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ACADEMICS
Opera drops SMTD prof. accused of sex assault
Students turn to ‘U’, third parties for scheduling assistance tools To make scheduling easy, students look for grade distributions, calendar apps
A RT 2 . 0
CO U R S I C L E
50%
David Daniels removed from San Francisco Opera show after ‘U’ student files sexual assault lawsuit CATHERINE NOUHAN Daily Staff Reporter
The San Francisco Opera has dropped David Daniels, professor at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance and a worldrenowned countertenor singer, from their 2019 production of “Orlando” amid sexual assault allegations and lawsuit filed by a student at the University against him. The opera cited business and professional reasons for letting go of Daniels in their press release announced last Thursday. The release stated the decision was made “after considerable deliberation given the serious allegations of sexual assault, an ongoing police investigation and a lawsuit filed against the American opera singer.” “While these situations remain under investigation, San Francisco Opera is unable to present the artist on the War Memorial Opera House stage,” the release read. Daniels also had a performance from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra pulled shortly after the lawsuit was filed in October 2018. The allegations began in March 2018, when an anonymous student reported Daniels’s solicitation for
sexual favors on Grindr. The student filed a complaint with the Office of Institutional Equity two days later. In July 2018, baritone singer Samuel Schultz accused Daniels and Daniels’s husband, Scott Walters, of a sexual assault that allegedly occurred in 2010. Music, Theatre & Dance senior Samuel Kidd then reported a solicitation from Daniels on Grindr later in July. In October 2018, Music, Theatre & Dance student Andrew Lipian filed a lawsuit accusing Daniels of sexually assaulting him earlier in March 2017. After the reports of Grindr solicitation were first made to OIE, Daniels still made tenure at the University in May 2018 despite a brief OIE inquiry. Daniels has been on leave since August, and the University’s actions have been in question because of their knowledge of multiple reports since July. He is currently under investigation. Lipian’s lawsuit alleges that on March 24, 2017, Daniels invited Lipian to his apartment to watch TV and discuss his career, and then drugged and assaulted Lipian. Lipian reported not being contacted by OIE for a University investigation. Lipian’s lawsuit also accuses See OPERA, Page 3
of UM students use it
UNC Chapel Hill
80%
Factor 3 increase
of students use it
from last year
MOLLY WU/Daily
AMARA SHAIKH Daily Staff Reporter
As the winter semester at the University of Michigan draws near, students have begun scheduling, turning to course registration tools to help plan their upcoming semester. One of these newest resources students have begun utilizing is Coursicle, which works with students to create a schedule for the upcoming term by allowing instant class filtering, visual schedule planning and notifying them when seats open up in a certain class. At the University, Coursicle has recently gained traction with about 500 current student users.
Co-founder Joe Puccio created Coursicle during his freshman year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill after struggling to register for courses he needed. He explained how the frustration of planning out which classes to take and then not getting all the ones he needed inspired him to write the program in 2012. “When I was an incoming freshman at UNC Chapel Hill, I spent 7 hours trying to plan my class schedule,” Puccio said. “Then finally when I went to actually register for those classes I only got to one out of the 5 that I needed to take. That night I started working on a program that would notify me when a class I wanted had an
open seat and one of my friends suggested opening it up to other students, so we did that and it started growing really quickly.” Coursicle was unique to UNC-Chapel Hill for its first three years but began expanding to other schools by late 2015. During its first semester, Puccio said the tool had 900 users and by the next semester, the total doubled to 1,800 users. UNC-Chapel Hill offered its support to Coursicle and after becoming partnered with the Information Technology Department, nearly 80 percent of students use it to plan their class schedule. Puccio explained the Coursicle team was encouraged to branch out to different universities after
receiving emails and Facebook messages from students across the country. “Originally we were just at UNC, so we only had UNC’s classes on Coursicle, but we had started getting some emails from other students and FB messages at other schools asking if we could add support for other schools,” Puccio said. “So we started playing around with that idea and then at the end of 2015 we started expanding to other schools.” LSA senior Diego Rojas Salvador’s Facebook message caused the Coursicle team to look into expanding to the University specifically. He said he reached out to See COURSES, Page 3
Veterans panel talks stigma around Study finds PTSD, public policy support systems VP Pendse ACADEMICS
RESEARCH
concerning ads in apps for youths 95 percent of apps for children age 5 and under contain advertisements
The panel, hosted by the Ford School, drew a crowd of around 100 students, faculty ERIN GRANT For the Daily
In honor of Veterans Day, the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of
Michigan hosted a panel event Monday night to discuss the implications of public policy for veterans. The panel, titled “The U.S. at ‘Endless War’: Public Policy and Those Who Serve,” featured three
veterans and was moderated by associate professor Luke Shaefer, director of Poverty Solutions. The event followed the University’s Veterans Week, a week-long series of events intending to honor
former members of the military. In front of an audience of about 100 students, faculty and Ann Arbor residents, Shaefer directed See VETERANS, Page 3
talks tech in classes at SACUA
David Potter re-elected as Faculty Senate Sec. at weekly SACUA meeting
REMY FARKAS
DANIELLE PASEKOFF
Daily Staff Reporter
Daily Staff Reporter
In college, students are finding apps for anything — deals on food, study tools and more. But as technology starts reaching younger audiences, advertisers have begun tapping into the new mobile market, resulting in what University researchers say is harmful exposure. Mobile applications geared toward children contain significant disruptive, often inappropriate, advertising content, University of Michigan researcher Jenny
The Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs at the University of Michigan met on Monday afternoon to elect an interim officer to the assembly, as well as discuss issues of attendance and the consideration of electronic participation in the future. Ravi Pendse, vice president for information technology and chief information officer, spoke to the assembly about the need for better communication between SACUA members and University faculty NATALIE STEPHENS/Daily
See APPS, Page 3
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Troy Nienberg, legislative director for U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., Heath Bergmann, Public Policy graduate student, Chemistry chief administrator Jan Malaikal, and a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel sit at a panel moderated by Luke Shaefer at the U.S. at “Endless War”: Public Policy and Those Who Serve event at Ford Monday evening.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 30 ©2018 The Michigan Daily
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................6
See SACUA, Page 3
SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS...............5 SPORTS....................7
News
2 — Tuesday, November 13, 2018
MONDAY: Looking at the Numbers
TUESDAY: By Design
WEDNESDAY: This Week in History
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SARAH KUNKEL/Daily Artist Gideon Mendel’s Drowning World installation shows the human effects of flooding and climate change at South Thayer Building and will be on view November 9th through December 18th.
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ACLU says ordinance banning outside use of City’s seal is “unconstitutional” Ordinance passed in July allows up to $10,000 in fines for unauthorized use of City’s seal to prevent false implications of affiliation with City to $10,000. In a memo to the council supporting the passage of The American Civil the ordinance, Matthew Liberties Union of Michigan Rechtien, senior assistant is fighting back against a new city attorney, explained city ordinance that bans any the reasoning behind it. He unauthorized displays of the claimed the unauthorized city’s seal or f lag. use of these symbols led In a three-page letter to to documents originating the city dated Nov. 1, Dan from third parties being Korobkin, deputy legal misconstrued as being from director for the ACLU’s the city. Michigan chapter, and “The city’s f lag and seal are Gayle Rosen, co-chair of symbols of, and have value the Washtenaw County to, the city,” Rechtien wrote. ACLU Lawyers Committee, “Vendors and potential called the ordinance vendors to the city, and other unconstitutional on the third-parties, however, use these symbols for things The rules of Sudoku are simple. Enter digits from 1 to 9 into like proposals or bids to the blank spaces. Every row must contain one of each digit. So the city, usually without any city permission.” must every column, as must every 3x3 square. The ordinance was enforced shortly after Each Sudoku has a unique solution that can be solved without it was passed when Ann Arbor resident guessing. Good Luck and enjoy! Ed Vielmetti was sent a “cease and desist” notice when he used the city seal in a localwiki. org entry specifically about the seal. The ACLU is arguing the ordinance infringes on free speech. While Vielmetti has since been given permission from the mayor to use the seal, the ACLU still sees the ordinance as an issue. “No one else who wishes to display the city’s seal or f lag should have to risk a threatening letter from Puzzle by websudoku.com a public official, or ask Diffi HARD puzzle Puzzle by websudoku.com bysudokusyndication.com 29THculty: U.S. PRESIDENT the mayor’s permission, before engaging in speech or expression that is clearly protected MOLLY NORRIS Daily Staff Reporter
grounds of free speech. “We strongly urge the city to repeal the ordinance, and in the meantime the city attorney’s office should disclaim any intent to enforce it,” they wrote. “Such a restriction is clearly unconstitutional.” Under the ordinance, which City Council passed during its July 2 meeting, any displays “on any written or printed materials that are not official city publications,” are forbidden without explicit permission from the mayor. Violations of the ordinance are punishable by fines of up
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by the First Amendment,” the ACLU letter states, referring to Vielmetti’s situation. The letter was addressed to Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor and City Attorney Stephen Postema, and both have responded saying they are going to look at the ordinance and make sure they are within their rights. “Certainly I have all the respect in the world for the outstanding work performed by the ACLU,” Taylor said. “After the ACLU’s letter, we are going to take a very close look at what we have and make sure that we’ve got it right.” In the letter, Korobkin and Rosen communicate they do not think any ordinance like the one passed in July would pass a test of constitutionality. “As a content-based restriction on speech, the ordinance is subject to strict scrutiny and cannot survive that rigorous test,” the letter states. “And requiring the mayor’s permission to display the seal or f lag is a classic unconstitutional prior restraint on speech.” According to Postema, the city plans to discuss the ordinance with the council in December, and strike a balance between protecting the city’s interests and addressing the concerns of the ACLU.
