a 27-kill double-double the night before, Jones knew she had to step up at the other outside hitter position if the Wolverines (18-5 overall, 7-5 Big Ten) were going to have any
chance at knocking off the Big Ten-leading Golden Gophers (18-2, 12-0). “I was ready to embrace (the bigger role),” Jones said. “I know my teammates trust me, and I trust them. So I just go (into) every game hoping I can do what they need me to do. “We knew we had to bounce back pretty quick and prepare for this match, and before the game, (Michigan coach Mark Rosen) just told us to come out and swing at the ball. Go for every ball. Don’t hold back and good things will happen.” With an ailing roster, Rosen was impressed with how the freshman showed up under the lights in front of a large Crisler crowd. “(Jones) has been working really hard to raise her level
and raise her game,” Rosen said. “It’s been tough in this conference to play back-toback nights and have good nights. I thought, you know, last night she played great, and she came out tonight and played great offensively as well so that was a big step for her as an individual. “When you have a change or somebody goes down, you want somebody else to step up, and I thought she really stepped up tonight and did a great job. I think it’s a good step in her progression and that’s what we’re looking for, to keep getting better every day. And I thought (Jones) got better today.” Though the freshman played a near-f lawless set, one of
“I know my teammates trust me, and I trust them.”
her few mistakes catalyzed a Minnesota run that carried throughout the rest of the set. After dropping two set points, the Wolverines were tied at 25-25 when Jones failed to return a relatively routine serve, giving Minnesota the point it needed to steal the set. “Personally, my passing wasn’t as good at the end of that set,” Jones said. “I could have let that ball go out of bounds. I could not get aced. I mean, there’s just something I personally could have controlled and that my team knows that I can do and I just didn’t do it. “Minnesota’s a good team so they’re going to emphasize when somebody does that.” After another stellar outing in an otherwise disappointing result, Jones hopes to continue her successful freshman campaign as Michigan figures out a way to get over the hump of beating higher-ranked teams.
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Freshman outside hitter Paige Jones tallied 18 kills and a .349 attack percentage and almost single-handedly won the first set for Michigan against Minnesota.
EMILY CHAPELLE For the Daily
Puddled greens coupled with f lashes of thunder and lightning plagued the course for the Michigan women’s golf team. Over the weekend, the Wolverines finished their fall season at what was supposed to be a three-day tournament at the Landfall Tradition in Wilmington, North Carolina. They got called off the course on Friday due to weather, and the tournament was suspended until Saturday morning. Though these poor weather conditions might have actually been an advantage for Michigan. The Wolverines are used to getting their paws wet and playing through rough conditions. “Being from Michigan, we get the chance to practice in these rough conditions,” said Michigan coach Jan Dowling. “We really just stayed tough, limited our mistakes, and handled it well.” It almost seemed like Michigan embodied the bishop from Caddyshack in that one rainy scene on the green ( before he got struck by lightning). After the thunderstorms and rain, the Wolverines faced a challenging lineup that boasted several top-25 teams and played up to the competition. This tournament concluded the fall season, so Michigan will be not be competing again until February. The confidence and enthusiasm derived from this strong finish could certainly bleed into the
team’s postseason work ethic. “We will continue to get better through daily effort and on a consistent basis,” Dowling said. On Saturday, using team totals of 306 and 293, the Wolverines had a 46-hole total of 599, which tied them with Maryland for fifth-place. Freshmen Ashley Lau and Sophia Trombetta led Michigan through the Saturday tournament; the two tied for ninth with a 147 tworound total. Lau shot a 71-76, and Trombetta shot a 77-70. Lau opened her event tying her careerlow, carding a one-under 71 in the first round, while Trombetta, carding a twounder 70 in the second round, also tied her career-best as well as the Wolverines’ season-low. “Ashely and Sophia had awesome rounds,” Dowling said. “Having freshmen on the leaderboard really shows the depth of our team. It also gives the team a lot of confidence that any of them can be up there.” This type of performance continued into Sunday. Michigan, with a final-round tally of 297 and season-low 896 54-hole total, closed its fall season with a fifthplace finish. This can be credited to Trombetta and Lau’s consistent playing. Lau led the Wolverines with her career-low 221 54-hole total. Additionally, she got a careerbest tie for 11th place overall. “In other tournaments we were not playing up to our capabilities, but here we competed well in tough conditions,” Dowling said. “We showed up and played.”
