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Researcher is 1st Rhodes scholar pick from Saudi RUCHITA IYER/DAILY Spanish Lecturer Erin Levin facilitates the Lecturers’ Employee Organization discussion on financial equity across Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint campuses at the LEO offices Wednesday night.
LEO holds community forum to discuss launch of the One University Campaign New lecturer initative working to make all three ‘U’ campuses more equitable in funding JULIETTE SIBLEY For The Daily
On Wednesday evening, the Lecturers’ Employee Organization held its first of several Ann Arbor community forums to discuss the launch of the One University Campaign, which strives to make all three University of Michigan campuses more equitable learning institutions. Despite the fact that the
LEO’s tumultuous contract bargaining process last semester resulted in significant budget increases for lecturers, the lecturers point out gains were not distributed equally across all three University campuses. LEO at U-M Dearborn and the U-M Flint has held parallel community forums to work toward parity. About 25 students, graduate student instructors and lecturers across all three campuses attended the Ann Arbor forum.
“Although we made real substantial progress last time around … that did not reduce the gap between Flint and Dearborn,” LEO President Ian Robinson, a sociology professor on the Ann Arbor campus, said. In fact, he explained despite the 50 percent increases in minimum wages on all three campuses, professors at U-M Flint and U-M Dearborn earn, on average, $10,000 less per year than the typical Ann Arbor professor. Not only are the professors at
U-M Flint and U-M Dearborn paid less in comparison to their Ann Arbor peers, but they work significantly more hours. “In Flint and Dearborn, (lecturers must) teach an extra course to be considered fulltime,” Robinson explained in an interview with The Michigan Daily. “Instead of teaching three courses a term (like Ann Arbor lecturers do), they teach four.”
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Majd Abdulghani is a genetics researcher and an award-winning NPR podcaster AMARA SHAIKH Daily Staff Reporter
Growing up, life sciences researcher Majd Abdulghani watched her mother overcome the various obstacles she faced as a Muslim female scientist working toward her Ph.D. in London. With her mother’s determination and bravery in mind, Abdulghani will have the opportunity to return to England to pursue her own doctoral degree in genetics as Saudi Arabia’s very first Rhodes Scholar. “My mom was doing her Ph.D., and that showed me a lot about the sort of effort it takes to be a scientist, but also at the same time, how wonderful it is and also how it’s possible to be a scientist, be a woman — and my mom is also a Muslim and wears a headscarf,” Abdulghani said. “She was doing all of this while raising three teenagers
and two children, so she was really an inspiration for me at that point in my life and continues to be.” Once her mother completed her Ph.D. and the family returned to Saudi Arabia, Abdulghani took a particular interest in genetics. She recalled how her mother encouraged her to pursue the field and since then, she has enjoyed it thoroughly. “When I went back to Saudi Arabia, I was ready to go to college and I chose to become a geneticist because I just really enjoyed it in high school,” Abdulghani said. “I remember my mom said to me, ‘Don’t you want to discover the gene that cures cancer?’ And while that’s probably not going to happen for biological reasons, that’s why I chose to study genetics. It’s been incredibly rewarding so far. See RHODES, Page 3A
‘U’ student environment advocates MSU pres. Archive of Hayner’s celebrate intro of national carbon bill closes fund
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tweets call out Council Resident-sourced database of new Councilmember’s Twitter stokes criticism RACHEL CUNNINGHAM Daily Staff Reporter
Ann Arbor residents and City Council members are raising concerns over some past tweets from recently elected Councilmember Jeff Hayner, D-Ward 1, including inflammatory comments directed at sitting councilmembers and electoral opponents. Ann Arbor resident Chris Dzombak created a database with close to 7,000 tweets allegedly written by Hayner. The tweets date back to March 6, 2014. Hayner, defeated independent opponent Ryan Hughes, a Democratic Socialist, with amore than 70 percent of the vote. Hayner ran a campaign focused primarily on environmental issues such as the dioxane plume. Hayner declined to comment on the matter. “I don’t have a Twitter,” Hayner wrote in an email statement. “You must have received some bad info. Not interested.” Hayner admitted in See HAYNER, Page 3A
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Policy, though unlikely to pass, is new step in direction of taxing carbon emissions KATHERINA SOURINE Daily Staff Reporter
LSA sophomore Catherine Garton was motivated to found the University of Michigan’s chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby this semester, because of a core belief that students’ voices are imperative for creating policy to combat climate change. For two years, Garton was a member of CCL’s Ann Arbor chapter, one of 489 active chapters the organization maintains. Its main goal is to lobby for national policies that address carbon emissions and climate change in every congressional district. On Nov. 27, the main policy for which the CCL had been advocating was introduced to Congress: a national carbon price, known as The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2018 (H.R.7173). The bill is sponsored by U.S. Reps. Theodore Deutch, D-Fla.; Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa.; John Delaney, D-Md.; Francis Rooney, R-Fla.; Charlie Crist, D-Fla.; and David Trott, R-Mich. In a statement regarding the introduction of the bill, CCL said it hoped Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., would co-sponsor the bill, “either now or when the bill is reintroduced in the new Congress.” Dingell, a member of the House Committee on
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Energy and Commerce, said Congress had act on climate change now, but did not specify whether she would cosponsor the bill. “It’s time that Congress takes action to address climate change and ensures that the US is a world leader in addressing global warming,” Dingell wrote in an email to The Michigan Daily. “In Michigan and on the Energy and Commerce Committee I’m having critical conversations about changing the status quo and taking action now. Our economy and environment are at stake and we must think outside the box to mitigate irreversible damage.”
The policy applies a fee on the carbon dioxide content of fossil fuel producers at a starting rate of $15 per ton in 2019 and increasing by $10 per ton annually. The revenue generated from this fee would be subsequently redistributed equally among U.S. households through tax rebates, and a border carbon adjustment fee protects U.S. manufacturers by applying that price to imported goods. The policy also restricts additional regulation and stops the yearly price rise beyond $15 if the annual 5 percent emission reduction target is being met. According to a 2014 study by Regional Economic Models
and Synapse Energy Economics, the policy’s would result in a 50 percent reduction of carbon emissions below 1990 levels in the next 20 years, an addition of 2.8 million jobs stimulated by the return of tax revenue and the prevention of 230,000 premature deaths from air pollution. Deutch, a University law alum, introduced the bill to the Congress f loor, emphasizing the need for American investment in clean energy technologies. “This aggressive carbon pricing scheme introduced by members from both parties See CARBON, Page 3A
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Vol. CXXVIII, No. 45 ©2018 The Michigan Daily
for Nassar survivors
Trustees slam Engler for close of Healing Assistance fund after fraud concerns MAEVE O’BRIEN Daily Staff reporter
On Wednesday, two Michigan State University board members, as well as two board members-elect, spoke out against Interim President John Engler’s decision to close a $10 million fund created to pay for mental health services for survivors of former MSU doctor Larry Nassar’s abuse. Engler announced the closure of the Healing Assistance fund Tuesday in light of MSU settling a $500 million lawsuit with more than 300 women who have been assaulted by Nassar. The fund has been frozen since July over concerns of fraud, and Engler said the remaining balance of $8.6 million will be used “to reduce the amount of our borrowing to pay the settlement.” Current board members Brian Mosallam and Dianne Byrum and recently elected board members Brianna Scott and Kelly Tebay released a statement on Twitter in opposition to the interim See ENGLER, Page 3A
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Prof. Nick Rine taught his last class ealirer this week. Michignan Law faculty gathered to applaud his long teaching career, which began at the Law School in 1989
The Mayor brings up the city’s opposition to the “vegetarian removal bill” to gasps and hilarity from #a2council . Oh, he comments: “Vegetation!”
To all of our #Wolverines celebreating #Chanukah, chag urim sameach! We hope you all have a joyous and peaceful celebration!
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W O LV E R I N E O F T H E W E E K What’s the first thing you’re going to do when you finish your last final?
“Watch all of Game of Thrones. I’m on episode 2 right now of Season 1. So I’ve really got to get caught up.”
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The University’s Office of Alpha Sigma Phi regarding allegations of dangerous Greek Life received these hazing activities. IFC text messages and emails determined to remove the regarding the incident in fraternity for a minimum of an envelope last semester. The office turned over the five years. Alpha Sigma Phi was envelope to the Ann Arbor also one of the fraternities Police Department in March. http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ who disaffiliatedfrom The case was dropped the supposed IFC in September to form because an independent Ann victim did not comply with Arbor Interfraternity the investigation, and his Council. According to parents claimed to police he an IFC statement, this wasn’t injured. Danny Miller, the was due to changes senior in city zoning laws in international HARD director of prevention and July. In text exchanges accountability at Alpha between the fraternity Sigma Phi, told MLive members, they the fraternity voluntarily from IFC describe a potentially disaffiliated any hearings serious injury befalling before regarding a student after the occurred against the dash. Some members allegations expressed surprise chapter. The University, however, and regret about its investigation this incident, while began others attributed it while the fraternity was to the accepted risks still an active member of of a hazing process the IFC. Because it began at called Hell Week. One this time, IFC continued the member described the investigation despite Alpha dash as a “normal” part Sigma Phi’s disaffiliation. As a result of this of the process. “We had people run investigation, Miller told some fraternity our backs during our MLive were removed hell week,” a member officers said in a group message. from their positions and “That doesn’t mean it’s the chapter hired a live-in a tradition or a (good) house director. puzzle by sudokusyndication.com idea, but it means (it’s) © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. become normalized by us.”
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CARBON From Page 1A marks an important opportunity to begin to seriously address the immediate threat of climate change,” Deutch stated in a press release. “The status quo is unsustainable; the time to act is right now.” According to Garton, the University’s CCL chapter has been working all semester to have the bill introduced, facilitating informational workshops for students to call on representatives and senators to endorse the environmental policy. The workshops also aimed to build CCL’s presence on campus as a platform to educate the community on the bill and its implications. “We’ve written Op-Eds and Letters to the Editor to have an online presence and bring out the issues of climate change with all of their intersections with health, with jobs and the economy,” Garton said. “Currently we’re working on a bipartisan event with the College Democrats and College Republicans for early next semester, where we will discuss this bill introduced into Congress, and then have a time for people from different organizations and backgrounds to discuss the bill together, and see what they both like about it, any concerns that they have.” Garton highlighted the universality of the issue, saying CCL’s intentions are to implement policy specifically through the means of creating
the political will in communities. “Our goal is to create the political will for bipartisan solutions to climate change,” Garton said. “We believe that members of Congress don’t create political will –– we believe that they respond to political will. And so we foresee that as our job to generate action and political will within communities.” Public Policy junior Cathrine Kelly, communications director for the University’s chapter of College Democrats, shared the organization’s view on the bill, saying it was “a good starting point.” “The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividends Act would be a great step forward for our country. While this bill doesn’t cover every aspect of fixing climate change, it is a good starting point,” she wrote in an email interview. “It is amazing to see any bill, let alone a bill that is meant to clean up our environment, that is cosponsored by both Republicans and Democrats. As College Democrats, we know that the state of our environment is one of the most pressing issues of our generation. Now is the time to step up and make the changes needed to secure a clean environment not only for our generation, but for the generations to come.” Last May, the University’s chapter of College Republicans rescinded its endorsement of the bill, citing data from the Heritage Foundation that estimated the implementation of the tax would result in the loss of 400,000 jobs in the U.S
and increase electricity costs for U.S households by 13 to 20 percent. College Republicans President Dylan Berger, an LSA sophomore, commented on the organization’s continued stance on the issue. “We continue to oppose any renewed efforts to implement this tax on the American people,” Berger wrote in an email interview. “While we believe in climate change and want to address the issue head on, a massive tax on the American people is not the way to do it. We cannot in good faith advocate for a measure that would harm so many of our nation’s hard working families. Going forward, we want to be part of a solution that will both preserve our environment for generations to come and continue economic prosperity.” Trott signed onto the bill on Nov. 29, showing the diversity of opinion within the Republican Party on the policy’s effectiveness. LSA junior Hallie Fox, outreach chair of the University’s CCL chapter, was one of five members of the group who attended a trip to Washington, D.C. to get CCL-sponsored training on advocacy experience speaking to several representatives on Capitol Hill. Fox highlighted the importance of the skills she gained and the vital role students have on campus. “Students are the backbone of the University, and what I’ve heard from a lot of University professionals is that when students want something to get
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MIKE ZLONKEVICZ/Daily Students enjoy free bagels and coffee at the last Welcome Wednesday of the semester at the Alumni Center Wednesday morning and will resume next semester starting January 23rd.