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COURSES From Page 1 them after facing difficulties scheduling courses needed for his Computer Science major. “With my experience with the courses in Computer Science the main problem is you don’t really know what you’re going to be taking,” Salvador said. “It really helped me improve my experience in terms of scheduling and planning my semester because I could add — for some classes — like 4 different discussion sections, which you can attend to any of those in CS courses. I could really understand all of the possibilities of how my schedule
APPS From Page 1 Radesky, a pediatrician, and her team found after analyzing 135 of the most popular free and paid apps for children 5 years old and younger. She began the project with the goal of simply analyzing the prevalence and structure of childhood apps when she became concerned about the advertising content and its impact on the audience of children. The team had researchers explore the apps and evaluate their advertisements in categories such as pop-up ad videos, in-app purchases or prompts to rate the app. “The reason I care about it as a developmental behavioral pediatrician is the distraction caused by advertising in apps can lead to a less meaningful experience when a child is engaging with the app,” Radesky said. “I am not only concerned about the distracting nature of ads, but we also found ads that are inappropriate for children.” Radesky said the study uncovered potentially unethical advertising for young children, as children ages six to eight may not be able to recognize and distinguish advertisements from the app itself. According to Radesky, those concepts are too abstract for children of that age to understand. In their analysis, the team tracked advertising that manipulated children to tap or download certain programs and collected data from the device. “I think the majority of apps on the market for young kids are not going to be helpful, necessarily,” Radesky said. “Most of them have
would look but using only this tool.” Though some students have started using Coursicle, others use Schedule Builder, the University-provided platform for students to visually see schedule combinations and plan their semester. Still, other students are not looking for scheduling help, but rather information on specific courses, which Coursicle does not provide. Many choose to use the University-backed Academic Reporting Tools, or ART 2.0. Like Coursicle, ART 2.0 allows students to check courses for the upcoming semester, but it does not have the option to create a class schedule or track open seats in a class. Instead,
not been proven to be educational even if they are labeled educational. It winds up becoming not helpful (to the child) and in some cases potentially harmful.” They also noticed some advertisements in apps that were not age-appropriate, including violent of political ads, potentially doing damage to the child. While many apps are categorized as educational, Radesky said apps could actually introduce children to unexpected content. LSA junior Kendra Nash, a psychology student who works in a school with young children, has concerns about the influence of inappropriate advertisements on children. “Screens are becoming a pseudo-babysitter for many children and they can have harmful side effects,” Nash said. “This is especially an issue because phones store information and display ads that might be appropriate for adults, but not for the children who are using their parents’ phones.” Nash spent her summer working in an autism center that advocated for technology use. She said with YouTube becoming increasingly popular for kids, limiting their exposure to inappropriate content is difficult. “The autism center I worked at … allowed and even encouraged the children as young as four to use phones,” Nash said. “The staff were basically told that we can’t restrict their access to videos at camp because they have access to it at home and we can’t disrupt their routines.” Radesky noted there are some well-crafted apps developed for children, such as the apps for Sesame Street and PBS Kids, but many are not free. She categorized
ART 2.0 focuses on providing separate tabs for “instructors,” “majors” and “courses.” It also lets students look at professor ratings, see what kinds of classes people in a certain major tend to take and look at grade distributions. The Michigan Daily has also launched Grade Guide, which allows students to compare grade distributions among classes to help decide which classes might fit their desired level of academic rigor. Salvador commented he was not familiar with ART 2.0, and finds he needs a schedule platform more than an informational guide. “I have not used that platform. I don’t know how old it is,” Salvador said. “If it’s old
most apps as “gamified play experience” and said children can have better experiences in the real world. “What I do find with many of my patients is the parents let the child download what they want,” Radesky said. “Our study suggests that could lead to a lot of lowquality free apps that collect data from the device or bombard the child with lots of advertisements.” Radesky said it’s possible the advertising elements in apps can impose a high cognitive load on children when they pay attention to fast-paced media. According to Radesky, children struggle to focus and have lower executive functioning and impulse control after consumption of this type of media. LSA junior Marisa Meyer joined Radesky’s study as a research assistant because she wanted to better understand and improve childhood media. “There’s a widespread acceptance of children’s apps, without a real understanding of what’s included in these apps,” Meyer wrote in an email interview. “I was interested in learning more about its presence in early childhood, and wanted to contribute to a study that can help improve children’s media environment.” Meyer said children use mobile devices for about one hour per day, on average. The study revealed 95 percent of the apps studied in the age five and under category contained at least one type of advertising, and 100 percent of free apps contained advertising as opposed to the 88 percent of purchased apps.
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
then the University has done a really terrible job promoting it. I try to keep updated with stuff regarding technology around campus ... If I really missed it and it was good, then I guess it was my bad.” But ART 2.0’s creators say the user base of their tool has grown a lot over the last year — they say nearly half the students on campus use it. Throughout the fall 2018 term, the site has averaged around 500 visits a day. The website also has a feedback feature, and over the past year and a half has received about 60 suggestions. Prof. August Evrard, faculty lead of ART 2.0, said collaboration between students and designers is crucial when it comes to creating the most
VETERANS From Page 1 questions to Public Policy graduate student Heath Bergmann, a captain in the U.S. Army, Chemistry chief administrator Jan Malaikal, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel and Troy Nienberg, legislative director for U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich. and an Air National Guard officer. The event was organized in part by lecturer Stephanie Sanders, the Public Policy School’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion officer. Sanders said she felt it is important for citizens to understand how policy affects those who have served in our country. “I think because if we want to think about recruiting and retaining veterans for workforce development in our organization, it’s important for those of us in the organization to understand where veterans come from,” Sanders said. After a brief introduction by Public Policy School Dean Michael Barr, veterans were asked questions regarding their time in active duty as well as their transition back to civilian life. Bergmann, Malaikal and Nienberg all agreed though there are decent support systems for veterans currently in place, there could be more done to give more people access to resources after serving. Though most veterans receive benefits from the government after being
Tuesday, November 13, 2018 — 3 effective interface for ART 2.0. “A lot of the design of ART and its functionality is built out by student interns,” Evrard said. “The office hires interns and they do fantastic work, we’re engaging right now with a School of Information class (SI 501) and a team called Team Blue Solution is working with us to explore how course descriptions are managed across the University.” LSA junior Yara El-Tawil has consulted ART 2.0 before taking classes. She hoped the tool would give her a better perspective about her workload for the upcoming semester.
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discharged related to housing, health care and education, the panelists said local communities and close friends and family play a crucial role in facilitating a veteran’s transition back to civilian life. A central topic of the discussion was the stigma surrounding the concept of post-traumatic stress disorder. The panelists said veterans who have experienced combat often struggle to cope with these memories once they’ve returned home, but Malaikal said she doesn’t want people to call this a “disorder.” “We expose our veterans to all kinds of abnormal circumstances, and they’re reacting normally,” Malaikal said. “They’re reacting in ways that someone who has seen extreme violence and destruction would react.” Instead of making veterans feel like their reactions are somehow abnormal or unjustified, Malaikal suggested the term PTSD be renamed so the term doesn’t connote negativity. Speaking on the same subject, Nienberg discussed how he channeled his experiences in combat into a positive learning experience after hearing Secretary of Defense James Mattis refer to a veteran’s experience as “post-traumatic growth.” Nienberg said veterans are able to transfer the emotional stress from combat into positive empathy at home.
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OPERA From Page 1 the University of knowing of Daniels’s abusive behavior towards him and other students and still declining to take further actions. On Oct. 31, Daniels denied all of the accusations of sexual assault and misconduct in a statement sent to the Detroit Free Press. Whether the Music, Theatre & Dance School will be keeping Daniels on the faculty is still in question. Daniels has not officially been fired, but there has not been an interim professor hired since his leave. Daniels still receives pay and benefits from the University because of his leave status.
SACUA From Page 1 and staff. Pendse was appointed this August. Pendse previously served in a similar capacity at Brown University. When arriving at the University this summer, Pendse said he wondered why the University wasn’t one of the top leaders in technology use in the classroom and across campus. From employing technological advancements like voice recognition of professors in the classroom, or transparency for students in regards to how their personal data is used by the University, Pendse asked the assembly to consider the implementation of such breakthroughs. “The question is now … would it be possible when I walk into the classroom for it to recognize me and have the technology in the classroom adapt to my needs?” Pendse said. Pendse explained his philosophy behind effective communication between him and his staff. In his job, he provides staff with weekly memos and offers his cell phone number if they ever want to contact him when off the clock. Pendse emphasized the need to relay missions of teamwork and unity to his staff by making goals for the technology aspect of the
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WELLNESS ZONE
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily E. Royster Harper speaks at CAPS Graduate Student Wellness Zone Opening Celebration at Munger Graduate Residences on Monday.
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily People test massage chairs at CAPS Graduate Student Wellness Zone Opening Celebration at Munger Graduate Residences on Monday.
Opinion
4 — Tuesday, November 12, 2018
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ADITHYA SANJAY | COLUMN
Did Donald Trump just win the midterms?