“We will continue to get better through daily effort.”
Sports
8 — Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Stats dive: ‘M’ third-down offense
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Penn State next on “Revenge Tour”
MARK CALCAGNO
MAX MARCOVITCH
Last season, the Michigan football team had welldocumented offensive issues: quarterback injuries, inconsistent pass protection and play calling that was forced to become less complex. You’ve heard some version of that before. But lost in the fold, perhaps, was how ineffective the Wolverines were on third down. They moved the chains at just a 33-percent rate in 2017, which ranked 112th nationally — the worst during coach Jim Harbaugh’s tenure. That was one of several factors that prompted an offseason full of assistant coaching changes, including the hiring of offensive line coach Ed Warinner and wide receiver coach Jim McElwain, on top of the departure of offensive coordinator Tim Drevno. The moves have helped Michigan transpose that unseemly third-down statistic. The Wolverines are converting just over 47 percent of their third-down opportunities, up 97 spots from last season. “It’s nobody’s fault for what happened last year and the last couple years,” said fifth-year senior defensive end Chase Winovich on Monday. “But I’d just say in general this year, it’s a big relief knowing we can actually score touchdowns on a pretty consistent basis and move the ball and control time of possession.” More of that responsibility has fallen on junior quarterback Shea Patterson’s running ability in recent weeks. On a 4th-and-2 during the Wolverines’ eventual game-sealing drive against Michigan State, Patterson faked to 245-pound sophomore fullback Ben Mason and picked up the conversion himself. Excluding sacks, Patterson
Last we saw Chase Winovich, he was parading off the field in East Lansing, calling Michigan State little brother after a win over the Spartans. “On one hand, it’s like I’m moving on from it,” the fifthyear senior defensive end said on Monday. But it’s Chase Winovich, so, naturally, there’s another hand. “But on the other hand, it’s like — which, I still am moving on from it, distancing myself from it — but it’s like, in my eyes, I didn’t start the fight. … For them, they called us Little Sister in the summer. They came there and tried the antics with the helmet, you guys know how that went. From there, they wanted us to take the low road, maybe I took the bait. But like I said, I don’t mean any harm from it. I’m just having fun.” Then a pause. “I’m moving on. I’m focusing on Penn State now.” The bye week has done little to quell Winovich’s self-proclaimed “revenge tour” or its gregarious torch-bearer. It’s a phrase Winovich coined in the offseason while reflecting on a disappointing 8-5 season a year ago, one in which he felt other teams, “were kind of bullying” Michigan. It’s undoubtedly about avenging losses to Wisconsin, Michigan State, Penn State and Ohio State. But it’s also, more broadly, Winovich says, “an attitude.” “They kind of took advantage of, we were kind of in an in-between year,” Winovich said. “Something about that gave a bad taste in my mouth. I knew, me personally, I wanted our lunch money back, and I wanted them to pay interest.” Perhaps no one bullied the 2017 Wolverines team worse than Penn State did, marching its way to a 42-13 win at night in Happy Valley. Michigan allowed over 500 total yards in the rout. That demolition started when running back Saquon Barkley
Daily Sports Editor
Daily Sports Editor
ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Karan Higdon already has 831 yards on the ground this season.
has 242 yards and a touchdown on the ground this season. Over 60 percent of that has come in his last two games, per SB Nation’s Bill Connelly. Lopsided scores took the load off Patterson early in the season, but his scope has been widened with more zone read and run-pass-option looks. “(Patterson’s running) opens up a lot in the offense — it’s something the defense has to defend,” Harbaugh said after Patterson ran for 113 yards against Wisconsin on Oct. 6. “I thought he did a heck of a job with his fakes, with his ball handling, with his running ability, all facets.” Improved run blocking has also opened up Michigan’s offense. Karan Higdon, despite missing the season’s third game, has already amassed 831 yards. The senior running back’s production continues to be the backbone of Michigan’s offense. 20 percent of the Wolverines’ third downs come in shortyardage situations, which ranks first nationally. Getting 5.4 yards-per-carry from Higdon is undoubtably pivotal to that. “Karan deserves a lot of credit,” Harbaugh said Monday.