HAYNER From Page 1A interviews with MLive other tweets he’s made in the past were in poor taste. An article from July noted Hayner made his account private, though Hayner’s account has since been deleted. In one tweet regarding a past Michigan Daily article about the April 2017 sale of the Library Lot, Hayner called Councilmember Julie Grand, D-Ward 3, a “hive queen” and added the hashtag #RBF, which some Twitter users suspect stands for “resting bitch face.” “Best coverage of #a2council often found in alt news sources,” the tweet read. “Don’t miss this w/accurate quote from condescending Hive Queen Grand #RBF.” Dzombak said these tweets may negatively impact the dynamics of the council now that Hayner is a member. “In some of these tweets, he was very critical of councilmembers … I think it’s an uphill battle,” Dzombak said. “It seems like he’s burned a lot of bridges before he even got on council.” Grand declined to comment on Hayner’s tweets. A Digital Millennium
Copyright Act request was filed on Aug. 1 that briefly shut the database down. DMCA requests address the takedown of online material due to copyright infringement. Dzombak does not know if Hayner submitted the request himself. Dzombak said Hayner accused him of hacking his Twitter account when it was private. “These were public tweets when I archived them,” Dzombak said. “Claiming that I did any sort of illegal hacking is blatantly false.” Dzombak said Hayner made many tweets that did not align with emocratic values. “In the last four years or so, he’s made a bunch of comments on Twitter on things like SJWs (social justice warriors), snowflakes, Milo Yiannopoulos, that are not consistent with a progressive democratic agenda,” Dzombak said. “It seemed really dishonest that he was running as a Democrat here.” One of Hayner’s tweets mentioning “snowflakes” detailed colleges handing out pins with gender pronouns on them. “College hands out ‘pronoun pins’ #Triggered by this, does exclusion help people #coexist? #snowFLAKES,”
Hayner tweeted. A tweet also mention Ryan Hughes, Hayner’s opponent during the 2018 City Council election, regarding Hughes’ yearly income and Hughes’ support for an income tax. “Ryan Hughes is making $90K/year at U of M, and telling me I need to pay an income tax to support people who need affordable housing,” Hayner allegedly wrote. “Charity starts at home.” Hughes said affordable housing should not be up to charity. “I don’t think charity is the issue here,” Hughes said. “I don’t think affordable housing should be a matter of individual choosing whether or not to pay to a charitable foundation.” Hughes said Hayner may not have intended to offend residents, but his comments still hurt people. “Impact isn’t the same thing as intent,” Hughes said. “Even if you mean well, you might hurt people.” Regardless, Hughes is optimistic about Hayner’s future work on City Council. “I think he’s toned down criticism of these people,” Hughes said. “I’m looking forward to seeing how he’s going to actually be.”
done, it gets done,” she said. Fox emphasized the importance of undertaking an active role immediately, not only in response to global current events, like the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s report, which predicted a high probability of food shortages, wildfires and coral reef depletion by 2040, but also at events on campus, such as the recent $80 million expansion of the University’s Central Power Plant and University President Mark Schlissel’s announcement to set the University on a trajectory toward carbon neutrality. “One of the things that we are doing right now is that many of environmental groups on campus are going to the regents meeting on Thursday, to kind of protest but also advocate for a more comprehensive climate plan, especially for the power plant,” she said. “Mainly, the climate plan is a little bit too vague for a lot of what people who are involved in conversation on campus taste for.” She stressed the unique role and opportunity that students have in political issues. “It’s really important to get involved on a campus level because I think the city of Ann Arbor actually really looks to the University to do a lot of progressive action on things like climate change,” Fox said. “Not being afraid to stand up for yourself and stand up for your future –– I think that’s really important especially since we’re on a university campus and we’re encouraged to show our beliefs.”
RHODES From Page 1A I love being a geneticist and I can’t wait to see where being a Rhodes Scholar takes me as well.” The Rhodes Scholarship is a prestigious award offered to students who demonstrate academic excellence, mastery in various extracurricular areas, moral character and leadership ability. The scholarship only became available to Saudi students in 2018 and was funded by Muhammad Alagil, chairman of Jarir Group. His donation added Saudi Arabia as one of many worldwide Rhodes constituencies. As a Rhodes Scholar, Abdulghani will have the opportunity to receive her Ph.D. at the University of Oxford in England. Along with a passion for science, Abdulghani had other hobbies including karate and recording episodes for her award-winning podcast, “Majd’s Diary: Two Years in the Life of a Saudi Girl by Radio Diaries” of NPR. Though the large audience was daunting at times, Abdulghani found her podcast especially rewarding because she was able to connect with people around the globe. “I think (the podcast) was valuable,” Abdulghani said. “This vulnerability that ended up making it in the podcast, this is what all people share across the world, this is what really makes us human and this is what can really connect with. That’s what made a lot people from various places across the world, and from starkly different backgrounds from mine reach out and tell me that they could relate to me.” As it so happened, Vivian Cheung, research professor at the Life Sciences Institute, heard Abdulghani’s podcast about her experiences growing up in Saudi Arabia and her dreams of pursuing science in the future. Cheung was so moved by her determination that she called the NPR station and was eventually put in touch with Abdulghani. The two women remained in touch over the years, and upon Abdulghani’s completion of her master’s at Iowa State University, she began working in Cheung’s lab at the University of Michigan. Cheung praised Abdulghani’s investigative work ethic and scientific thinking that allowed her to explore the realm of what is possible in regard to research.
Thursday, December 6, 2018 — 3A
ENGLER From Page 1A president’s decision. “The press announcement by interim President Engler announcing the closure of the Healing Assistance Fund came as a surprise and we do not support his decision,” the statement read. “This decision is counter to the research and advice provided to us by the Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct Expert Advisory Working Group.” According to Rachel Campbell, the chair of MSU’s Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct Expert Advisory Workgroup, when asked by members of Engler’s administration what should be done about the fund, the group advised the fund should be reopened as soon as possible. The group’s document, “Summary of Research on Trauma and Treatment for Sexual Assault Survivors,” was published in The State News. “If sexual assault survivors have entered into treatment based on the understanding that there were dedicated funds available to cover the cost of therapy, and then learn that they are no longer eligible for those funds, they are likely to feel that such changes are a gross violation of trust,” the summary read. “This betrayal will likely cause significant distress
“She’s absolutely terrific,” Cheung said. “She’s fearless and she’s very careful but also really allows herself to kind of see where science takes her rather than being tied down by what is known. I think she will make an amazing scientist — she really follows the data and goes where it takes us.” Henry Dyson, director of the Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships, also noted Abdulghani’s eloquence and motivation. Dyson had the opportunity to work with Abdulghani as she prepared for her final interview with the Rhodes committee. “I was really excited to meet her,” Dyson said. “She (had) at that point already been offered a finalist review, so we set up a practice interview for her and I knew within the first five minutes — I mean this is easy to say in retrospect — but I knew in the first five minutes that she had a very good chance of winning.” Abdulghani confessed she was initially uncertain about what type of assistance ONSF would offer her because she was not a student at the University, but instead a staff member. However her meeting with Dyson resolved many of her concerns, and she praised him for helping her prepare for her final interview. “I was like, ‘Well I’m not really a student, I’m a staff member, why would he pay any attention to me?’’’ Abdulghani said. “But as soon as I walked in his office, he was energetic. He was always excited for me and he went out of his way, despite the short amount of time that was between my meeting with him and my interview at the Rhodes — I think it was about two or three weeks max— he went out of his way to do everything he could for me.” After finishing her Ph.D. at Oxford, Abdulghani hopes to return to Saudi Arabia, become a professor and eventually establish a research hub for women in the Gulf region. “I really want to get research going in Saudi Arabia,” Abdulghani said. “There is a lot of research happening, but I don’t think it’s quite enough yet. There is not enough involvement of women in research; the percentage of Saudi women faculty in scientific fields is extremely low. I think it’s around 30 percent and we really need to fix that. I hope to go back to Saudi Arabia and initiate a research hub eventually that provides world class education
that will compound trauma symptoms they are already experiencing.” Engler’s decision to cut the fund has incited criticism from Rachael Denhollander, who was the first survivor to publicly share her story about Nassar’s abuse. In a series of tweets, Denhollander laid out a timeline of the fund, and said “Engler/MSU are lying about the purposes, terms and circumstances of creation, for this fund,” also writing MSU determined in October no survivors had committed fraud related to the fund. “MSU creates fund to help survivors in December,” Denhollander wrote. “At this time, they are trying to get our suit dismissed and refusing to answer calls. Fund was not ‘until settlement’. MSU was refusing to even talk and had no plans to settle.” The statement released by the four MSU board members said they plan on discussing the issue with the full board at the next meeting Friday. Their hope is to force the reinstatement of the Healing Fund. “At every possible turn, @ MSUPresEngler confirms the abusive culture at MSU, the utter lack of meaningful change, and his abhorrent views on SA victims. MSU spokesperson Emily Guerrant and the BoT needs to stop agreeing to spew his lies. This is shameful,” Denhollander wrote.
in research to people across Saudi Arabia and across the region.” Dyson expressed his excitement for Abdulghani’s goals in the future and praised her ability to intertwine her identities and passions with what she hopes to accomplish. “One of the things that’s so interesting about Majd is how (speaks) in her blog about her lived experience, that she does have these other pursuits, such as karate and horseback riding,” Dyson said. “But also... she interprets those things through her Islamic values, practices and heritages and how she’s able to talk about how those things contribute to her vision for what she wants to do with women’s education in Saudi Arabia in the future.” Though Abdulghani is hopeful for her post-Ph.D. plans, she also acknowledged some of the challenges that come with being a Saudi Muslim woman pursuing science. However, she is optimistic that her journey and the obstacles she has faced will inspire others to realize their own dreams are achievable as well. “This might be self-imposed, but I definitely feel like I’m still navigating how to be a hijabi and a biologist at the same time,” Abdulghani said. “I hope that this is really just in my head, and that people don’t actually attach these thoughts to my identity, but right now I think it’s challenging. But, I hope that what I’m doing will encourage more women, and Muslims, and hijabis to be in the sciences.” With ambitious plans for the future, Abdulghani ref lected back once again on how her mother’s experience and encouragement inspire her to remain optimistic about what she is capable of doing as a Rhodes Scholar. “If I could give the Rhodes Scholarship to anyone else, I would give it to my mom,” Abdulghani said. “She has overcome so many obstacles and when I see that, I ask her, ‘How am I supposed to do that, too, when you’re facing all of these problems and being a Saudi woman scientist, how can I come back and do anything?’ She always brings out the positive energy and she always encourages me to come back and telling me that because these problems exist, this is why I need to get the Rhodes Scholarship.”