A
nd here we are. All of the excitement going into the 2018 midterm elections reached its climax last Tuesday, with the 49-percent voter participation rate the highest in 50 years contributing to what was nationally touted as the first major referendum on the 2016 election of President Donald Trump. I was proud of the wide effort to get people out to vote at the University of Michigan, which I saw personally, having to wait in line over half an hour at Pierpont Commons before I could finally receive a ballot. But was this “historic” election really as upending as people claimed it would be? Did the Democrats really surf an overpowering blue wave and take over Capitol Hill by storm? Or did the Republicans pull off Trump’s prophesized “RED WAVE!”? The media really seems to agree with the former, with CNN’s Heather Cox Richardson claiming that “a blue wave happened Tuesday, and it was a big one.” Real Clear Politics’s Sean Trende said of the midterms that “overall, Republicans had a tough night.” Honestly, I didn’t see it. Of course, the Democrats took back the House, with an expected gain of 35 seats, thereby finally ending eight years of Republican control. But when you compare it to the Republican gains of 2014, when they won “nearly every contested Senate race” as well as in 2010, when they flipped over 60 House seats and six Senate seats, the result on Tuesday seemed to be more representative of Smurf tears battering a red wall than of a blue surge flooding Washington, D.C. Obviously, the Democrats were hindered by Republican gerrymandering, which suppressed some of the potential gains. To illustrate, in 2014, the Republicans won 52 percent of the popular vote and claimed 57 percent of House seats, while this year, the Democrats are expected to win about 52 percent of House seats despite also winning 51.4 percent of the popular vote. Also, the Democrats were favored to win the House. There was nothing unpredictable about that. What was, however, were the shocking gains by the Republicans in the Senate. In past “wave” elections of 1994, 2010 and 2014, the GOP did not lose any of their incumbent Senate seats. Neither did the Democrats in 2006 or 2008. The fact that the Republicans were capable of padding their Senate majority is indicative of a general political culture that has not fully rejected Donald Trump and his Republican Party. Worth mentioning, though, is that all competitive incumbent
seats that the Democrats lost (save for North Dakota) this election were under Republican control in 2006 and 2008. Again, I don’t want to take anything away from the Democrats. They ran some very tight races and upended Republican candidates in areas that have been traditionally red. Case in point was the defeat of incumbent U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock, R-Va., by Democratic challenger Jennifer Wexton in Virginia’s 10th district, a district that hasn’t gone blue since 1980. Not only that, but they were able to make substantial gains in suburban districts, some of which voted — albeit quite surprisingly — overwhelmingly Democratic. But, now, as we look toward 2020, the Democrats desperately need to change their strategy if they want to beat Trump. The midterm elections were fueled by a few major trends that will have a direct effect on the makeup of Congress for the next two years. Most notably was the so-called “Kavanaugh effect.” Those who expressed opposition towards Brett Kavanaugh and were in competitive races were ousted from office. For example, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., and Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., were replaced by Republican candidates in red states, although Bill Nelson is heading for a recount. Perhaps most telling was the re-election of Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., who voted in favor of Kavanaugh. Considering that West Virginia went to Trump in 2016 by more than 40 points, this is particularly impressive. This was one contributing factor that showed a real trend toward the political success of moderate Democrats on Tuesday. These center-leaning candidates flipped the majority of the 28 competitive House races that the party needed to win in order to secure a majority. Progressive candidates, while enjoying perhaps “upset-level” success in the primaries, only won in the districts that were already leaning quite a ways to the left. For example, Alexandria OcasioCortez, a self-described Democratic Socialist, won in New York’s 14th district, which hadn’t gone red since 1993, by over 60 points. Progressive candidate Andrew Gillum, however, ended up losing in the statewide Florida election to Republican Ron DeSantis, though the race is currently headed to a state-mandated recount. On the other hand, the Republicans experienced an opposite effect. In the primaries, many of Trump’s critics led unsuccessful campaigns, leading to an incoming Republican caucus that is more aligned with Trump
JILLIAN LI | CONTACT JILLIAN AT LIJILLI@UMICH.EDU
and his policies than ever before. In the Republican primaries, in most races, the candidates with Trump’s endorsement ended up victorious. This was especially the case in Kansas as Kris Kobach beat incumbent Gov. Jeff Colyer, a candidate who was originally favored to retain his seat. Though Kobach was not successful in the general election, others such as Mike Braun and Ron DeSantis have emerged victorious after aligning themselves with the president. Though there weren’t many moderates who survived the primary elections in competitive areas, the few cases, such as that of incumbent U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo in Florida’s 26th district, ended up on the wrong end of the ballots in the aftermath of Tuesday’s elections. Trump undeniably had a major effect on the results in his own party, winning Senate or gubernatorial races in six out of the eight states he campaigned in during the week leading up to the elections. If anything, Trump seems to be looking forward to a split Congress with potential Speaker Nancy Pelosi presiding over the newly Democratic House. With the Democrats preparing for “an onslaught of hearings, subpoenas and investigations into nearly every corner of the Trump administration,” Trump himself seems quite unfazed, claiming “he could have ended (the Mueller investigations) anytime he wanted” at Wednesday’s post-election press conference. Unless the Democratic Party pursues unifying initiatives, it is very likely that continuous investigation and probes (not to mention, resultant media attention) will energize Trump’s base and maybe even bring more independents over to the Republican side. One could look to history for an example, such as the disappointing Republican midterm election results in 1998 when said party was placing then-President Bill Clinton under continuous threat of impeachment. As of now, I think Trump has managed to put himself in the driver’s seat. He has positioned himself well with a Senate most likely to stay within Republican hands through 2024 and a House that intends to play party politics. And until the Democrats look towards bipartisanship and capitalize on their suburban moderate gains, I think Donald Trump might have actually been the real winner of the 2018 midterm elections.
Adithya Sanjay can be reached at asanjay@umich.edu.
T
he 2018 midterm elections have concluded, and while the outcomes of several close races have yet to be officially determined, the broader results are clear. Democrats have retaken the House, while Republicans built on their previously-narrow majority in the Senate. As the results came in, both sides publicly claimed victory, with President Donald Trump calling the night a “tremendous success” while Democratic leaders celebrated taking control of the House. Political analysts will comb thoroughly through Tuesday’s results in the coming weeks, but here are some early takeaways. This was a Democratic wave, but not a nationwide wave. Democrats had not won the House in a decade, and not once since the maps were redrawn in 2010, so regaining a majority in the lower chamber represents a significant accomplishment. Due partly to gerrymandering, Democrats have faced an uphill battle to retake the House in recent cycles — in 2012, the GOP maintained a 33-seat majority despite losing the House popular vote nationwide. Nonetheless, Democratic challengers unseated dozens of longtime GOP representatives, including many in right-leaning but anti-Trump districts that Clinton won in 2016. Pundits devoted considerable attention over the past two years to the stunning gains by Democrats in various special elections relative to their performance in 2016, and these gains were replicated in the actual midterms. U.S. Rep. Karen Handel, R-Ga., known for defeating Jon Ossoff in a high-profile 2017 special election, lost her seat to a new Democratic challenger. The flipping of the House confirms that signs of voter dissatisfaction, including Trump’s low approval ratings and Democratic success in special elections, were indicative of broader Democratic momentum. Still, the cycle wasn’t all good for Democrats. The average House district swung ten points in favor of Democrats, which is slightly smaller than the 2006 Democratic wave and only half the size of the 2010 Republican wave, enabling Republicans to retain a sizable number of House seats deemed toss-ups prior to the election. Furthermore, on the Senate side, Democrats lost ground, surrendering seats in Indiana, North Dakota and Missouri, and whiffing
An uneven wave on chances to pick up seats in Texas and Tennessee. The sole Democratic pick-up of the night came in Nevada, but Arizona went blue yesterday with Kyrsten Sinema declared the winner. The race in Florida has yet to be called and will determine the extent of the GOP’s gains. Democrats needed a truly massive wave to flip the Senate, and while it isn’t surprising that such a wave failed to materialize, it is nonetheless discouraging that the GOP was able to extend their majority. While Trump is unpopular overall, he remains very popular with his base and enjoys net-positive approval ratings in most red-leaning states. Flipping the House proves this was a wave year for Democrats, but as the Senate results show, that blue wave did not hit everywhere. Democrats are facing extreme institutional challenges. It is no secret that Democrats face institutional obstacles in their quest to regain power. Tuesday’s results underscore this reality. Democrats were facing an extremely tough Senate map in which they were defending 24 seats, many in red and purple states won by Trump in 2016. Furthermore, only nine Republican seats were up for election, limiting opportunities for pick-ups. Even in a good year for Democrats, GOP gains were probable. Looking forward, these institutional challenges are not going away. The GOP’s strong performance casts doubt on whether Democrats have a realistic shot of retaking the Senate in 2020, another year with limited opportunities for pick-ups. In the long term, Democrats are at a disadvantage in the Senate. It’s simple math: Every state is represented equally in the Senate and there are more red states than blue states. The Democratic majority in the Senate from 2006 to 2014 was enabled by Democrats’ ability to win seats in red states. That didn’t happen this year but will need to happen in the future if the Democrats are to retake the Senate. Democrats’ institutional disadvantages aren’t limited to the Senate. At the presidential level, Democrats have won the popular vote in six of the past seven presidential elections, but have only actually won four of those elections. Furthermore, the GOP dominates the state legislatures, leading to advantages during redistricting season. Trump and the GOP are losing the middle. Democrats despise Trump while
Republicans have coalesced around him. More significantly, independents are beginning to abandon him. A largely overlooked aspect of the 2016 presidential election is that Trump beat Clinton among independents 46 percent to 42 percent. Since then, independents have turned on Trump, with polls finding Trump’s approval ratings among independents to be as low as 31 percent. Exit poll data from Tuesday shows independents supported Democratic House candidates by a margin of 14 points — an exact reversal of the margin independents supported Republicans in the 2014 midterms. Trump has two years to regain favor with independents, and he will need to if he wants any legitimate shot at re-election. Demographic change is not saving the Democratic Party... yet. Democrats hope that shifting demographics, namely a growing share of the electorate that is Hispanic and African-American, will allow the party to win races in traditionally conservative states like Georgia, Texas and Arizona. After Trump won these states by relatively modest margins, many expected Democrats to flip them in 2018. Though the margins were once again historically close, Democrats lost the Texas Senate race and appear likely to lose the currently uncalled Georgia gubernatorial race. Alarmingly, in some states, Republicans performed relatively well among certain minority demographics. In Florida, the Democratic candidates for Senate and governor won the Hispanic vote by just a 10-percent margin compared to the 28-percent margin Clinton enjoyed in 2016. These results show that Democrats are further away from winning these states than many hoped. While many red states are becoming more competitive due to demographic change, Democrats appear to still be several cycles away from actually winning statewide races in Georgia, Texas and elsewhere, suggesting that Democrats’ best strategy for 2020 is rebuilding the “blue wall” that Trump shattered in 2016, rather than relying on demographic change to win these emerging battlegrounds in the South.