“He’s gotten tough yards and yards after contact and yards more than what the play is blocked for.” Hidgon’s efforts appear even more critical when you consider the flip side of the Wolverines’ third-down coin. Michigan has the country’s third-worst conversion rate — 14.6 percent — when faced with 3rd-and-6 or longer. It reveals another linchpin to the Wolverines’ offense: staying on schedule. By giving itself manageable situations on third down, Michigan keeps the chains moving to wear down defenses eventually. It’s second to only Texas A&M in time of possession among Power Five teams. Perhaps that is not a surprise considering Harbaugh’s style. His background lies within the West Coast offense, which is predicated on the short-tointermediate passing game. That allows Michigan chances to keep the ball and chew the clock. But system aside, a simple truth remains: When they work themselves into manageable third-down situations, few teams are better than the fifthranked Wolverines.
galloped to a 69-yard touchdown less than a minute into the game and ended with Penn State snapping the ball near the goal line in an attempt to add yet another touchdown to extend the lead to 37 points with mere seconds remaining. Players regarded the latter play as a slight. This week, Winovich and Michigan want that “interest.” “(That game) lingers with us every day,” Winovich said. “It lingered with us in winter conditioning. Obviously, we don’t like what they tried to do at the end of the game; they tried to score that touchdown again.” Defensive coordinator Don Brown echoed a similar senitment last Monday night on the Inside Michigan Football radio show. “I wake up every morning and think about (that game),” Brown said. “Honest.” Added Winovich: “I’d say (Brown) is definitely a little bit more amped up this week than he’s been, and that’s saying something.” But just as this isn’t that Michigan team, this season’s Nittany Lions team is not the same. The fifth-ranked Wolverines opened up in most sportsbooks as a double-digit favorite. They
are riding a seven-game winning streak with legitimate College Football Playoff aspirations in sight. The 14th-ranked Nittany Lions have two last-minute losses to Ohio State and Michigan State and are all but eliminated from title talks. Win Saturday and Michigan can start to peer ahead at a potential de facto playoff game in Columbus in three weeks. It would have three of four legs on the “revenge tour” checked off. Lose Saturday and much of that flies out of the window. “The wins are definitely more satisfying,” Winovich said. “Just seeing our transition from last year’s team to this year’s team, and how much growth we’ve had. It’s a really cool thing to see.” And for Winovich, each passing Saturday carries more and more meaning. He came back to play his fifth season at Michigan to be in this very position. It’s all right there as he envisioned it. “For me personally, it’s like I can look up and I’ve got eight quarters left in the Big House, and my time is coming to an end here,” he said. “And it’s very special to me to see Michigan in a position where, if I leave it, and we do big things here hopefully, it’s just leaving on a great note.”
ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Chase Winovich says last year’s Penn State game lingers with Michigan.
What we’ve learned about the Michigan men’s basketball team so far JACOB SHAMES Daily Sports Writer
It has become a trademark of John Beilein-coached teams: They’re hard to figure out. At least at first. But that doesn’t mean we can’t try. The Michigan men’s basketball team has now opened parts of three practices to the media, and most recently opened the last hour of practice Monday night to the public. Fans were treated to various drills, a 30-minute, fullcourt five-on-five scrimmage between Maize and Blue teams and a three-point shooting contest between sophomores Isaiah Livers and Jordan Poole. (Poole drained twelve treys in a row to cruise to the victory.) With the obvious caveat that the Wolverines have yet to play a game, here are five observations to draw from the last month of availability, and Monday’s practice in particular: This is Zavier Simpson’s team He might not be Michigan’s best player, and he certainly doesn’t have the most pro potential on the team. But the junior point guard’s importance is unmatched. During five-on-five drills after the Wolverines’ media day on Oct. 22. Simpson was his typical ball-of-fire self, constantly barking at players after defensive stops and all the while leading with his signature ferociousness. While he was much more toned down on Monday, his inf luence was still obvious. In one sequence, he leapt to snare an errant pass with both hands, before finding sophomore guard Eli Brooks with a perfect outlet pass, leading to a Livers alley-oop finish. Defensive intensity will always be Simpson’s calling card, but Michigan’s practices have shown a player very much in control of the offense, who at the same time is aware of his limitations.