Opinion
4A — Thursday, December 6, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
MARISA WRIGHT | COLUMN
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FROM THE DAILY
Michigan Republicans’ disdain for democracy
F
ollowing the Nov-6 midterm elections, legislative bodies across the country are in a lame-duck session: the three-month period after many incumbents are voted out of office, but before the newly elected officials assume their positions next year.
Historically, both sides of the aisle use this time to push last minute leg islation in favor of their own pa rt y ’s agenda before the cha nge in power halts their ef forts. However, the Republica n response to the election of Democrats to all three Michiga n statewide of f ices this yea r is unprecedented a nd ultimately subversive of the will of Michiga n voters. Democratic state ca ndidates were elected to the positions of governor, at torney general a nd secreta r y of state for the f irst time in almost 20 yea rs. Yet both leg islative cha mbers remain Republica n, in pa rt due to pa rtisa n gerr y ma ndering. Michiga n state Republica ns have failed to gain a majorit y of votes in either leg islative house despite gaining a majorit y of seats in both, now using their power obtained through gerr y ma ndering to pass last minute leg islation in direct opposition to statewide results. They ’re not just pushing a n agenda; they ’re proposing leg islation that directly undermines Michiga n voters a nd actively works against democratic norms. So fa r, Michiga n state Republica ns have proposed delaying a raise in the minimum wage that would reach $12 by 2022. Instead, they have pushed this increase to only ta ke f ull ef fect by 2030. In addition, they also pushed to decrease paid sick leave from accruing at a rate of one hour ever y 30 hours worked to one hour for ever y 40 hours worked. Essentially, paid sick leave would then be cut from 72 hours per yea r to 36 hours per yea r for the average worker. Both of these elements of the minimum wage bill undoubtedly hurt workingclass citizens of Michiga n, but even worse is how they
directly invalidate the voice of Michiga n voters. The minimum wage initiative had enough sig nat ures to appea r on t he ba llot in November, but wa s removed when t he state leg islat ure adopted t he proposa l in September. Hence, t he Republica n leg islat ure adopted t he bill w it h t he sole purpose of cha ng ing it af ter t he elections, def y ing t he w ill
This shows how entrenched power hungriness is in politics
of a citizen-led ef for t at One Fa ir Wage t hat had ga rnered t he suppor t f rom voters across t he state. The orig ina l proposa l’s minimum wage increa se would have had impor ta nt ef fects, especia lly in a rea s like Way ne Count y where 60,000 work in jobs w it h a media n hourly wage of fewer t ha n $10 per hour. In essence, t he GOP capita lized on t he oppor t unit y to t hwa r t incoming of f icia ls a nd, in doing so, prevented a g ra ssroots initiative t hat could have positively impacted t housa nds. If a ny t hing, t his shows how ent renched power hung riness is in politics, a nd t he GOP ’s over t favoring of its position in politics, rat her t ha n t he w ishes of its constit uents. A t h i rd Republica n proposa l wou ld li m it t he secret a r y of st ate’s power in ca mpa ig n f i na nce oversig ht wh ile a not her wou ld g ua ra ntee t hat t he
leg islat u re — st ill cont rolled by t he G OP — wou ld have t he r ig ht to i nter vene i n a ny leg a l bat t les i nvolv i ng st ate laws t hat t he at tor ney genera l doesn’t com ment on or defend. M ich ig a n voters elec ted t hei r at tor ney genera l a nd secret a r y of st ate, yet t he Republica n leg islat u re is t r y i ng to neg ate t hei r elec t ion s. These proposa ls a re g ross abuses of power; t he Republica n leg islat u re is ma n ipu lat i ng t he democrat ic process to f it it s agenda , a n u naba shed a f f ront to it s voters. Pet t y pa r t isa n polit ics have once ag a i n i mpeded good gover na nce a nd ef fec t ively disen f ra nch ised M ich ig a n voters. These proposa ls a ren’t just abst rac t procedu ra l cha nges; t hey w ill have a rea l i mpac t on st udent s a nd t he Un iversit y of M ich ig a n com mu n it y. R a isi ng t he m i n i mu m wage ca n i ncrea se liv i ng st a nda rds a s liv i ng cost s r ise. Pa id sick leave en su res employees ca n st ay home when t hey ’re sick , a llow i ng t hem selves to get bet ter wh ile not posi ng a ny r isk s to t hei r colleag ues. We t hat wor r y u nder t h is cha nge, more workers w ill have to choose bet ween t hei r hea lt h a nd t hei r paycheck solely because a scor ned a nd u npopu la r pa r t y chose to over r ide t he w ill of t he voters. When State House a nd Senate Republica ns exploit their constit utionally delegated powers for their own political goals, they def y the democratic sta nda rds to which we hold our governmental processes. A smooth tra nsition of power is something the U.S. t y pically prides itself on, but the blata nt power g rab of the GOP is a n out wa rd disrega rd of such precedents.
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N
The ideal 2020 candidate
ow that the midterm elections are over with and Democrats won the popular vote in the House by the largest margins since Watergate, it is safe to turn our attention to 2020, albeit a bit early. Despite some rumblings from Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the Republican presidential nominee for president will most likely be Donald Trump. On the left, though, a competitive race seems to be shaping up, giving Democratic voters as many choices as required to choose their ideal 2020 candidate. Of course, there will be some in the media who push a Democrats-in-disarray story both because it is easy and because it conforms to a long-held narrative about the Democratic Party’s inability to truly be inclusive of fiscal conservatives and social progressives at the same time. There will undoubtedly be thinkpieces analyzing party infighting about whether to move toward the middle or the left. While we should absolutely have serious policy debates on questions such as the merits of Medicare for all versus public option health insurance, the Democratic Party has always been a big tent party filled with voters from left of center to the far left. And that’s okay. It simply means we have more voices and perspectives contributing to the effort to solve our country’s problems and help as many Americans as we can. In 2020, we unquestionably need a nominee who aligns with the party’s values as we define them in the coming months, but they should also have the ability to unite the country through inspiration and a vision of hope. While fear is a very powerful motivational tool—especially in politics as evidenced most recently by Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign— hope and change the old adages of President Barack Obama, are exactly what so many Americans are deeply craving for our country. While there haven’t been any major announcements of presidential bids quite yet, there is ongoing list of people dipping their toes in the water, gathering advisers and pollsters to make their decision and shying away
from the question on Sunday shows. These candidates cover the entire spectrum of the Democratic Party, including former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, former Vice President Joe Biden, former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, and Sens. Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren. All of these potential candidates have their own strengths and weaknesses, and it would be futile to guess which ones will appeal most to voters in 2020. A few names missing from the list are Sen. Bernie Sanders, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and venture capitalist Tom Steyer, who have all expressed interest in running but do not actually have any stake to the Democratic Party. It is important that the party does not over-adjust itself in an effort to learn something from the 2016 election; it would be unwise to choose a candidate whose identity and policies capitulate in an attempt to appeal to Trump voters. Though it was heartbreaking to witness Andrew Gillum of Florida, Stacey Abrams of Georgia, and Beto O’Rourke of Texas lose their exciting campaigns, it is important to remember those exciting and progressive candidates came closer to winning their elections than any of the previous bland, moderate candidates had in recent history. If then-Georgia State Secretary Georgia Brian Kemp hadn’t disenfranchised tends of thousands of Black and Democratic voters, Stacey Abrams would be the governorelect of Georgia right now. The lesson from these races is not that we should run more moderate candidates, it is that we need to do a whole lot of work to end the effects of gerrymandering, voter suppression and disenfranchisement. And we must remember this for 2020. Only a candidate who instills a sense of hopefulness about this country’s ability to fulfill its founding promise will excite enough voters, enough Americans, to triumph over division and fear
to win the presidency. This sense of hopefulness will come from the alignment of the candidates’ personal stories and their visions of the future. Their policies will need to be big and bold, their rhetoric skills genuine and uplifting. We should refrain from declaring that we cannot nominate another Black man or woman, or white man for that matter, just because of history. If Beto O’Rourke, a conventionally attractive, white, straight man, is able to connect to voters and deliver a message of hope better than any other candidate, then he should be the nominee. However, we should also consider how being a conventionally attractive, white, straight man allows him to connect to voters more easily than someone who is not those things. Take Kamala Harris, for example, who is a Black woman. Because we have seen people similar to O’Rourke as president in the past, it is much easier to imagine him as president. And because we have never seen a Black female president, it is much harder to imagine how she will lead and govern, and people tend to turn away from that which they cannot imagine generally out of misguided fear and uncertainty. Sometimes, though, leaning into that is exactly what leads to the very best results; perhaps having a literally brandnew type of leader is exactly what this country so desperately needs. As a party, it is important that the Democratic nominee for president in 2020 — or at least, the ticket — is representative of the party’s own demographics. There is no one magical candidate that can appeal to every single American and solve every single issue. But there is a candidate in the sea of hopefuls who will inspire us to be active in the democratic process, who will try to unite rather than divide us, who will remind of us all of the greatness of this American experiment. And she should absolutely be the Democratic nominee for president of the United States in 2020. Marisa Wright can be reached at marisadw@umich.edu.
ANAMARIA CUZA | COLUMN
A
When companies abuse our data
couple of weeks ago, a friend told me to apply for an internship at Palantir, a company that specializes in big data analytics. I scrolled through the job’s description, wrote a quick cover letter and left my application untouched for a couple of weeks. At the very same time, the Los Angeles police were stopping people in low-income areas without any clear reason. Manuel Rios, a 22-year-old who lives in the city’s gang populated area was stopped dozens of times ever since a police officer took a photograph of him after being seen with a gang member. Rios was never part of a gang, but when the police officer took his photograph, he was told, “Welcome to the gang database!” That “gang database” was created by Palantir in collaboration with the L.A. police, automating the targeting of supposed gang members. Once a person’s profile enters that database, it gets stuck there forever, and it gives police officers an additional reason to constantly invade a person’s privacy. For Rios, who has spent most of his life doing his best to stay away from gang activity, it only draws him closer to it. This is one example of the many collaborations of which Palantir is part: from working with J.P. Morgan to spy on its employees to having one of its employees work with Cambridge Analytica to use Facebook’s users’ personal data. As J.P. Morgan’s former chief information officer, Guy Chiarello put it, Palantir turns “data landfills into gold mines.” The kind of “data landfills” he is talking about allow the company to build both police and immigration departments models that match citizens with labels such as “Colleague of,” “Lives with,” “Owner of,” and “Lover of.” Palantir’s blog posts talk about its belief in regulations that govern data privacy, and about
its Privacy and Civil Liberties Team. Their actions, though, tell a different story. Only later did I find out that in a company managing hundreds of projects and thousands of employees, this particular team consisted of only 10 people. I deleted my internship application. There is a lot of talk nowadays about algorithmic bias — which makes a lot of people think there is something wrong with the algorithms themselves. In Palantir’s case, though, it’s not the algorithms that have a problem, but the data that the company uses and the way it uses the information. But can we restrict the manner in which a company chooses to use its data?