Noah Harrison can be reached at noahharr@umich.edu.
ELLERY ROSENZWEIG | COLUMN
H
One American Jewish experience
earing the news of the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, I was numb. Another shooting at a place that is supposed to be safe and sacred. It was horrifically disgusting and incredibly sad, but it didn’t feel very different from the other shootings at schools, churches, bars and movie theaters. I must be desensitized to mass shootings, but am I supposed to feel different because it happened to my people? On social media, my friends were all changing their profile pictures and posting articles and statuses about their thoughts, experiences and feelings about the shooting. It wasn’t just my fellow Jewish friends — allies were posting in solidarity. In class, students and professors were discussing the event and making it clear to students that if they needed extensions or a space to talk, they were available. There were vigils on campus and people gathered to mourn. It was quite beautiful to see everyone come together. People were actively making space for those mourning to heal in all the ways they needed. But I did not entirely feel like I was mourning or needed to find support within my community. I didn’t want to talk about the shooting at all and I was uncomfortable with the amount of coverage it was getting compared to past shootings and recent discrimination toward other marginalized groups that have been happening in our country. After I reflected on the news, I called my sister to hear how she was feeling. She reacted similarly to me about the devastating event. We reflected on the fact that it could have happened in our temple, to our family and community members and if we were closer to the massacre would be reacting differently. However, by the end of the phone call, we were back to discussing our normal dilemmas of stress and work. In my day-to-day life, I don’t experience anti-Semitism. I don’t look stereotypically Jewish. I currently don’t wear a Jewish star or a kippah. Visibly, I can hide my Jewish identity until you hear my very Jewish-
German last name. I grew up in West Bloomfield, which has a dense Jewish community. Most of my out-of-school activities were Jewish-affiliated, from my reform temple’s youth group to volunteering with fellow Jews in Detroit. Being Jewish was always celebrated, and I felt a large amount of comfort and joy in my Jewish identity. At the beginning of my college career, I stopped feeling this pride in my Jewish identity. I felt a need to explore outside of my community by joining groups and organizations where being Jewish wasn’t the only identity that brought us together. I decided to stop wearing my Jewish star necklace or opal hamsa so it wasn’t obvious where I came from. I wanted to be able to socialize, learn and grow with people who were different from me. As I’m approaching the end of my college career, I’m fairly happy with all of my gained experiences, relationships and places I found with people who had shared interests and identities other than being Jewish. But I definitely think this need to leave or hide my Jewish identity was a form of internalized anti-Semitism. This term refers to the unconscious beliefs and behaviors passed down by family members and results from historical trauma and present-day oppression. Now, looking back and reflecting on my previous mindset, I find it extremely upsetting that I thought that being Jewish would impact or limit my ability to connect and learn with new people. But I still feel this need to gloss over my Jewish identity in progressive or social justice circles and thus adding to my uncomfortableness with the current anti-Semitic events. My experience as a Jewish person has been comfortable and privileged. With my light European skin, I can be like any other privileged white person. Though not all Jews are white, American Jews who were Eastern European immigrants with light skin were only considered white when they assimilated into the mainstream American culture after World War II. Changing their appearance, becoming more secular, speaking English instead of Yiddish and
educating their children in American schools allowed them to gain a better lifestyle. But consequently, they lost parts of their heritage and practice. Also, Jews are often seen as a model minority for being a marginalized group that is particularly successful in America but still very marginalized throughout the world. I often consider whether our model minority status allows recent events like the Pittsburgh shooting or the professor’s rejection of letters of recommendation to become an even more important issue in the news even though there have been many other acts of discrimination or greater shootings for other marginalized communities. I find myself comparing the experienceofmymarginalizedJewish community to other marginalized communities. I sometimes find myself thinking that American Jews don’t experience as much oppression because we may have more privilege than other marginalized groups in America. But after revisiting a piece that I have read in so many courses in Audre Lorde’s “There Is No Hierarchy of Oppressions,” I realized that making this claim takes away from the fact that the experience of anti-Semitism for Jews in America is valid. Comparing oppressions only makes it harder for people to come together and support one another to fight injustice. During recent news of more antiSemitic acts happening in our country, like the graffiti in a New York City synagogue, I’ve been feeling nervous to publish this piece knowing that my people have been experiencing more stress, anxiety and fear than usual. But one of the core values of Judaism is to question things and have honest debates. And when we silence voices, especially Jewish voices, we don’t leave room for conversation and dialogue that help us gain a better understanding of our experience as Jewish people. I’m only one Jew with one story, and I hope by sharing my experience others can reflect on their own. Ellery Rosenzweig can be reached at erosenz@umich.edu.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
FILM REVIEW
Tuesday, November 13, 2018 — 5
require such that “people can intuitively use them.” This is why Dykers loves making public spaces. In the case of his Hunt Library project for North Carolina State University, a five-story building, Dykers placed brightly colored stairs by the front entrance that visibly run the length of the building at a gradual slope to incentivize users to take the stairs. Not only is this the healthier option, it also allows people to gain an understanding
of the library’s resources and spaces far better than if they had taken the elevator. When asked why he still continues to make libraries in this day and age, Dykers said it’s because libraries have always been about people. They existed for two thousand years prior to the mass dissemination of books, and he has no doubt that they will continue to exist long after the use of print. His new library for Ryerson University in Toronto,
for example, was agreed to be a nice place to socialize by 93 percent of students. Constructing spaces like this is what keeps Dykers excited about his job. Snohetta now has eight offices around the world that practice independently of each other. While each operates within its own local cultural context, Snohetta’s portfolio is unified by the common goal of creating habitats that foster social interaction.
AMAZON STUDIOS
‘Beautiful Boy’ is simply a beautifully tragic story BECKY PORTMAN Senior Arts Editor
The 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported that over 21 million Americans aged 12 and older have struggled with illegal substance abuse. The CDC reported in 2017 that
“Beautiful Boy” Amazon Studios Michigan Theater nearly 115 deaths occur every day in the U.S. as a result of opioid overdoses. At these rates, the drug use in America has reached epidemic levels. One might assume that drug addiction plagues only the periphery of society — the isolated and the forlorn. Yet, addiction is a disease and it can affect anyone. Therefore, now more than ever, the story of David and Nic Sheff is a crucial tale to tell. “Beautiful Boy” tells the story of Nic Sheff (Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name”), a teen addicted to crystal meth, and his father David (Steve Carell, “Battle of the Sexes”), who is desperate to help his son on the road to recovery. The film, based off of David and Nic’s respective memoirs “Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction” and “Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines” was directed and written by Felix van Groeningen (“Belgica”) alongside Luke Davies (“Lion”). “Beautiful Boy” acts as a
conversation between father and son, offering both perspectives of the memoirs on which it is based. While the film attempts to create a conversation between father and son, sponsor and addict, it sometimes falls short, making it feel more like a monologue than a dialogue. But as the title suggests, the film focuses primarily on David’s struggle in trying to help his son, rather than Nic’s journey. The film employs a series of stunning emotional flashbacks, offering a stark contrast between Nic’s innocent childhood and the dark path towards addiction. The flashbacks offer context, allowing the audience to relish the sweet and forgotten memories of Nic’s idyllic childhood. Therein lies the essence of the film, an honest and emotionally provocative portrait of addiction. The storyline of “Beautiful Boy” is a relatable one, which makes the film all the more poignant. Anyone who knows someone who has struggled with addiction knows this story and the weight and pain that it carries. The cyclical narrative of “Beautiful Boy” acts like a spiral of bad decisions, creating a whirlpool of sobriety and relapse. Nic recovers only to get back on the wagon, and David becomes hopeful only to be crushed by another overdose or disappearance. The repetition is reminiscent of a drug addict’s journey towards recovery, a recurring and constant struggle between vice and vigor. A nuanced and emotional performance from the always brilliant Chalamet elevates the story to new heights. At some moments, Chalamet’s Nic is a
shell of himself and at others he is a cheeky teen who doodles in his notebook and listens to Nirvana. The ups and downs of Nic’s recovery are emphasized by Chalamet’s performance, making us feel every seductive rush of dopamine and every crash towards the depths of the excruciating despair of withdrawal. In other words, Chalamet is nothing short of beautiful in another knockout, Oscar-worthy performance from the boy wonder. Likewise, Carell’s David is a father desperate to save his son from himself. His performance is filled with the pain and mourning of the father of an addict, feeling powerless in assisting his son in the fight he must endure. The performances by Chalamet and Carell are the bread and butter of “Beautiful Boy,” serving tension, conflict and payoff in their emotionally stunning portrayal of father and son. Still, the film leaves something to be desired in terms of explanation, often opting for vagueness and leaving too much unsaid. The conclusion of the Sheffs’ story is somewhat unsatisfying, in the sense that it ends where it begins, facing the reality of drug addiction. After all, the journey towards recovery is one that extends past years of sobriety: It is an everyday struggle for recovering addicts. Overall, “Beautiful Boy” is an emotional rollercoaster, making every feeling be felt with the utmost intensity. The real star of the film, however, is Chalamet as the titular boy beauty, making “Beautiful Boy” nothing short of simply beautiful.