EVAN AARON/Daily
Michigan coach John Beilein could rely heavily on players like Isaiah Livers, Ignas Brazdeikis and even Adrien Nunez to replace lost production from last season.
While not necessarily explosive, Simpson has shown a knack for crafty finishing — before scrimmage drills at the past two open practices, he could be seen working on unorthodox f lip shots from almost underhand angles. And during this Monday’s scrimmage, he showed the physicality necessary to drive past freshman guard David DeJulius for layups on multiple occasions. Simpson’s main weakness — his shooting — didn’t seem to impair his unit’s offensive production on Monday either, as efficient passing, off-ball movement and a solid pickand-roll connection with junior center Jon Teske made up for this deficiency. He’s a different kind of f loor general than Beilein has had in years past. That much was clear last year, but this year, it’s even more apparent how Simpson’s molded Michigan’s identity. Big men will be a focal
point The aforementioned Simpson-Teske two-man game dominated the Maize team’s offensive sets, and if Monday was any evidence, the Wolverines may rely on their big men quite heavily for production. What that actually entails, though, is still up for debate. Teske and redshirt sophomore center Austin Davis displayed solid mobility after setting screens and diving to the basket, and both f lashed an ability to finish in traffic. Neither showed much ability to score with their backs to the basket, but postups usually are not a large part of Beilein’s offenses anyway. Teske’s improved shooting has been of interest this
offseason. In Monday’s scrimmage, he airballed his first attempt from threepoint range, but later on, he was able to set his feet and f lush a 17-foot jumper with no hesitation. More importantly, though, Beilein could be heard on multiple occasions yelling at the Maize team to set up the pickand-pop game. Even if Teske isn’t Moritz Wagner from downtown, the Wolverines clearly are confident that they’ll be able to run offense through him. Ignas Brazdeikis will be counted on Brazdeikis started at power forward during Michigan’s closed-door scrimmage at Toledo last Saturday, per The Athletic’s Brendan Quinn. It’s
The junior point guard’s importance is unmatched.
a sign that the Wolverines want to get their prized freshman on the court in any way they can. It’s pretty clear why — Brazdeikis simply knows how to score. Not only is he athletic, skillful and physical, but he possesses a relentless determination to attack the basket and got to the line multiple times during Monday’s scrimmage. For a Michigan team with a dearth of shot-creators, Brazdeikis’ aggression will be essential. However, Brazdeikis also functioned as a ball-stopper, and there was generally less offensive movement on his Blue team with him in the game — almost every time Brazdeikis got the ball, he put his head down and drove straight to the basket. In an offensive system that relies on constant motion and generating open shots, Brazdeikis will still have to refine his raw scoring ability. Livers still expanding his game
Players and coaches alike have wanted the sophomore forward to take more offensive initiative this season. Monday’s scrimmage was encouraging in this regard — but it was also a reminder that it won’t happen overnight. In one offensive set, Livers received the ball alone at the top of the key, with Charles Matthews just out of position to close out. Livers paused for a second too long, and ended up passing out of the situation, prompting Beilein to shout, “Shoot that, Isaiah!” One possession later, Livers made up for his indecision. Curling to his left, he received a pass on the right wing and put up a catch-and-shoot three without any hesitation, catching nothing but net. The Wolverines hope he eventually won’t need a reminder to do so. Adrien Nunez might have a role The freshman guard from Brooklyn, N.Y., on the other hand, doesn’t need to be told twice to let it f ly, which might explain why he started the scrimmage for the Maize team on Monday. Nunez might be the least-heralded member of Michigan’s freshman class, but one could argue he’s already the best pure shooter on the team. He has a quick, smooth release with terrific elevation and little excess motion. With Duncan Robinson gone to the NBA after drilling 237 treys over the last three years, Nunez is the closest thing the Wolverines have to a like-forlike replacement as a shooter. Nunez missed all three of his 3-point attempts in the 30-minute scrimmage, but those three attempts were diverse — they came from the left corner, off a screen and four feet behind the arc — and displayed what Michigan will need from him this season. If those shots start to fall, Nunez could find himself in an integral role sooner than later, considering the Wolverines’ team composition.