Once a person’s profile enters that database, it gets stuck there forever Hannah Fry, a mathematician who recently wrote a book on how algorithms affect our society, has been advocating for creating a regulatory government body to check the type of data and algorithms that companies are deploying. At this moment, any company is allowed to use any data, in any manner it wants. It’s the equivalent of having any company put any substance in a bottle and sell it under any label. The same way the FDA protects both the intellectual property of companies, while also ensuring the benefits of a product outweigh its harms. Is there a way to do this with algorithms? Probably. But as long as Silicon Valley is on track to be the top corporate lobbying spender, companies
will likely continue doing whatever they want with our data. People are increasingly not willing to share their data with companies. Governments are casting a suspicious eye toward companies collecting data from their customers. Right now, we live in a time when companies like Palantir are generating a lot of profit by leveraging data that users and governments unknowingly give up on. But what will happen five, 10 years from now? What will happen when all citizens will understand that their right to privacy is intertwined with the data they share? What will happen when more governments will decide to protect their citizens instead of their tech world benefactors? Will companies like Palantir even be feasible? It wa s only af ter a lawsuit t hat t he Los A ngeles Police Depa r t ment relea sed documents about Pa la ntir ’s sur veilla nce a lgorit hm t hey were using. The result? It unveiled t he fact t hat t he a lgorit hm propagates t he dispropor tionately high number of a rrests of Black A ngelinos a nd ot her minorit y g roups. Pa la ntir understood t he data t hat it wa s using to develop t his a lgorit hm. It would had been able to predict t his risk. But it didn’t. Until t he government sta r ts ta king action in set ting rest rictions on t he data t hese compa nies use, it is our responsibilit y to understa nd t he risks of misusing data. It is our responsibilit y to continue questioning t hese compa nies (maybe even f iling a lawsuit aga inst t hem), a nd to consider t he et hica l questions when apply ing to internships. Anamaria Cuza can be reached at anacuza@umich.edu.
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Thursday, December 6, 2018 — 5A
In midst of competition, Mann and The kid from somewhere else: Lavigne learning from each other Cam York commits to Michigan RIAN RATNAVALE Daily Sports Writer
Though Michigan can only have one of freshman Strauss Mann or junior Hayden Lavigne in the net at a time, and a permanent starter may emerge among them, the two goaltenders continue to forge a relationship unique to the two of them and the position itself. Yet, they remain in competition. Lavigne and Mann are hovering around .500 with Michigan looking for a spark. Both netminders have almost identical stat lines — 3.28 goals allowed against, 177 saves and a .881 save percentage for Mann compared to 3.20, 179, .877 for Lavigne. Still, each player brings something unique to the table. While Mann is more of a rangy goaltender that wanders out of the net, Lavigne prefers to sit back patiently in the crease. “I think goalie is a special position,” said Michigan coach Mel Pearson. “With forwards you have 15 forwards and you play 12 ... It’s a little bit different. It’s a unique relationship between goalies. Goalies are different.” Pearson’s sentiment also holds true in the way that Lavigne and Mann process the ups and downs of the game.
Lavigne is someone who rides the waves of his emotions — positive or negative — while Mann is more straight-lined, not having or showing much of a reaction to anything. “Mann’s always been very upbeat, very positive, intelligent, competitive and he’s an easy guy to talk to and he’s always been that way,” Pearson said. “He’s a pretty level-headed kid. I don’t think he can tell if he’s won a game or lost a game. His highs aren’t really high, but his lows aren’t really low.” In Michigan’s run to the Frozen Four, LaFontaine served as Lavigne’s confidant — someone whose shoulder he could lean on in spite of the ongoing competition. Mann doesn’t fulfill this role, and shouldn’t necessarily. As a freshman, he needs time to adjust to college hockey and get comfortable himself at Michigan — something that Lavigne and LaFontaine had the luxury of doing together. Rather, Mann guides by example more than by direct emotional support. Though Mann was thrown into the fire in his first start in a 6-5 loss at Western Michigan and withstood a 12-goal offensive
“It gets very competitive between the two goalies.”
onslaught to split two starts at Penn State, his reaction was no different to those games than it was in wins. “I think it’s important to show excitement when it’s due, but at the same time you have to be able to restrain that (non) excitement when it’s negative,” Lavigne said. “Looking at Strauss, that’s something I can learn from him, he’s really good at just goaltending without getting frustrated. There’s stuff we can learn from each other, and the median between us both is the spot that we want to try to get to.” It’s exactly that collaborative mindset, though, that keeps Mann level-headed in the face of the competition and season at hand. Sure, it might have stung not to get a start in either game in the Wisconsin series after playing both games in State College. He and Lavigne, however, know that every moment, whether it’s on or off the ice, serves as an opportunity to help the team out and further their respective career arcs. “The interesting part about the goalie-partner relationship is that there can only be one guy in the net,” Mann said. “So just that being a fact, it gets very competitive between the two goalies, because at the end of the day you want to be the one in the net. But at the same time, you have to realize that your career is a journey, and even if you’re not playing you can still get better in so many ways and learn stuff from your partner.”
EVAN AARON/Daily
Junior goaltender Hayden Lavigne is competing with freshman Strauss Mann for the Wolverines’ starting job.
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Release Date: Thursday, December 6, 2018
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
FOR RENT
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Free-speech inhibitor 7 Rep.’s opponent 10 Southwest art colony 14 From the beginning 15 Blood type letters 16 Palindromic French pronoun 17 Heist that really puts a burglar on the map? 20 Seeded 21 Corrida cheer 22 Cable network that airs vintage sitcoms 23 Place for rest and exercise 24 AFL partner 25 Retro renege? 32 “Me too” 33 Word with goal or detail 35 Remote power sources 36 Bucks 38 Top of le corps 39 Purplish reds 41 Oil __ 42 Unexpected visit from a hippie? 45 Two for dinner? 46 Made a getaway 47 Performer with a record 21 Oscar nominations 51 ESPN broadcaster Shriver 52 Energy units 56 Scene-stealing understudy? 59 Sushi seaweed 60 Trauma ctrs. 61 Delicate 62 Did 90, say 63 Took a load off 64 Relaxed DOWN 1 Speaks freely 2 Spherical hairdo 3 Went up a size 4 Low-fat
5 Say “pretty please,” say 6 Actress Goldberg 7 Oasis fruit 8 Weaken 9 Wednesday’s mom 10 Blue-green hue 11 __-Seltzer 12 Lena of “Alias” 13 Really excite 18 __ Bator 19 Call to mind 23 Master moguls 24 Fenway great Yastrzemski 25 Corporate body 26 Red who put out fires 27 Jerry’s neighbor 28 Help for a child at a parade 29 Like some bar offerings 30 Development sites 31 Grand __ National Park 32 __ bunt: productive MLB out
34 Mink lair 36 Marshmallowfilled treats 37 Burden 40 Clip 41 “__ appétit!” 43 “Shoot!” 44 Wyndhamowned chain 47 Taxpayer IDs 48 Firebird roof option 49 More than pink
50 City near Vance Air Force Base 51 Hissed attentiongetter 52 Pop singer Brickell 53 “Mazes and Monsters” novelist Jaffe 54 Inner workings 55 Lid problem 57 FDR agency 58 __ King Cole
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BAILEY JOHNSON Daily Sports Writer
When Cam York took the ice at Yost Ice Arena for the first time as a member of the U.S. National Team Development Program’s U18 team, he didn’t know that it would be his future home arena. York initially committed to Boston College back in 2016, largely because of thenassociate head coach Greg Brown. Brown coached the defensemen, which drew York to the Eagles. When Brown left to be an assistant coach for the New York Rangers, York went looking for other options. “With (Boston College) losing their defensive head coach, that was a big reason why I went there in the first place, so it was disappointing to me,” York said. “I decommitted from there and looked at other options and Michigan was the place for me. I think with their coaching staff and their facilities and what they have to offer, I knew that Michigan was the right choice.” While he was leaning toward Michigan, York was still uncommitted when the NTDP played at Yost in October. But it didn’t take too long during that game for the crowd to show him what Michigan hockey is all about. “I think that was kind of the cherry on top,” York said. “That’s what kind of sold me, for sure. Just the atmosphere of that place and just the way that Michigan fans support their team. It’s a special
place.” And just a few weeks after playing that game, York officially announced his commitment to the Wolverines. He is Michigan’s 12th commitment for the class of 2019 — a class that ranks first in the nation, according to Neutral Zone. York is eligible for the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, and many expect him to be a first-round pick. He ranks inside the top 20 among eligible prospects by four of the six major scouting websites. His skill as a two-way defenseman is exemplified by the fact that he has 16 points in 22 games this season, as well as a plus-minus rating of plusnine. The NTDP has sent quite a few players to join the college ranks at Michigan in the past few years, including sophomore defenseman Quinn Hughes and sophomore forward Josh Norris. York’s class seems to be no exception, as he and forward John Beecher are set to join the Wolverines next fall.
“The state of Michigan just supports their team so much.”
“We’re super excited,” York said. “Me and (Beecher) have become pretty good friends here. He’s a really good player, so I’m really excited to be able to play with him at the college hockey level.” In addition to playing with his current teammate, York is also excited to play for a team that has such widespread support. Hailing from Anaheim Hills, Calif. — not exactly a hotbed for hockey — the fervor with which Michigan fans support the Wolverines was one of the first things he noticed when he started thinking about coming to Michigan, even outside Yost Ice Arena. “You see guys wearing Michigan hoodies, there’s Michigan on license plates and stuff like that,” York said. “The state of Michigan just supports their team so much and I think that’s something that I really noticed and was really drawn to as a kid from somewhere else.” If York gets drafted as high as he’s expected to be this summer, he’ll take the ice for the Wolverines next year with plenty of attention. Those Michigan fans he’s so drawn to will have their eyes on him — the kid from somewhere else.
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Michigan coach Mel Pearson recently secured Cam York’s commitment.
6A — Thursday, December 6, 2018
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Ignas Brazdeikis came through when Michigan ready for LIU-Brooklyn the Wolverines needed him the most CONNOR BRENNAN Daily Sports Writer
ANNIE KLUS/Daily
Freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis managed to score in key moments during Michigan’s 62-60 win over the Wildcats.