COMMUNITY CULTURE
Dykers creates habitats to build social interaction BEN VASSAR
Daily Arts Writer
This past Monday evening I had the chance to sit down in a packed-beyond-capacity Art and Architecture Building Auditorium to hear a talk from Craig Dykers, co-founder of the world-renowned architectural firm Snohetta. Often when people meet Dykers, they are oblivious to the fact that Snohetta is indeed his company. “Where is this Mr. Snohetta?” they’ll ask. This isn’t surprising, though. None of the names of Dykers or his co-founders appear readily on the Snohetta website. This is because since its conception in 1989, Snohetta has been an ever-growing interdisciplinary team of staff from all areas of the industry. They have a highly collaborative, hands-on process that enables them to best understand how the forms they create will become habitats for humanity. “We’re taught that architecture is about the form itself,” Dykers said. Architects are superior at this, but they often fail to consider human relationships to their forms. Humans don’t sit calmly and comfortably within
the confines of a concrete box that has been abstracted to the point of oppression. “We’re irrational and unusual,” Dykers said. To this end, he pulled his shirt up and said, “Woah, what kind of creatures are we?” to a big laugh from the crowd. Snohetta’s first project came in 1989 after winning an international design competition for the new Great Library of Alexandria in Egypt. The building’s sliced cylindrical concrete form demands one’s eye to study it. The library is of enormous value to its users and to the city as a whole, as it has brought about the same type of cultural and economic development its ancient predecessor did several thousand years ago. When discussing the building’s impacts, Dykers stressed that, while economics is thought to drive culture in most cases, the construction of an important civic center like this can be invaluable to the community it serves. It educates the disenfranchised, hosts cultural events, brings in tourism and is a joy for its users. Snohetta continued to influence the public sphere from here. In 2007, it completed its critically-acclaimed Oslo
Opera House in Norway. The building is one of a kind in that its roof is constructed of concrete platforms that gradually slope down from the building’s roof to the water of the bay adjacent to the site. This directly engineers a connection between what is usually a building’s most private space, the roof, down past the public space to another previously inaccessible space, the water. In America, local laws certainly would have mandated a handrail along the roof’s edge that would have completely detracted from the point of the project. It’s the completely free and unrestricted exploration the building allows — primarily outside — that lends itself to public takeover. Dykers explained that on opening night, a couple were found having sex on the roof. Shortly after this, Dykers received a video of a daredevil Parisian motorcyclist using the building as a stunt course. Although Dykers conceded that these acts were certainly illegal, he was visibly excited to have designed the habitat that contextualized them. According to him, architects “design our own zoo.” It’s an architect’s duty to consolidate the many complex programs (uses) most buildings
Rebecka Gordan
FILM REVIEW
‘Overlord’ an uber-gory good time with creativity JEREMIAH VANDERHELM Daily Arts Writer
“Overlord” doesn’t ask to be taken too seriously. Even before audiences have set foot in the theater, the first trailer set scenes of World War II-era zombie carnage to the dulcet tones of AC/DC’s “Hell’s Bells,” and once you’re in your seats and the opening titles roll, they do so in black and white — immediately recalling any number of sci-fi/horror B-movies from the ’50s and ’60s. The title, taking up the whole screen, wipes into view over
“Overlord” Paramount Pictures Ann Arbor 20 + IMAX, Goodrich Quality 16
shots of battleships at sea, and if you’ve ever watched the kind of Cold War “rah-rah, America” genre flick this is deliberately aping, it’ll likely bring a smile to your face right off the bat. That’s the kind of movie “Overlord” is, and from those opening scenes, it owns it completely. It’s the kind of movie where characters speak mostly in war movie clichés, but you don’t care because they’re Americans fighting Nazis, so you like them basically by default. It’s the kind of movie with a villain so cartoonishly evil and over-the-top that you can’t help but giggle as actor Pilou Asbæk (“Game of Thrones”) does his best to make Hugo Weaving’s Red Skull look subtle and understated. Approached on its bloodsoaked, insane level, “Overlord” can be a lot of fun. Contrary to popular belief, “Overlord” is not the latest film in producer J.J. Abrams’s
stealth “Cloverfield” franchise — though depending on who you believe, it was intended to be until “The Cloverfield Paradox” was announced, released and pretty much universally burnt in effigy over the course of a single tumultuous Super Bowl Sunday — so if you spend the whole movie waiting for a pre-fame T.J. Miller (“Silicon Valley”) to show up with a video camera, you’ll probably walk away disappointed. Instead, it takes place the day before the invasion of Normandy, as a squad of American soldiers is inserted behind German lines to pave the way for Allied forces. After making their way to an occupied French village, they discover that the Germans have begun experimenting on the population with the goal of making themselves invincible. It doesn’t go as planned. From there, it’s a quick descent into delightful chaos as the Americans have to fight through waves of Nazis, mutated Nazis, undead Nazis and other assorted Nazi abominations to ensure D-Day’s success. It’s deeply silly, gleefully overviolent and a complete blast from start to finish. Not exactly the “Nazi Zombies” rip-off the trailers promised, “Overlord” plays more like “Saving Private Ryan” meets John Carpenter’s “The Thing.” Most of the scares — and certainly the best ones — are accomplished through some seriously incredible make up and practical creature effects, while director Julius Avery (“Son of a Gun”) creates set pieces that don’t lack for scale despite a comparatively modest budget. In this, “Overlord” is something of an anomaly, as it threads the needle between low budget indie fare and big budget effects fests. It’s big enough for mainstream audiences to get amped up on the blood-soaked action and the banter between characters,
yet those looking for a B-movie homage or a niche thriller will be sated, too. Avery is given the freedom to craft a jawdropping opening action scene, yet later scenes are far quieter and smaller scale; they rely on smart filmmaking — genuinely scary sound design and fluid cinematography — to keep you
It’s the kind of movie where characters speak mostly in war movie clichés, but you don’t care because they’re Americans fighting Nazis, so you like them basically by default
simultaneously anticipating and dreading what might be around the next corner. Either way it’s grounded in a sort of simple pleasure, whether it’s the pleasure of watching an American guy punch a Nazi or of watching a really good scare come together to burn an image into your brain, and sometimes that’s all you need.
PARAMOUNT PICTURES
Arts
6 — Tuesday, November 13, 2018
TV REVIEW
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
MUSIC
‘Super Drags’ is thoughtprovoking superhero show SAYAN GHOSH Daily Arts Writer
In the horrifyingly antiquated, backwardslooking town of Belt Buckle Bay, three superhero drag queens — Scarlet, Lemon and Safira — take a respite from their day jobs in a bland department store to protect the city’s LGBTQ community by night. The result is a very entertaining satire of the conservative establishment’s continuing bigotry towards
“Super Drags” Episodes 1-3 Netflix LGBTQ groups. “Super Drags” was originally created in Brazil, as evidenced by the fact that most of the text displayed remains in Portuguese. Netf lix recently produced an English dub, with the main trio of drag queens voiced by Ginger Minj, Shangela and Trixie Mattel of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” fame. Their main nemesis is an evil drag queen intent on stealing the life force of the LGBTQ residents of Belt Buckle Bay. “Super Drags” is nothing short of constantly entertaining. The animation is expressive and colorful,
and the English dub is full of life, which is rare among dubs. The protagonists in the trio are each distinct and quite charming. The dialogue is fast-paced and full of wit, although it is evident at points that some jokes may have been lost in translation. The show is intended to be a full celebration of drag and LGBTQ culture in general. The humor ranges from extremely low-brow dick jokes to clever satire on “Fox and Friends”-style programs and personalities who harp on and on about the proliferation of “political correctness.” Ironically, the show was protested by conservative action groups in both Brazil and the U.S., with groups in the latter boycotting Netf lix. The show uses its fastpaced style as a framework for exploring broader social issues, such as the continuing harassment and prejudice members of the LGBTQ community face around the world. It also tackles issues of body image and racism both within and outside of the LGBTQ community. It is worth noting, however, that “Super Drags” approaches these issues through a Brazilian lens. While minority communities in both countries face many of the same issues, the cultural and historical differences of the countries make the more nuanced
aspects of the discussion seem rather unfamiliar to American audiences. I must disclaim, however, that as someone who is not a part of the LGBTQ community, I am not entirely qualified to
The animation is expressive and colorful, and the English dub is full of life
judge whether “Drag Queens” is an entirely accurate, positive form of queer representation on TV. While ostensibly very inclusive in terms of its rhetoric, some have raised the point that the show reinforces stereotypes of the drag community (for example, the show’s campiness) and is not necessarily a positive representation. Others on the internet have pointed out the differences in drag culture in Brazil and America and how the show is a more accurate portrayal of the former. While “Super Drags” is entertaining, it is worth keeping these issues in mind.