THEO MACKIE
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan basketball team’s trip to Northwestern on Tuesday night was not supposed to be the toughest challenge of its young season. But with five minutes to play, it had become just that. Every time the Wolverines threatened to pull away, the Wildcats reeled back within striking distance. Leads of 10, 15 and 10 were matched with a trio of Northwestern scoring runs. Most teams would turn to a veteran presence in that moment of adversity. Michigan, on the surface, should be no different. Seven members of its eight-man rotation were here last year, when the Wolverines won 14 straight games en route to the national title game. Despite not having any seniors, experience is not among this team’s limited weaknesses. Yet, when its undefeated season lay in the balance for the first time, Michigan called on its sole contributing freshman. And as he has done so often this season, that freshman — forward Ignas Brazdeikis, in case you haven’t been paying attention — came through for the Wolverines, rattling home a 3-pointer to break a six-minute scoring drought and erase their
first second-half deficit in more than three weeks. “He gets us buckets when we can’t get one sometimes,” Michigan coach John Beilein said of Brazdeikis. “… He makes such obvious freshmen mistakes sometimes, … and then, all of a sudden, he’ll just go get you a bucket.” When Northwestern scored seven straight in the first half to draw within three, it was Brazdeikis who took the ball at the top of the key, charged toward the hoop and nailed a left-handed floater. One possession later, the Wildcats’ defense crowded the lane, forcing him into a fadeaway jumper from an impossible angle. Nothing but net. “That’s why he came to Michigan,” Beilein said. “He watched Nik Stauskas make a lot of those big shots and he wanted to be in this element and play in front of that crowd today. That’s who he is and that’s why we love him.” After taking a 36-30 lead into the break, the Wolverines’ offense began to wilt. Sophomore guard Zavier Simpson, Michigan’s on-court leader, followed an eight-point first half by going 1-of-6 from the field in the second. As Simpson’s struggles reached their apex, junior center Jon
Teske had to sit with foul trouble. His backup — redshirt sophomore center Austin Davis — posted zero points, three fouls and a negative-9 plusminus in just seven minutes. But whenever his teammates faltered, Brazdeikis shone brightest, keeping the Wolverines afloat by scoring 12 of their first 18 points of the second half and assisting on two more. “We got knocked down, but I feel like this game brought us more together,” Brazdeikis said. “I feel like we grew a lot, and it showed how tough we are.” Before the season, most would have anticipated the Wolverines to call on redshirt junior forward Charles Matthews or sophomore guard Jordan Poole in an imposing late-game road environment. Matthews was deemed to be the team’s most NBA-ready player and Poole had been there before, saving Michigan’s 2018 season with his nowimmortalized buzzer-beater. Instead, those two epitomized Michigan’s struggles down the stretch, combining for just four secondhalf points. In their place stepped a freshman. Even if he makes that detail easy to forget.
The Michigan women’s basketball team returns to Crisler Center on Thursday night for the first time in a long time. After a two-and-a-half-week stretch which saw the Wolverines travel from Estero, Fla., to Raleigh, N.C. and back north to Milwaukee, Wisc., they are finally coming home. Michigan faced four ranked opponents over the course of their travels — No. 21 Missouri, No. 10 Texas, No. 13 NC State and No. 22 Marquette — earning only one victory against the Tigers. In the other three games, the Wolverines’ youth and weaknesses were exploited. “We really, really tested ourselves,” said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico to 1050 WKTA. “The travel has been the toughest part for our young kids. It felt like we were on an NBA schedule.” Though the Longhorns and Golden Eagles thoroughly outplayed the Wolverines, the game against NC State remained competitive until the end — despite an 11-point loss. “NC State is a great team,” Barnes-Arico said. “It was really a great basketball game until the end.
And I think the atmosphere there was incredible. For our young kids to be in that environment, on the road, in the ACC, with the crowd getting into it like they did — that will really prepare us for Big Ten play.” If Michigan had pulled off that victory, it would be returning home much more pleased with it current position. Instead a 5-3 record through eight games looms over the Wolverines, as they now have their first real chance to practice since they left Ann Arbor on Thanksgiving. Challenging itself — especially early in the season — may reap benefits come the end of the year for Michigan, but as the Big Ten season inches closer, simply stringing together a few wins would be helpful. The Wolverines should have this chance on Thursday night when LIU-Brooklyn arrives in Ann Arbor. The struggling Blackbirds are 0-7, failing to score over 50 points in three of those games. LIU guards Brandy Thomas and Jeydah Johnson will likely pose the biggest threats offensively, but a lack of size gives Michigan a significant advantage in the paint. Similarly, the Blackbirds have struggled to stop teams defensively, giving up
over 70 points to Fairfield, St. Peter’s and UC Irvine. So the Wolverines seem quite capable of making this one ugly. Still, Michigan has a few kinks to iron out itself. Freshman point guard Amy Dilk and senior center Hallie Thome — both key starters for the Wolverines — have struggled in recent weeks. The speed of the game may be catching up to Dilk, while for Thome, consistent doubleteams have rendered her somewhat ineffective offensively. Look for both of them to rebound against a team that has struggled as much as LIU. Additionally, a return to Michigan’s home-court advantage should help it after its long stretch away. “We feel like it’s been so long since we’ve been home and had an opportunity to play in front of our home crowd,” Barnes Arico said. “Really we always talk about protecting that block ‘M’, so our kids are super excited about that aspect. “More so than any opponent right now, I think it’s about us getting better. This road swing has shown us what the best teams in the country look like. Now it’s an opportunity to work on Michigan, and where we need to improve.”
ANNIE KLUS/Daily
Senior center Hallie Thome has struggled lately as Michigan has dropped three of its last four games, all on the road.
Lerg, Rosens lead ‘M’ to Sweet 16 DANIEL DASH
Daily Sports Writer
As the Michigan volleyball team’s bench rushed onto the court to join the dogpile, head coach Mark Rosen jolted out of his seat. His wife, associate head coach Leisa Rosen, threw her right fist into the air. Their slew of reactions came in the moment the Wolverines (24-9 overall, 11-9 Big Ten) clinched their berth in the Sweet Sixteen with an upset win over No. 12 Pittsburgh (30-2 overall, 17-1 ACC). Saturday’s win adds yet another jewel to Mark and Leisa Rosen’s coaching crown — one that already included nine All-Americans, 17 postseason appearances and over 400 victories in their tenure in Ann Arbor. The Rosens’ most recent achievement marks their seventh trip to the Sweet Sixteen in 20 years at the helm of the program. But that’s merely a number to them. “I don’t keep track of those things,” Mark Rosen said. “I just like the fact that we’re in the Sweet Sixteen. It’s a great accomplishment for this team, but we want to go farther. We’re not satisfied — we want to go win the next one.” To get there, the Rosens first had to get through Navy, which presented Michigan with the challenge of an unconventional style in the opening round. The Mids (23-9 overall, 13-3 Patriot League) won their conference title, highlighted by the onedimensional offense they used to cruise through the regular season. Outside hitter Maddi Sgattoni finished the season with 1,288 attack attempts, over 540 more than any of her teammates. After facing six of the AVCA Coaches Poll’s top-12 teams in its regular season Big Ten slate, the Wolverines had adapted to seeing well-versed offensive attacks. Adjusting to Navy’s onewoman show posed a challenge, but the Rosens put a defensive scheme in place to neutralize
Sgattoni’s skill set. Michigan executed the gameplan to perfection, holding Sgattoni to two kills on 36 attempts while forcing her into seven errors. The player responsible for spearheading the Wolverines’ adjusted defensive effort was senior libero Jenna Lerg, but that’s nothing new. Now in her fourth year as a starter, the Michigan native recorded 18 digs in the opening-round match. In the midst of making dramatic one-armed saves look routine, Lerg recorded the 1,927th dig of her career — a feat which moved her into second place on the program’s all-time list. “(Lerg) is arguably the best libero we’ve ever had,” Rosen said. “She’s great at the whole game. We can look at records, but it really comes down to how she impacts this team. She elevates the level of this team, and that’s huge for us. She comes up in big points, and her skill set can change the momentum of the entire match.” The sweep of Navy set up a showdown with Pittsburgh, the ACC champion. Squaring off against a 30-win conference champion on its home court in the Big Dance can be daunting, so the Rosens went back to the drawing board to craft another thoughtful approach. One five-set thriller later, the
Wolverines were off to the Sweet Sixteen. On his way to shake hands with Pittsburgh coach Dan Fisher at midcourt, Mark Rosen walked by his coaching binder, which sat untouched on Michigan’s bench. Rather than continuing his journey to Fisher, Rosen stopped, doubled back to his seat, and grabbed his binder — a choice emblematic of his task-oriented approach to coaching. The next task at hand? No. 5-seed Texas (22-4 overall, 17-1 Big 12). Rather than taking time out of the upcoming week to commemorate the victory, the Rosens will be studying film on the Longhorns. The battle will take place on Brigham Young’s campus in Provo, Utah on Friday afternoon. “We need to figure out how to advance past each team we play,” Rosen said. “It’s not about playing pretty volleyball, it’s about advancing to the next round.” If the Wolverines can upend Texas, it’d mark Michigan’s third Elite Eight appearance of the Rosen era — further etching their names into program history. As their coaching resume continues to grow, the Rosens’ legacy begins to approach immortality. To Mark and Leisa, it’s just one more task.
“We’re in the Sweet 16. ... We want to go win the next one.”
ANNIE KLUS/Daily
Jenna Lerg is second on Michigan’s all-time list for digs with 1,927.