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
The union of smooth jazz, comedy in Goldblum’s ‘The Capital Studios Sessions’ MADELEINE GANNON Daily Arts Writer
From his stint in “Jurassic Park” as a sharp-tongued mathematician to his more recent role in Marvel’s “Thor: Ragnarok” as The Grandmaster, Jeff Goldblum has grown to be a true popculture icon. The addition of “jazz musician” to Goldblum’s vibrant and diverse roster is
The Capital Studios Sessions Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra Decca Records
NETFLIX
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Release Date: Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Source of spumante wine 5 Mr. __: Former name of a Dr Pepper rival 9 Light model wood 14 Bore false witness 15 Et __: and others 16 Provo native 17 Beige look-alike 18 *Safari head protector 20 Superficial, as beauty 22 Make possible 23 Negative connector 24 Packers quarterback Rodgers 26 *Traditional farm equine 29 Nervous twitches 33 Vein discovery 34 ... Venus, __, Mars ... 35 Like sea battles 36 Column slant: Abbr. 37 Overseas business abbr. 38 Sheep’s call 40 Sister Sledge’s “We __ Family” 41 Corp. bigwigs 43 Nike alternative 45 __ showing: theater info 46 Textile mill worker 47 *Baked pork cut that sounds perfect for a blanket in the park 49 Whirlpool brand 51 Wee bit 52 Ship’s chart 55 Air, mostly 60 *Lever for manual water extraction 62 Intricate garden feature 63 Medieval suit 64 Backtalk 65 Prickly husks 66 Nary a soul 67 London rental 68 Blind part DOWN 1 Brewpub pints 2 Under the weather
3 Hatcher with a recurring role in TV’s “Supergirl” 4 [Shrug] 5 *Kid’s homemade topper 6 Nastase of tennis 7 Minor role 8 Scrooge’s “Dang!” 9 Good, in Guatemala 10 Hawks’ home 11 Ewe kid 12 “A Light in the Attic” poet Silverstein 13 Penny-__: unimportant 19 Roll call answer 21 Woodworking rods 25 Rubbish container 26 Stockholder’s agent 27 Protective embankment 28 Install, as a cleric 30 Eric Trump’s mom 31 Off-the-cushion pool shot
32 Large quantity 33 Pundit’s piece 35 Daytona 500 org. 39 Ordeal ... and a hint to the initials of the answers to starred clues 42 Ice-climber’s boot attachment 44 Tabloid fodder 47 One of the Three Bears 48 Cold War threats
50 Skiing champ Phil or Steve 52 Cross over 53 Tipperary tip jar coin 54 Hunter’s need 56 Victor’s wife in “Casablanca” 57 Ancient France 58 Poet Pound 59 Branch home 61 Bad check letters
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
By Mark McClain ©2018 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
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more than fitting. His new album with the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, The Capital Studios Sessions, is like a long lost perfect puzzle piece — the world didn’t know it needed Jeff Goldblum singing and performing jazz with Sarah Silverman and Haley Reinhart until he gave it to them. While Goldblum doesn’t reinvent jazz the way one might expect (many consider jazz to be a “dying” genre in need of reinvention or a merciful death), he capitalizes on the advantages of jazz as a genre of live performance. The result is a strange yet delightful mixture of satisfying jazz riffs, velvet-smooth vocals and playful humor. The album is comprised of 14 songs, a mix of familiar hits and new material. Sometimes it can be a gamble to reprise “the classics,” especially when it comes to jazz. A genre dependent on originality, innovation and passion, a modern cover can come off as f lat, boring and repetitive. But while there is certainly a strong sense of familiarity throughout the album with most of the songs being covers of jazz and swing classics from the ’30s and ’40s, like “Cantaloupe Island,” “My Baby Just Cares For Me,” “I Wish I Knew” and more, somehow Goldblum and his orchestra avoid the usual
pitfall of over-cooking the old hits. Part of this comes from the alluring, intimate vocals of Haley Reinhart — she shines in particular in “Gee Baby” and “My Baby Just Cares For Me.” On the other hand, the humorous f lirtation and easy exchanges between Goldblum and Reinhart turn the performances into something fun and casual, brightening some of the characteristic heaviness of the dark, smoky jazz club vibes. The music alone is good. “Cantaloupe Island” opens the album with some impressive saxophone solos, and Goldblum proves his metal as a musician on the piano. The ensemble keeps a solid beat going, and there is an undeniable sense of joy and satisfaction from a quality jazz performance. Goldblum even treats the audience to some of his own vocals in a duet with Sarah Silverman, “Me and My Shadow,” which is an odd combination of jazz, comedy and a bit of Broadwaystyle f lair. The original song was a duet between Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr., but Goldblum and Silverman adapt the lyrics to fit a modern context, including some playful jabs like “we’ll change that name Redskins, is that such a chore?” and lighthearted banter, with Silverman and Goldblum remarking that the trumpet solo is like “a knife cutting hot butter” — which led to a discussion about the safety of leaving butter out to melt mid-song. The duet ends on a high note with Goldblum throwing in a nod to “Jurassic Park,” playing the movie’s theme on the piano. Silverman prays she won’t get eaten — Goldblum “calms” her fears with a playful “dinosaur growl.” At times Silverman and Goldblum leave something to be desired in passable but ultimately lackluster singing. However, while the duo may not be destined for the top of the charts anytime soon, their humor and oddball dynamic swoop in to save the day. What saves the album from fading into obscurity alongside other attempted revivals of jazz and swing is the fact that the album is comprised solely of live recordings. Rather than simply producing yet another
cover of a Nina Simone hit, Goldblum adds a distinct, fresh “Goldblum touch” to the performance with his side quips, banter and touch of silliness. Goldblum reminds the audience and performers that jazz, and music in general, doesn’t have to be so serious. A song can be good without necessarily being revolutionary or dripping with overdone dramatics. Sometimes music can just be
The result is a strange yet delightful mixture of satisfying jazz riffs, velvetsmooth vocals and playful humor
fun. And at its core, that’s what Goldblum’s album is — fun. The image the album conveys is that of a couple of friends messing around, having fun and just enjoying the music. It’s this easy going simplicity that makes Goldblum’s album a good one. No one says it better than Goldblum himself when he calls out to Silverman, “Let’s do the ending again, I love that ending!” Music for the love of it, that’s what Goldblum’s album is all about. Everything else aside, the album is worth a listen, if only for some fun, some jazz and to hear Jeff Goldblum imitate an oddly sexy T-Rex in a spin on the classics of the swing and jazz masters.
11/13/18
11/13/18
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Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Tuesday, November 13, 2018 — 7
Peoples-Jones emerging as top target Daily Sports Editor
MEGAN CHAPELLE For the Daily
RUCHITA IYER/Daily
Sophomore wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones leads the team with 30 receptions, 447 yards and seven touchdowns.
adding new layers to his game each week. “I think he has a better understanding of coverages and defenses, and how to get open on every play,” said junior tight end Sean McKeon. “He’s just making a lot of plays for us right now. He’s attacking the football, getting separation off really any kind of coverage.” Against Michigan State, Peoples-Jones notched the play of the day — a 79-yard touchdown to break the 7-7 stalemate in the third quarter. As he swaggered into the end zone, Peoples-Jones posed like the Paul Bunyan
trophy, a token he and his teammates would later hoist on the field. But there have been more subtle examples, too. Facing a third down against Rutgers on Saturday, Peoples-Jones lined up in the slot. He offered a deceptive move at the line to gain separation, then darted to the inside, catching a pass for a first down and carrying several defenders an extra 10 yards for good measure. Together through 10 games, the receiving corps has 89 catches, 1,244 yards and 15 touchdowns. In the entirety of
“The way they’re catching the ball is really good.”
WATER POLO
Michigan finishes 7th in 2018 Collegiate Cup DREW COX For the Daily
Its season may not start until January, but the Michigan women’s water polo team looked to make a preseason splash this weekend as it got back in the water for a five-game exhibition series at the 2018 Collegiate Cup in Irvine, Calif. The Wolverines were victorious against the University of Hawaii and Pacific Unversity but fell to the New York Athletic Club, Southern California and California, taking seventh in the tournament. Michigan coach Marcelo Leonardi emphasized the importance of exposing his team to high-caliber opponents in the preseason: “(It) provides highlevel competition in a November setting early on. If you want to play and compete with the best, the majority of the teams are from California ... it gives us a chance to travel and prep and go through something similar to in-season.” Leonardi’s expectations for the Wolverines are high going into his fifth season as Michigan’s head coach. Last season, the Wolverines went 32-9, won the CWPA Championship — its third straight — and made it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. With six returning starters this year, Leonardi will be looking towards some strong veteran leadership to push his team to new heights this year. “This season, we are a little bit more seasoned in terms of age,” Leonardi said. “We bring a lot back from last year’s run.” Led by three senior captains, attacker Julia Sellers — the 2018 CWPA tournament MVP — utility Kim Johnson and attacker Delaney Cleveland, the team is eager to build off last season’s impressive finish. Michigan began early Saturday morning against the New York Athletic Club. By halftime, NYAC led 5-4, with Melissa Seidermann and Michigan junior attacker Skylar Pyle each contributing two goals to their respective teams.
‘M’ competes at Oracle ITA Fall Championships
MAX MARCOVITCH Donovan Peoples-Jones didn’t score a touchdown or notch more than 65 yards in a single game last year. Then a freshman, he wasn’t alone in his struggles; the Wolverines’ leading receiver last year, Grant Perry, totaled just 307 yards himself. The offense as a whole managed 157 passing yards per conference game en route to a disappointing 8-5 record. For the Detroit native, it was far from the first year he imagined. “I feel like, as a competitor, any time where you’re not doing as well as you want, or the team isn’t doing as well as you wanted to, there can be tough times,” Peoples-Jones said Monday. “Just because you want to be the best. I’d just leave it at that.” A year later, Peoples-Jones is helping lead a resurgent Michigan offense — and having quite a bit more fun doing it. “Just playing with my teammates has been so much fun this year,” he said. “It definitely makes it fun to go out there and play each and every game.” Success and enjoyment often go hand-in-hand, of course. Peoples-Jones leads the Wolverines’ receiving corps in receptions (30), yards (447) and touchdowns (seven) — and it’s not hard to envision even more on the horizon. The former five-star recruit came to Michigan with plenty of hype to his name. He f lashed signs in 2017 — including a 44-yard run against Cincinnati and a 79-yard punt return score against Air Force — but struggled to sustain consistency. This year, Peoples-Jones has emerged as a premier threat on an improved offense,
WOMEN’S TENNIS
However, NYAC pulled away in the second half and went on to score nine unanswered goals to defeat the Wolverines, 14-5. In its second game of the day, Michigan faced off against the University of Hawaii. The Wolverines trailed the Rainbow Warriors 4-2 at the end of the third quarter but rallied to tie the game up 6-6 with two minutes left. A last-second goal by Pyle with only 18 seconds remaining in the game gave the Wolverines the 7-6 win in an exciting, competitive battle. “My teammates just did a great job setting me up (for the gamewinning goal),” Pyle said. “... We have been anxiously waiting to play games, we have been practicing since school started. Being able to see how we match up against really great teams has just been awesome.” Michigan faced Southern California in its final Saturday matchup. Despite a valiant effort by the Wolverines, the Trojans came out victorious, defeating Michigan 10-1. Southern California driver Paige Hauschild notched four goals en route to her team’s win. On Sunday, the Wolverines first battled against the California Golden Bears in a high-scoring, back-and-forth matchup. Tied 12-12 at the end of the fourth quarter, extra time was required to settle the contest. However, California defeated Michigan 4-2 in the shootout. In the Wolverines’ final game of the weekend, they faced Pacific University in the tournament’s seventh-place game. Four quarters once again could not settle the game, as the two teams were tied 9-9 going into the shootout. This time, the Wolverines redeemed themselves, winning the shootout 4-3. “With each game, we are growing more and more comfortable,” Leonardi said. Come regular season, the comfort gained from battling prime opponents in a competetive setting could prove vital to the team’s future success.