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The wondrous culinary delights of Spencer Ann Arbor ELI RALLO
Daily Arts Writer
Sometimes, when we step away from our conventional wisdoms about the way something must work, we are able to realize true beauty lies not in the intricate but the familiar. Start by going back to your roots and exploring the implausible ways the simple can be rendered magnificent. At Spencer, the small but fierce 32-seat restaurant on Ann Arbor’s East Liberty Street, the philosophy is a unique one, and one that we typically don’t see at restaurants in Michigan, or anywhere at all. The restaurant, or “passion project,” as co-owner Abby Olitzky calls it, is the love child of San Francisco-born pastry chef Olitzky and Ann Arbor native cheesemonger Steve Hall. The two met in California at the cheese and wine shop at which Hall was working when Olitzky happened to stop by to purchase cheese one day. After a few months, they decided to move to Michigan to open a restaurant. Upon returning to Hall’s Burns Park roots, Olitzky fell in love with Ann Arbor and they began searching for a location which is now the chic, cozy spot Spencer calls home. Olitzky is the main chef at Spencer, and Hall handles the wine and most of the front of house business. The two work together to make an endearing, charming and dedicated partnership. The two cooperate
dishes is what makes Spencer so solitary in its glory. “When I talk to the farmers about what vegetables we’re getting, I always try to search for ingredients we can treat as whole or as individual. I don’t want to mash up vegetables or take them far away from how I receive them. I want to showcase an ingredient as whole. The biggest part of cooking to me is that you have to have a voice that’s yours and only yours,” Olitzky said about her own culinary voice, one that feels authentic and focused on the ingredients and the way they can bring out the best in one another. Through her education and experiences cooking, she’s seen many different kitchens and had the ability to work in many different environments, all of which inform the way she cooks now — straight from the heart and with the beauty of the ingredient in mind. Everything about Spencer is real and genuine, from the folks behind the magic, to the interior design. Daylight spills through the large glass windows at the front, warming the communal wooden tables and filling the place with a sunny serenity. The interior is decorated with fresh f lowers and overgrown green plants, oil paintings and a cool brick wall, all fitting perfectly with the black and white tiled f loors to create a homey yet simple vibe. The authenticity of Spencer’s personality comes
But that’s just how I like it. It’s easier for me to have women in the kitchen because I don’t communicate as forcefully or directly as other chefs, so oftentimes women gravitate toward my style. It’s hard to find people with the same ethos about cooking and have my same mentality about staying fresh and seasonal and focusing on the ingredient.” In the major kitchens of New York City, men dominate the creative recipe building and physical act of cooking, making the restaurant industry a hard one to break into as a woman. Being taken seriously in a major kitchen as a woman is incredibly difficult in commercial kitchens, where the patriarchy reigns. Just this past week, Dominique Crenn became the first woman in the United States to earn three Michelin stars, a distinguished honor for chefs. One may wonder how many other women also deserve the same honor but have had a more difficult time making it in the business. “I worked for Dominique Crenn once,” Olitzky said. “It was like for a day. I was very young, and I was like… what is going on.” “I’d like to say that it’s changing — that traditionally women cook to feed and are seen cooking in domestic kitchens and that we’re changing that, but really there isn’t much of a change in the industry,” she admitted,
CLAIRE MEINGAST / DAILY
along with other sous-chefs to craft the restaurant’s unique menu items. The diverse and interesting menu is only one facet of Spencer’s quirky, daring personality. On any given day, the menu can change based on what is in season, or simply what Olitzky feels the Ann Arbor community should taste that day. “The menu is always changing, because I get bored sometimes. I want to come into work and keep things interesting and play around with all of the potential f lavors,” Olitzky said in an interview with The Michigan Daily about the unorthodox conditional characteristic of the menu, always ready to change as seasonal ingredients or Olitzky’s creative urges do. Currently, the menu is dotted with brussels sprouts accompanied by grapefruit, chili peanut and burrata, which to my dismay Olitzky advised me is being ushered off the menu in the next few days because brussels sprouts are heading out of season. “Our style is what I like to call California Cuisine, sort of a European cooking style with local ingredients. It’s all about the local ingredients, though; we try to make them shine through and fuss as little as possible,” Olitzky said. Locally sourced food means a lot to the team at Spencer. Olitzky buys all the ingredients at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market and from a few other farmers working on biodynamic or organic growing practices with whom she’s forged relationships. Certain idiosyncrasies, like going the extra mile to find the freshest ingredients and using creative collaboration to put a remarkable twist on simple
from Olitzky, who is a firm believer in being true to herself when she cooks. “We don’t change who we are when we cook, ever. Out best food comes out here when I’m the most authentic to who I am,” Olitzky said. She started out at New York University taking different classes on ingredients and food, and from there went on to the Institute of Culinary Education to hone her craft in cooking. She decided to head back home to San Francisco to pursue a career in cooking before meeting Hall and moving to Ann Arbor. Now, she can be found in the kitchen at Spencer six nights a week, though she’s been trying to take an extra day off, trusting her predominately female sous-chefs to cultivate their own unique culinary voices while keeping true to Spencer’s mission and mantra. “As an individual, I want my cooking to feel personal and I want everyone who works in this kitchen to feel like they have a personal style as well,” she said. And personally it does feel as if all of the menu items at Spencer seem to tell their own story, as though they are not only dishes but entities with personas and significance. The team behind Spencer’s creative mind takes a dish like short rib and embellishes it with gusto, adding a pancake, pickled caulif lower and horseradish. They take pierogies and investigate new f lavor profiles by adding arugula, sunf lower, beet mostrada and caraway crème fraîche. While intricate, the dishes start with simple ingredients that mingle together to create f lavor breakthroughs. “I’m in the kitchen all the time,” Olitzky said. “I literally refuse to leave the kitchen.
referencing the dichotomy between male and female chefs and restaurateurs. But Olitzky is part of the group looking to break the curve, commanding the culinary world fearlessly, marching to the beat of her own drum. Behind the counter is Olitzky’s bookshelf of cookbooks — she’s constantly collecting cookbooks and reading different female chefs’ recipe books. The stacks of books may look like vintage decor, but really they’re a huge piece of Olitzky’s identity as a restauranteur and foodie. As we chat, her personal recipe book sits open in front of her — a Moleskine bursting with notes and papers, scribbled with her newest ideas, ingredient pairings and reminders. She etches “green things” into the margins as she remembers to put in an order for green veggies and brussels sprouts to one of the farmers with which she generally does business. “I think in my future I want to write cookbooks,” Olitzky said. “I love reading cookbooks and food writing, and I really want to create one of my own.” She would follow her heart and intuition with the cookbook as well, and I would hope it would also be embellished with photographs, as the food at Spencer is not only a unique gastronomic experience, but also incredibly visually attractive. As seen on Instagram feeds every day, the moment that a plate of warm food is placed in front of a diner at a restaurant like Spencer is supplemented by a f lurry of phone screens ready for a picture-worthy moment. The food at Spencer is colorful and jubilant — a celebration of ingredients and the simple joys of life.
CLAIRE MEINGAST / DAILY
“I cook how I want to eat; I like to make a ton of different things and share all of it,” she said. “I don’t really believe in tapas and small plates. I hate those words. I cook here how I cook at home. Many smaller items, different things and options.” Olitzky’s identity in cooking stemmed from when she was young and would take trips to the farmer’s market with her mother. Olitzky said she never stopped cooking, especially when she was training and being educated as a young chef. She was always in the kitchen, using her hands. “Sometimes people ask me why we’re so successful here, and I say there’s no secret. I just don’t care to cater to anybody. I just cook what I want to cook.” When Olitzky gets in the kitchen at Spencer, she submerges herself in a world where she focuses on herself as the chef, and the ingredients as her tools. Working from the inside out, she uses the plate as a mirror, ref lecting her own identity through the dishes she curates. Removing the third party — in this case the patron — for a moment to focus on her own culinary style is a risk, but it is one that works in her favor. Spencer is packed every night of the week. The team’s commitment to its authentic backbone is what brings customers back time and time again. “I used to come home from a long work day in the kitchen and decide to cook myself dinner instead of just grabbing something to-go,” Olitzky said. “I would have one day off in a week, and I’d spend the entirety of it recipe testing and cooking.” Olitzky’s dedication and commitment to the food she f lirts with and Hall’s passion for wine and customer service make the most ideal pairing. Every Tuesday in December, the pair transform the restaurant into a wine store for the afternoon. The bottles are organized by region, and the f lexibility of the space allows for creativity. The Tuesday Wine Pop-Up Shop is accompanied by a food component, because wine should always be embellished with food. In fact, Olitzky was tasked with making homemade latkes for the event coming up a few hours after our conversation. The latkes turned out crispy and beautiful, as can be seen on Spencer’s Instagram promoting the
wine event. This type of event doesn’t just happen in December; Olitzky and Hall are always coming up with new ways to spice things up. “We have ticketed events, like wine and food events where we focus on a specific topic or region all the time,” Olitzky said. “We love to transform our space, do something fun and keep ourselves on our toes. We’re here to feed people in the community and to hope they latch on and get excited about the things we are excited by.” Intimacy underlies everything Spencer does, from customer service, to the communal tables that invite
(Spencer) is a clear bell in a world of kitchens, forgetting about the simple, forfeiting the beauty of the moment for the big picture.
people to share a meal with one another, and the intricate details in the dishes. There is never any removal from the food at Spencer. Each dish touches the hands of the talented chefs and is delivered to the customer, never falling away from its base of being an ingredient that was grown and curated from the earth. At Spencer, Olitzky and Hall have created a space for a rare and intimate relationship between food and creator, customer and creator, and customer and food. “I like using my hands a lot, and I’m so obsessed with the meditative quality of being mindful while cooking: It is so focused in thought,” Olitzky said. What makes Spencer’s heart beat is its earnest return to the simple and traditional coupled with the charisma and identity of a young, punchy go-getter always in the market
to try something new. The restaurant’s personality did not manifest itself as such a dynamic individual, rather, the minds behind its character are what makes it so special. Hall and Olitzky are recently married and navigating the world of being in a romantic relationship while also being business partners. “I can’t imagine opening a restaurant alone,without a partner who is personally involved with me somehow, even a family member or something,” Olitzky said. “Steve always has my best interest at heart. He’s always thinking about me first. If I was partners with someone who wasn’t invested in my best interest, I’d be worried about what’s holding them there and what’s preventing them from thinking about me as a person first.” Hall and Olitzky share the same mantras and beliefs about food and the culinary world, another reason their partnership seems to work so pleasantly, and in Spencer’s favor. “We don’t really see food as art,” Olitzky said. “The importance of food as art is being inf lated and glamorized. At the end of the day it’s really a simple thing: It’s just food. I see food as a practice. As a belief. As a meditation.” When asked about the possibility of opening another restaurant, Olitzky explained “There’s no rush for us to go anywhere from here right now, there’s no pressure to have to open someplace new just because that’s what other people do. We can keep pushing ourselves here. We can hone in and be creative here. We are not there yet, and that’s OK.” Spencer is a delight. It is creative, and it is pushing boundaries. It is breaking barriers and building new walls. It is a shimmering gem in a world of commercial kitchens so focused on what’s next. It is a clear bell in a world of kitchens forgetting about the simple, forfeiting the beauty of the moment for the big picture. What Olitzky and Hall have done at Spencer is taken their hearts, their love for one another and their love for the world of food and created sustenance out of it. Anyone who walks into Spencer’s charming front door is in for an experience where the unique taking on simple ingredients all tells a story, and that in and of itself is the most wonderful dish a restaurant can serve.
CLAIRE MEINGAST / DAILY
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Thursday, December 6, 2018 — 3B
IN
PROFILE
GoNanas: A new, healthpositive, innovative way to satisfy a sweet craving DOMINIC POLSINELLI Senior Arts Editor
The sweet tooth: society’s colloquial term to describe our sudden craving for sweets. Yet, the term almost comes with a hint of shame, as the sweet tooth tends to hit us
of stuff that packs a much more nutritious punch, all detailed by Slabotski in an interview with The Daily. “All of our breads are made from the exact same base. Instead of using refined wheat f lour we use whole grain gluten-free oat f lour, which is packed with fiber and a bunch
together in a mixing bowl, stuck it in the oven and burnt the whole thing. I mean it was charred. And we were like why don’t we just cut off the top? It’ll be super dry, but we can try it. And it was so good, and we thought, ‘If we can burn the crap out of this thing and it still tastes amazing, we really have
COURTESY OF GONANAS
lot of bananas from stores like Replenish or small grocers who have over ripe bananas that they can’t sell. We’re hopeful to do that with this potential new f lavor because a lot of apples get bruised and then are not able to be sold. Trying to reduce that food waste as well is something we try to incorporate into our breads.” With an eye on health and sustainability, GoNanas is the perfect one-two punch of a delicious, sustainable snack without all the negative effects of typical, dessert-like foods. Starting with a family recipe, Slabotski and Lerner are pioneering what it means to satisfy a sweet tooth in a fast-paced, health-conscious society — especially one in a huge college town. With an eye at expanding their clientele in the future, Slabotski also ref lected on the unique quality of their bread.
“So I think that it’s super rewarding to do something that you believe in. And I think that’s why we’ve done it for so long, and we want to contiue doing it.”
“I think it’s just a really unique product. I’ve never seen an on-the-go treat like that, and I think that we get a call maybe once every two weeks, once a month, from someone thanking us for bringing a gluten-free treat, or a vegan-treat, that’s not so expensive, that’s healthy and tastes good. So I think that it’s super rewarding to do something that you believe in. And I think that’s why we’ve done it for so long, and why we want to continue doing it.” Next time you’re in a mild state of panic reviewing your organic chemistry notes or slamming out a paper on the role of carriages in Jane Austen, think about grabbing a slice of GoNanas bread before running to Walgreens for a candy bar — your body and mind will definitely thank you for it.
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Yet, the term almost comes with a hint of shame, as the sweet tooth tends to hit us hardest when we’re feeling a little stressed, a little down or maybe even a little bored.
of nutrients that are wonderful for you; and then instead of butter or canola oil we use coconut oil; instead of sour cream we use coconut milk,” Slabotski explained. “So every quote-unquote bad ingredient that you find within an average banana bread we substitute for something that is the better version for you.” But GoNanas hasn’t always been supplying places like Fred’s, Replenish and Literati with their delicious breads. Like all small businesses, Slabotski and Lerner started out as freshman with a simple goal in mind: “We’re really driven by our mission in this idea that we can bring healthy, accessible food to busy college kids that are on the go and want to have a dessert but don’t want to grab a donut or a refined sugar-filled muffin. So we want to give this treat — especially to those people who are vegan or gluten-free or nut-free or dairy-free, we are all allergen-free — and being
something.’ So we spent the summer perfecting the recipe, talking to people, making sure they liked it, getting feedback and then we had some help developing the website and were open for business the next school year.” What is most appealing about GoNanas is not only the nutritional value of their work, but also the variety they bring to an otherwise standard treat, with current f lavors including pumpkin and chocolate chip — and with this variety brings a sustainable edge to their company. GoNanas works with the seasons provide fresh new f lavors to their customers while keeping in mind how they can make a positive environmental impact with their food. “When we’re exploring to find new f lavors, we get inspired by the season. So right now we have pumpkin because it’s fall, but we’re transitioning into an applecinnamon because apples
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SINGLE REVIEW: ‘MODEL HOMES’
REPUBLIC RECORDS
COURTESY OF GONANAS
hardest when we’re feeling a little stressed, a little down or maybe even just a little bored. Especially as students, we all relate to the sudden cravings that come with long study periods and academic/work stress. So what better solutions do we have to this epidemic desire for the processed and carb-loaded? Here enters GoNanas, the brainchild of School of Information senior Annie Slabotski and LSA senior Morgan Lerner. GoNanas produces a variety of banana breads, all gluten-free (many vegan friendly as well) that replace all the negative ingredients associated with baked desserts with the kind
able to provide this healthy, nutritious dessert is what inspires us,” Slabotski said. Slabotski and Lerner met as freshman year neighbors in their dorm, and sharing a common interest in food, Slabotski asked her neighbor if she wanted to go back to her parents’ house to do some baking. And upon mentioning that her family has urged her to sell her banana bread, Lerner responded enthusiastically, and the rest is history: “We went home, and we took a mixture of the recipe I knew from my mom and some healthy recipes that we found online and just started experimenting. We pretty much just threw something
are really well harvested in the winter, and a lot of our
“...Being able to provide this healthy, nutritious dessert is what inspires us... ”
mission goes into food waste,” Slabotski explained. “We get a
I’ve been anxiously awaiting the unlikely return of David Bazan-helmed Pedro The Lion since my youth pastor played “Diamond Ring” as the introduction to a lesson at our fall kick-off retreat my sophomore year of high school. For those unfamiliar with Bazan’s work, as Pedro or otherwise, the publication Christ and Pop Culture might have put it best when they labeled him the “Patron Saint of Skeptics and Doubters.” Early in his career as Pedro, Bazan found a serious fan base among religious communities, who presumably just appreciated he was talking about God at all. As the albums kept coming (five LPs in total between 1998 and 2004, with the addition of Phoenix coming in January of next year) Bazan’s lyrics became more and more
cynical. Around that time, he also expressed in interviews that he had begun considering himself agnostic and, as a direct result, became a sort of black sheep among those in
“Model Homes” Pedro the Lion Polyvinyl the Christian community who were aware of his work. Now, although Bazan appears to be making a conscious turn away from explicitly religious themes, he can’t quite seem to make a clean break. “Model Homes,” the second single from the upcoming Phoenix, finds him still hinting at the stifling quality of the church. The song opens with Bazan, as a child, leaving church with his parents, an image followed by
the reflection that “Sunday afternoon felt like a tomb.” Largely, though, “Model Homes” expresses a wish for newness. Over melancholy, sun-soaked guitars, Bazan blurs the line between past and present, juxtaposing images of “Shuffling our shoes on brand new carpet / Freeze tag with static electricity,” with a desire to “Live with someone else / Give them my whole self.” What begins in childhood makes a startling jump to the present day, while Bazan half-shouts, “I wanna not be lonely,” in his characteristically syrupy vocal style. “When will the wait be over?” he repeats twice at the end of the song. For fans of Pedro, the wait will be over sooner than we know.
— Sean Lang, Daily Arts Writer
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4B —Thursday, December 6, 2018
Kerrytown the vegan hotspot, with The Lunch Room, Detroit Filling Station, People’s Food Co-op and many others scattered across the neighborhood. The Ann Arbor restaurant scene puts any myth that the vegan diet is unappetizing or boring to shame.
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How Weird Al kept food parody fresh, farm-grade CLARA SCOTT Daily Arts Writer
There is a years-old adage that has been spoken by every mother throughout history at least once, with a scowl on her face and a look of disgust: Don’t play with your food. It’s a simple ask, but for a child, the utmost restraint must be used to keep themselves from sticking stuff into potatoes or making rice mountains on their plates, pushing their green beans into patterns on the white porcelain. Though the conventions of etiquette don’t allow for any untethered experimentation at the dinner table, the frustrated parents of wild children are missing out on one undeniable truth: Food is funny. The need to eat is something we all have in common, and in that universal appeal is an opportunity for truly great comedy. No one knows this more or does it better than cultural icon and master of parody “Weird Al” Yankovic. Weird Al, really named Alfred Yankovic, began his path into parody stardom in the late ‘70s and quickly grew into a media phenomenon. If you’ve ever seen a picture of him you would not forget it, with long curly hair and an ultra-expressive mug that only enhances his showmanship. The man is a natural comedian, and it’s obvious to anyone who watches his music videos or appearances on late-night television. He’s a well-loved and lauded character in American and world media alike, someone who has been creating songs that parody pop culture and art with an intelligent edge for over 40 years. For those not familiar with Weird Al’s work, it’s worth a listen from hits like “Amish Paradise,” an Amish-themed version of the late-‘90s hit “Gangsta’s Paradise,” to “White and Nerdy,” a geeky take on “Ridin’ Dirty,” the songwriter has tackled every genre and era of music with flourish and the kind of smart satire that sneaks up on you through expertly arranged jams. Weird Al has been a solid presence in the American pop media through these parodies for decades, taking on the
conventions and hits of each time period with a consistently funny and unique take. But the thing that he has always done best, even in the large scope of his celebrated career, is craft whimsically hilarious songs about food. He even released an album titled The Food Album in 1993, a collection of his best songs based on the silliness and convention of the things we eat. In fact, Weird Al’s first song that played on the radio was his version of classic ‘70s rock hit
Weird Al has been a solid presence in the American pop media through these parodies for decades, taking on the conventions and hits of each time period with a consistently funny and unique take.
“My Sharona,” affectionately titled “My Bologna.” “Ooh, my little hungry one, hungry one / Open up a package of my bologna,” he sings, crooning over a ragged guitar part. Although Weird Al’s songs themselves offer funny perspectives on food, the kicker is really their accompanying videos, some of which have been ingrained in pop culture to the same extent as their base material. Part of the hilarity of food is its visual effect, and Al
knows this better than anybody. Although it would probably be considered insensitive today, Weird Al’s song “Fat,” a parody of Michael Jackson’s pivotal single “Bad,” is probably the hit that most people would know him for. Much of the tune’s success is due to its music video, a vision of Al’s ballooned body flying through the subway tunnels in a comedic version of the original Jackson video. The musician sings, “When I go to get my shoes shined / I gotta take their word / Because I’m fat, I’m fat, sham on,” in the same style as the iconic MJ, with a comedic twist that plays and contrasts with the canon to create a lasting hit. If you ignore the obvious fatphobic issues with the song, you can see Weird Al’s originality and interesting relationship with food shine through. Though there are some songs, like “Fat,” that may not have aged well as society has changed, they are still an example of how food and eating have always been undeniably funny, no matter who is listening. This attention to detail and creative take on food parody is even more apparent in songs like “Eat It,” another Jackson parody of “Beat It,” “Addicted to Spuds” (“Addicted to Love,” Robert Palmer), “I Love Rocky Road” (“I Love Rock and Roll,” Joan Jett), “Spam” (“Stand,” R.E.M.) and even more. Lyrics include: “Spam in the back of my car (ham and pork) / Spam any place that you are (ham and pork) / The tab is there to open the can (spam any place that you are),” “Just eat it, eat it / Get yourself an egg and beat it,” “ I love rocky road / So won’t you go and buy half a gallon, baby / I love rocky road / So have another triple scoop with me.” With lines like these, any audience would know exactly what Al is talking about from the first word. Not only is his writing refreshingly simple, but it also plays on a childlike curiosity and interest in food that hides inside all of us. Weird Al knows the value of silliness, and is a clear supporter of playing with your food, no matter what your mother may have said.