A
last season, the wide receivers totaled just 97 catches, 1,151 yards and three touchdowns. It’s a unit that has unsurprisingly, given their relative youth, taken a signficant leap forward this season. Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh has taken notice. “The biggest thing is the way (the receivers) catch the ball. All the pass receivers, still the amount of drops is really so low right now for the year. The way they’re catching the ball is really good,” Harbaugh said. “Also, the separation they’ve gotten in the passing game. The precision in how they run the routes has been really good. The third thing I would point out is their blocking.” And on Peoples-Jones in those specific categories? “Boom, boom, boom. Top of the list.”
The Michigan women’s tennis team competed in the Oracle ITA Fall Championships — a five-day tournament in Surprise, Ariz. last week. The tournament was an elite event, composed only of regional finalists and marked the colse of the fall competition for the Wolverines. Michigan sent four team members to compete in the tournament — seniors Kate Fahey and Brienne Minor and juniors Chiara Lommer and Giulia Pairone. “We were fortunate enough to have four girls make it into this event and compete,” said Michigan associate head coach Teryn Ashley-Fitch. “It definitely helped them to have their teammates competing next to them. I feel like it pushed the girls to really want to do well. So, even though it was an individual event, it almost felt like a team event.” Fahey entered the tournament as a serious competitor. She came into the tournament having reached the 2018 Oracle ITA Masters semifinals and also ranked as the No. 11 seed in the singles draw. Winning four back to back matches, Fahey advanced to Sunday’s finals. There, she lost to Georgia’s Katarina Jokic with a final score of 6-3, 7-5. “Kate is just so mentally tough,” Ashley-Fitch said. “She practices at a very high level. She is so consistent with her effort everyday in practice, and it’s paying off.” Fahey also competed in
doubles with Minor. The pair was coming off a strong performance at the ITA Midwest Regionals, where they won the doubles title. The pair won in the first round on Wednesday beating Florida’s doubles team, McCartney Kessler and Victoria Emma, 6-2, 7-6 (7). Then on Thursday, against a doubles team from UCLA doubles team, the duo fell (7-5, 6-3). “Kate and Bri got a good win in the first round. When they’re good, I feel like they’re one of the best teams out there,” AshleyFitch said. “They trust each other a lot on the court. There are still a few things we need to work on, like staying aggressive and being less predictable.” In singles competition, Pairone and Lommer also competed. Pairone lost in the second round to Alabama’s Ann Daniell (2-6, 6-3, 6-1), and Lommer fell in the first round to Southern California’s Salma Ewing (7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (2)). Lommer, however, shined in the singles consolation play. Lommer cruised through the tournament to compete in the finals against Standford’s Emily Arbuthnott but lost to Arbuthnott with a final score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. “Chiara had some quality wins,” Ashley-Fitch said. “She is so mentally sound, and I think she is going to play a huge part in our team season starting in January.” The Wolverines certainly played up to the tough competition. The confidence and enthusiasm derived from this strong performance could certainly bleed into the team’s work ethic during winter play.
“They trust each other a lot on the court.”
The discussion moves away from football
t the same Monday press conference a year ago, approaching the penul-
timate game of the regular season, Jim Harbaugh looked like he wanted to be anywhere besides the ETHAN podium. WOLFE Despite an 8-2 record, the Michigan football team’s offense was a mess and the injury report read like its own roster — Harbaugh faced 10 questions about injuries alone. With a threegame win streak, he was asked if he believed in momentum. The common denominator of every rapid-fire question was football. Flash forward to Monday, November 12, 2018. As the Wolverines await Indiana for their final home game of the season, their win streak stands at nine. Momentum has left, and status quo has taken its place. This Monday, as everything is trending in the right direction for Michigan football, talking about Michigan football took a backseat. “I kinda forgot your question,” Harbaugh told Nick Baumgardner of the Detroit Free Press, who was inquiring about the run game. “Do you have a dog? A big dog, right?” Baumgardner does have a dog: Biff, a boxer. “Biff. Sounds like a good, strong dog,” Harbaugh said with complete sincerity. He eventually offered one sentence on why he loves a good run game. But his team’s efforts were not exactly top of mind for him in the moment. “I would also like to congratulate (Miami Dolphins running back) Frank Gore,” Harbaugh continued. “The record he set this past Sunday, and Frank is my favorite player of all that I’ve ever coached. Fourteen years of each
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh is currently sitting on a 9-1 record headed into Saturday’s matchup with Indiana.
year rushing for over 500 yards, surpassing Walter Payton and Emmitt Smith, is incredible. Just incredible.” As his team goes, so does the frequency of Harbaugh’s effusive praise and non-sequiturs. He said he loves player meetings with defensive coordinator Don Brown because the “paint peels off the walls” from his enthusiasm and censorable messages. He went on to commend his wide receivers for playing through harsh winds against Rutgers. “I dropped two in the pregame,” he said disappointedly. “I pride myself on catching them all.” And for injury updates on sophomore defensive tackle Aubrey Solomon, who sat against the Scarlet Knights because of illness, Harbaugh offered sage advice: “It’s cold and flu season, get your flu shots.” Sure, call it Harbaugh being Harbaugh and you might be right. But it seems different, almost intentional this time. Like shooting a free throw in basketball, focusing on the mechanics can disrupt the psyche
of an excellent shooter. Talk too much about football now, and you trip over the details. And it’s not just Harbaugh — his players are doing the exact the same thing. Junior running back Tru Wilson, who finished with eight carries for a career-high 58 yards on Saturday, faced the media. Wilson didn’t receive any questions about his previous game. But he got plenty about his pet snake, Mako. “He’s just getting done shedding, so I haven’t been able to play with him for the last week or so,” Wilson said. “I guess he’s blind when he sheds, so I guess it’s kinda dangerous — not dangerous, he’s not gonna kill me. The ball pythons are a very defensive creature.” Wilson stepped away, and then it was senior receiver Grant Perry’s turn. He, like Wilson, donned a hat emblazoned with the now well-known “Revenge Tour” slogan. Perry said Santa is making all of the clothing extensions. Shortly after, junior tight end Sean McKeon walks in. The Mas-
sachusetts native is asked about the Boston Red Sox’ recentWorld Series win, and later explained his sweatshirt featuring a picture of rapper Logic to a scrum of largely 30-year-old-plus media reporters. In terms of football-savvy questions and answers, there wasn’t much to learn. The confluence of football and success ironically leads to discussing anything but. A week from now, with the Wolverines presumably sitting at 10-1 after beating the Hoosiers next Saturday, they will be a victory over Ohio State away from reaching the first of their goals — a Big Ten East Division championship. And a week from now, the tone will assuredly be different than it was Monday. But as it stands, Michigan has reached the apex of comfortability this season, and it showed. So you probably don’t have to absorb much of what Harbaugh or his players said. But don’t forget to get a flu shot. Wolfe can be reached at eewolfe@umich.edu or on Twitter @ethanewolfe.
Sports
8 — Tuesday. November 13, 2018
ICE HOCKEY
Blankenburg uses forward
experience for first goal TIEN LE
Daily Sports Writer
Less than five minutes into the third period on Saturday, Nick Blankenburg received the puck near the blue line. The freshman defenseman skated forward, looking for his shot at the point. Instead, he noticed that the lane straight to the net was open — traffic had cleared from the prior puck movement. So he took his chance and skated straight to the crease. Left. Right. Left. Right. He weaved the puck back and forth before finding the opening he was looking for — a hole in between the Notre Dame goaltender’s legs. Goal, Michigan. Generally, when a player scores his first collegiate goal, the player remembers it. It’s a milestone, after all. But Blankenburg, ironically, remembered everything but. “I was just planning on shooting it,” Blankenburg said. “But then I saw a lane open, and I kinda just blacked out right when it happened.” It was a stylish goal, to say the least. And the inspiration comes from Blankenburg’s time as a forward, a position he had played his entire life before his time with the Okotoks Oilers, his team prior to Michigan. “You can tell he’s got some patience and some poise,” said Michigan coach Mel Pearson, “and some quickness, can skate, he’s a converted forward, so he goes in and makes it look easy.” On his first goal, Blankenburg not only made it easy, but showcased the versatility that he adds to the offensive zone.
“Hopefully that gives even more confidence,” Pearson said. “He’s been playing extremely well for us, and he’s got some offensive capabilities, and that gives us another option on the blue line that can create some offense from the backend.” Blankenburg doesn’t have much experience as a defenseman under his belt. Seventy games at the blue line is nothing in comparison with many of the players he’s competing against. And he’s quick to admit that he doesn’t fully know all the in and outs of the position yet. But the reason he’s able to hold his own is his confidence as a skater. “I just feel like the biggest thing is skatingwise, being a defenseman,” Blankenburg said. “It helps out so much, if I make a mistake, I can kinda back that up with my skating, just throughout this year. “I mean, everyone can skate, especially at this level, so I just kinda play smart and use my speed to my advantage against the other guys, so that was nice to have that as a forward, and being able to transition that as a defenseman is nice.” His speed was certainly put to use for his first goal. Once he reached the lane, no player was fast enough to clog it with traffic or put a man in his path to prevent the shot. “And I feel like it’s really important being up at the blue line, and using my speed to be open and to get shots through from the point to be able to beat guys and get through to those shooting lanes,” Blankenburg said.
“He’s been playing extremely well for us...”
Matthews finding balance in style of play THEO MACKIE
Daily Sports Writer
For much of last season, redshirt junior Charles Matthews cast a frustrating figure for the Michigan men’s basketball team. The forward combined elite defense and athleticism with an inability to score consistently, especially outside the paint. That version of Matthews returned just seconds into the Wolverines’ game against Holy Cross on Saturday night. Austin Butler spotted up for a seemingly uncontested 3-pointer on the Crusaders’ first possession before Matthews appeared from out of nowhere to def lect his attempt out of bounds. On the other end, it was Matthews’ turn to be stymied offensively. He attempted two of Michigan’s three shots on its first possession — both from the right wing, both uncontested and both rimming out. The rest of the half was an unusual mix. He hit two threes and a long two but missed six field goals — all jump-shots — as the Wolverines went into halftime with just 18 points on five-of-24 shooting. “We’re gonna have games like that,” Matthews said. “Especially early in the season, we’re still learning how to play with one another, we’re still learning how to attack certain defenses. So you can’t really get down about missed shots or anything like that. You just gotta continue to play.” Matthews matched his first half point total after the break to finish with 20 on the day, but that was about the only similarity between the halves for Michigan. It outscored Holy Cross, 38-13, in the second and upped its field goal percentage to 50 on 13-for-26 shooting. For Matthews, the
Hailey Brown’s road back TEDDY GUTKIN Daily Sports Writer
February 11, 2018. Late fourth quarter. Michigan State 64, Michigan 61. As Wolverine center Hallie Thome draws a charge on a Spartan layup attempt, there’s a collision under the basket. Amidst the chaos, Hailey Brown falls to the floor and has to be helped off the court. It would be her final appearance of the season. Before suffering a bone bruise during that game, Brown had started 27 consecutive games and blossomed into one of the team’s most consistent contributors, averaging nine points and 5.2 rebounds per game. The injury forced Brown to watch the 2018 NCAA Tournament from the sidelines, in which the Wolverines fell to Baylor in the Round of 32. “After I got the results from the doctor of the bad knee bone bruise, I couldn’t do any running or impact stuff,” Brown said. “…It was definitely tough to watch my teammates go out there and like live one of the dreams and goals that I’ve
had.” But despite this setback, Brown persevered and fought her way back over the course of the offseason. Early on in the recovery process, Brown was still able to lift weights, and eventually transitioned to using an underwater treadmill to stay in shape, which helped to alleviate weight when exercising. Eventually, Brown made a full recovery and played in the Mount St. Mary’s game on Nov. 8 — her first game since the injury. After tip off, Brown picked up right where she left off in her stellar freshman season. She scored six of the Wolverines’ first 12 points and showed tremendous hustle early with two offensive rebounds on the game’s first possession. She finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, a performance made even more meaningful with her family in attendance. “It was definitely special,” Brown noted. “She’s worked so hard to come back after being injured last year, and she’s a really special player,” added Michigan
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
coach Kim Barnes Arico. While it was a long road back to the court, Brown is now focused on this season and what the Wolverines can achieve. She’s said that one of her goals this year is to average a double-double, which both she and her coaches believe is a task that she is more than capable of accomplishing. However, Brown’s priorities are not solely on her individual accolades, but more so on what her team can achieve this season. “I want national recognition for Michigan women’s basketball this year,” Brown said. “I want our team to go far and stay up in the rankings.” And after a season where the team reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013, Brown feels that her team can achieve even greater feats this year. “You always wanna achieve more,” she said. “Every time, every game, every moment you’re on the court, you’re there to prove something. Michigan women’s basketball, we’re here, we’re on a mission to prove that we can be champions.”
MIKE ZLONKEVICZ/Daily
Sophomore forward Hailey Brown played against Mt. St. Mary’s on Friday, her first game since being injured last season.
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Redshirt junior forward Charles Matthews scored 20 points in Michigan’s 56-37 win over Holy Cross on Saturday.
difference was obvious. For all the attention he receives as a player, Matthews prefers to avoid it off the court. He rarely goes off-script in press conferences, often stif ling his voice to be barely audible. Saturday evening was much of the same — until a reporter asked him to explain the first-half struggles. “We have a lot of athletes on this team, we got a lot of people that can put the ball on the f loor,” Matthews said. “Coach is doing a great job coaching, coming up with offensive schemes, but sometimes we just gotta go. “… And sometimes, I feel like we can be indecisive looking for the right time to score or the right shot to take and we miss shots cause we’re thinking, ‘Is this the time to shoot it?’ When we just hoop, we’re a different
dynamic. We don’t have Moe and we don’t have Duncan, and those are great players. But we have players now that can put the ball on the f loor and try to get to the basket, and I feel like we need to play to those strengths also.” Getting downhill to the hoop is clearly a winning strategy for Matthews. Eight of his 10 second-half points came inside the paint, as did all five of his field goals in the opener against Norfolk State. The Wolverines’ reliance on scoring inside makes them different than any team that coach John Beilein has ever had at Michigan. And much of that falls on Matthews. “I feel like we have a team full of hunters, but me and Charles talk about it all the time, how we both need to be aggressive,” said freshman
forward Ignas Brazdeikis, who finished just behind Matthews with 19 points on Saturday. “And we can play off of each other as well.” Added Beilein: “They’re hunters and we just gotta continue on them being guys that shoot straight. I think Charles was 3-for-9 at one time and he’s gonna be better than that.” But there’s a balance to playing aggressively in Beilein’s offense. “Not putting your head down and going — that gets you subbed out,” Matthews said. “But looking to attack and staying aggressive.” For an offense that lacks natural scorers that the Wolverines have become accustomed to, the entire season may rely on Matthews finding that balance.
‘M’ falls to Indiana in Big Ten final DREW BARLAGE For the Daily
In the 72nd minute of the men’s soccer Big Ten Tournament Championship match, Indiana’s Griffin Dorsey sent a ball for service across the box, finding the head of the diving Hoosier midfielder Jeremiah Gutjahr, who converted for the goal. The perfect execution put the Hoosiers up 2-0, a goal Michigan coach Chaka Daley said, “took the wind out of (the Michigan soccer team’s) sails,” as Daley’s team ultimately fell 3-0. The Big Ten Tournament Championship has been unfamiliar territory for the Wolverines as of late. Michigan entered last season’s Big Ten Tournament as the highest-seeded team, boasting a 6-1-1 conference record, yet fell, 4-0, in the semifinal to a fourthseeded Wisconsin team, who went on to win the tournament. This year’s Michigan team avenged its loss to Wisconsin in the semifinals Friday, but fell victim to top-seeded Indiana in the tournament championship on Sunday. Friday night against the Badgers, the Wolverines’ offense got off to a quick start. Their first opportunity came minutes into the game. Junior forward Jack Hallahan sent a ball in from the corner to the head of the 6-foot5 sophomore defender Jackson Ragen. However, Wisconsin’s goalkeeper Dean Cowdroy was there to save the would-be goal. Michigan’s next corner kick, in the 20th minute, was again sent by Hallahan. The ball bounced once in the box before hitting a Badgers’ defender’s hand, resulting in a penalty kick for the Wolverines. Sophomore midfielder Marc Ybarra lined up across from the keeper with the opportunity to give Michigan the lead in the conference tournament semifinals. “When you step up to a penalty like that, you just keep your composure,” Ybarra said, “Take a deep breath and try to do what you do at practice all the time.” And Ybarra did just that. He converted on the penalty kick, putting the Wolverines up 1-0 and in the driver’s seat for the rest of the game. From there, Michigan’s
PRASHANTH PANICKER/Daily
Sophomore midfielder Marc Ybarra scored Friday’s game-winning goal.
defense held firm. Of the four shots taken by the Badgers, none were on-goal. This made it an easy, clean sheet for sophomore keeper Henry Mashburn, as the Wolverines held on to win, 1-0. “In the last game we played them … we were a little bit slow, a little bit off,” said Daley on Friday, “But this game, I think from start to finish we were highly competitive and, honestly, super motivated with the opportunity to compete for a Big Ten Championship on Sunday.” And for the first time since 2012, the Wolverines found themselves in the Big Ten championship, facing off against Indiana, who welcomed back one of the nation’s top players, freshman midfielder Griffin Dorsey, for Sunday’s game. Dorsey returned to the team after representing the United States’ on U-20 CONCACAF national team, missing the beginning of the tournament. “We had a good inclination that if they could bring back their top player, they would,” Daley said, “To compete with us and contend to win a Big Ten title, we thought they would bring back their best guy.” And, as it turned out, Dorsey proved to be all the difference. In just the sixth minute of the game, Dorsey rifled a shot off a rebound, initially saved by Mashburn, but immediately converted off a rebound by Indiana forward Cory
Thomas, giving Dorsey his first assist of the game. Michigan tried to answer back quickly, but freshman forward Umar Farouk Osman’s shot just a minute later sailed over the goal and out of play. From there, it was a defensive battle, as Indiana ended the half clinging to the 1-0 lead. In the second half, the Hoosiers’ offensive aggressiveness became too much for the Wolverines, as Gutjahr converted his header to double to lead. Exactly two minutes later, Indiana iced the game and ended the Wolverines’ hope for a comeback when Hoosier midfielder Spencer Glass snuck the ball between the goalie and the post, putting Indiana up 3-0. Although it wasn’t the ideal ending for Michigan’s tournament run, there’s still plenty of soccer to be played, as the selection for the NCAA tournament awaits later this week. “I think we learned from Indiana and their approach,” Daley said, “The mentality today, I thought was really good… just staying on top of the game, being sharp early in the game… we [have to] treat it like a do-or-die situation, but we’ve been doing that for a month, so certainly it would be no different if we were afforded the opportunity to participate in the NCAA Tournament moving forward.”