STYLE NOTEBOOK
Veganism in Ann Arbor TESSA ROSE
Daily Arts Writer
I dove head first into veganism when I came to the University my freshman year. There were no vegetarian training wheels to ease me into a major lifestyle transition of no animal products whatsoever. For those who aren’t familiar with the “eat food not friends” mantra, vegans don’t eat any animal-made products, including milk, eggs, any kind of meat, honey and a jumble of other animal-originating produce. There are many variations to the vegan lifestyle, like wholestarch, low-fat vegans and raw
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vegans who don’t eat anything cooked. Beyond food, vegans do not wear clothing derived from animals, like wool, leather or fur. Definitely no Canada Goose jackets. Surprisingly, transitioning into veganism didn’t feel like that big of a deal for me. My diet had already largely consisted of vegetables, fruits and all the heart-healthy grains, and I knew there was no way in hell I was going to eat chicken-somethingsketchy at the dining hall. I honestly was not entirely informed on the medical, ethical, anatomical, economical and environmental reasoning
behind the vegan lifestyle. I just felt like it was the right thing to do at the time and have stuck with it for over a year. But now looking into it, there’s so much logic behind veganism, not only for personal well-being, but for the viability of the Earth and every living creature on it (watch any documentary featuring innocent animals being brutally slaughtered in extensive quantities to learn more). The traditional Ann Arbor culture is rooted in an earthy, liberal arts scene: the perfect climate for vegan restaurants to thrive. I would appoint
The Lunch Room: The Lunch Room will always be Ann Arbor’s vegan gem. From seitan-made hot dogs (2 for $10) to vegan pad thai ($12), The Lunch Room demonstrates vegan culinary creativity at its finest. They also serve a spread of vegan desserts, like ice cream sandwiches ($6) made with coconut milk and your choice of cookie outsides (ginger and fudge being my top choices). Not to mention The Lunch Room’s charmingly snug location nestled in the middle of the Kerrytown Market two streets away from the notorious Ann Arbor raised sandwich stop, Zingerman’s Delicatessen. Walking into The Lunch Room, you’ll be greeted by string lights, cobblestone pavement and kombucha. Vegan paradise awaits you. Detroit Filling Station: Head up another classic Kerrytown cobblestone road, past the Kerrytown Farmers Market and you can find the Detroit Filling Station, situated on the corner of Detroit Street and Catherine Street. For Sunday brunch, check out the Greek scramble ($13) bursting with tofu-based scrambled “eggs,” bell peppers, Yukon potatoes and herbed aioli toast, vegan pancakes ($3-$12) and almost
any other breakfast item you crave. I really give kudos to the Detroit Filling station for nailing a solid vegan breakfast, the hardest vegan meal to master, as nearly all traditional breakfast plates center on animal sourced
The traditional Ann Arbor culture is rooted in an earthy, liberal arts scene: the perfect climate for vegan restaurants to thrive.
ingredients. Plan a visit on a Wednesday night for live jazz music or Thursday night for live bluegrass. Fred’s: Walking into Fred’s, you’ll find yourself in a bright space lined with quirky wall art and wooden furniture displays that must have come straight from a ‘Boho-mod’ Pinterest board. Freds’s menu thrives on clean eats that you will crave for days after. They serve unusual
but inventive açai bowls, like the Mermaid Bowl ($10) with pineapple, coconut milk, blue algae and a medley of other superfood toppings, plus a line of freshly made smoothies each costing around $7-$8. And, as always, this vegan spot has a filling avocado toast ($7.50) served on sourdough bread, because healthy fats and carbs are a must. Argus Farm Stop: I only discovered Argus Farm Stop this year, but now you can catch me there almost every morning drinking a golden turmeric latte with almond milk ($3.25) alongside a vegan energy bite ($3) from Juicy Kitchen. Two of these farmcentric locations have found homes across campus, one on Packard St. and the other on Liberty Street. Part cafe and part market, the Argus Farm Stop offers an array of artisanal products to purchase and taste, all of which are sourced from local farms around Michigan. They have lentil stews, baked goods from Juicy Kitchen and Tasty Bakery and crackly fresh bread provided daily. Argus is a low-profit organization with a mission to support local food systems. According to informational plaques displayed around Argus, “our country has lost 93% of its farms growing food since 1950.” While not all products here are vegan friendly, purchasing locally sourced food products are ultimately more economically and environmentally sustainable than most other commercial options.
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MUSIC VIDEO : ‘THANK U, NEXT’
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Ariana Grande’s “thank u, next” is a sensation of such magnitude that it’s easy to feel like Ariana has always been this cultural behemoth. Yet “thank u, next” is Ariana’s first Billboard number one hit. It’s easily her best performing single. What puts this song and its music video apart is Grande’s masterful execution and understanding of the social media hype machine. Both the single and music video have managed to drum intense fervor through references to pop culture without seeming insincere. In the video, Ariana recreates iconic scenes from “Mean Girls,” “Bring It On,” “13 Going on 30” and “Legally Blonde.” She’s the centerpiece of these recreations, but fills in the spaces with so many cultural fixtures that it’s hard to keep your eye on just her. The opening scene, taking place in the halls of Upper Darby High School, features several
students voicing their intense obsession with the pop star, who is playing the role of Regina George. One of those students just happens to be Troye Sivan. In a later scene, Kris Jenner fills in as Ariana’s
“thank u, next” Ariana Grande Republic Records
irresponsible mother, videotaping the “Plastics” at their Christmas show. She holds the camera out and gleefully yells “Thank you, next, bitch!” Moments like these are where Ariana and her team show their total understanding of how culture works today. The movie was released three years before Kim Karadashian’s sex tape, yet eerily predicted the rise of a
“Plastics”-like clique in the form of the Kardashians. By conf lating Kris Jenner to shameless stage-mother Mrs. George, Ariana and her team essentially skewer our culture, in which people we love to hate become paramount. Using Kris as her fill-in is a genius move of reference, where the source becomes the material. That sort of selfawareness makes this video perfectly 2018. It’s a visual representation of the constantly referential world of Twitter, where everything is simultaneously about something else and yourself, like when we post photos of reality TV stars like Kris Jenner saying incredibly heinous things with the caption: “Me.” In the “thank u, next” video, Ariana literally becomes pop culture, and pop culture becomes her. — Matthew Gallatin, Daily Arts Writer
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b-side
Thursday, December 6, 2018 — 5B
TV NOTEBOOK
No more breaking bread with ‘British Baking Show’ NATALIE ZAK
Daily Arts Writer
I’ve been holding onto some bitterness for a while. Almost a year, actually, ever since I finished the second season of “The Great British Baking Show” last February. I don’t remember how I came across the show initially. It popped up on my Netf lix queue sometime last winter and something in the back of my brain told me “Yes, Natalie, give this a shot.” I’d never even been that into
a Signature Challenge, which allows each baker to present a version of that week’s baked good they’ve made before; the Technical Challenge, where the bakers must perfectly execute a recipe presented by Mary or Paul and which leaves out important details such as cooking time to see if the baker can still pull it off; and the Showstopper Challenge, where bakers present their own interpretation of a classic baked good. And in each episode, drama would unfold when in the final seconds
Bachelor” and old re-runs of “Iron Chef” glimmer through my childhood memory. But in accepting “The Great British Baking Show” for what it’s worth — its innocence, its purity, its all together feelgood nature that felt like, even when someone was sent home, it wasn’t truly the end for them — I didn’t realize that you can’t expect to predict the ending of a show whose premise you don’t understand. I’m a firm believer, after devoting my unreserved attention to every detail of this 10 episode
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Citrus Tea Loaf and interesting twists on classic goods that incorporated ingredients like saffron, proving Paul and Mary’s suspicion of such ingredients wrong. Ruby, however, never had a believable shot at winning the show. Framed as a judge favorite from the beginning, Ruby’s win would have been too expected and would have glaringly juxtaposed with her constant anxiety under the baking tent and vocalized selfdoubt. The shock over Frances’s win truly stems from the
fact that she was never extraordinary enough to stand out among the other two. She was the one among these three women with the fewest Star Baker wins, and never baked anything that stuck in my mind as an impressive feat. Even on her bad weeks, Kimberley still produced at least one that stunned (like her vegetable cake from week eight, which somehow lost to Ruby). Yet somehow Paul and Mary overlooked this, and I blame mostly Paul and his goatee for this tragedy, because Mary Berry can do no wrong.
Since my heartbreak, I haven’t been able to return to “The Great British Baking Show.” I don’t see it as worthwhile to once again become attached to characters only to see them ultimately deprived of their due fortune. I brief ly tried again over the summer, jumping into season five only to find out Mary Berry had departed the show. This was the final betrayal. “The Great British Baking Show,” while serving as a brief respite from the gaudy reality TV saturating our lives, could do no more for me.
STYLE NOTEBOOK
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food television before, unless you count my parents and me watching “Chuck’s Day Off” on the Cooking Channel or the occasional Martha Stewart. Food Network, despite The Daily’s previous show of support for their work, just never did it for me. So you can imagine my surprise when I became deeply enthralled in the universe of “The Great British Baking Show.” Because it is, I believe, its own universe, with the green fields of Welford Park and the names of its judges — Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood — existing outside the constraints of space and time. The entire show’s premise isn’t immediately made clear, either. All I could glean as I jumped straight into the second season is that it is set around a bunch of U.K. residents gathering in a tent to bake, be judged and be eliminated by Mary and Paul. A year out and I’m still not completely sure what the star baker stands to win at the end of the show, other than brief ly becoming a household name and maybe publishing a cookbook or two. But somehow none of this is ultimately necessary to buy into the show’s intrigue, which I did
of a challenge a finishing decoration fell askew or a
Because it is, I believe, its own universe, with the green fields of Welford Park and the names of its judges — Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood — existing outside the constraints of space and time.
biscuit crumpled upon coming out of its tin, laying wreckage to an otherwise quality bake.
season, that Kimberley should have been 2013’s winner. Even Ruby, the college student who I didn’t particularly like for most of the season, had performed better for most of the season than Frances, who ultimately took home the title of Star Baker. I was quite honestly shocked that Frances even made it to the final episode of the series. While her bakes often qualified for number one or two spots in the Showstopper challenges, her technical bakes repeatedly fell f lat, including her adaptation of pretzels in the final episode. Kimberley, on the other hand, showed intuition in the craft and demonstrated growth, performing better as each week passed. In retrospect, I should have expected things would not go the way I wanted them to for Kimberley. My concern began around episode six, the sweet dough week, when Howard was sent home instead of Glenn. Despite his inability to master the technical bakes, Howard’s signature and showstopper bakes had so much more assurity, and he always executed them with confidence (we all recall his Picasso Sun Bread from episode two). Not only that,
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without question. Season two of “The Great British Baking Show” became a mode of comfort and escape for me. I would watch as these charming, over-eager British men and women of all ages would either persevere or crumble in their attempts to make pastries, cakes, bread and biscuits that would meet the high standards of Mary and Paul. Each episode is structured the same: There’s
I bought into all of it — the adorable optimism of bakers like Glenn and Howard and Christine, who were only there to make their families proud, and the overzealous hosts Mel and Sue who moved the show along with their bad puns. I bought into all of it and, in the end, “The Great British Baking Show” betrayed my trust. It isn’t that I’ve never seen a competition show before. I’ve watched my fair share of “The
but he was consistently a favorite of Paul and Mary’s, with Glenn acting as a more alienating figure with his frequently panicked execution when faced with emergencies under the tent. I feared early on in the season that Paul’s evident bias in favor of Ruby would be the only factor pushing her to the finals. But as the episodes passed, she began proving herself with baked goods like a
Measuring life in spoons SAMANTHA DELLA FERA Daily Arts Writer
I don’t have many talents. I was never the star of the spring musical, I never scored the winning goal. What I have done is bake — a lot. Baking has inserted itself into every holiday, every major celebration in my life. Friend accepted to college? Bake a cookie cake for them. Got a cool internship? Cupcakes! Looking for a way to procrastinate on a Wednesday night? I’ve got a muffin recipe for you. Every part of baking is personal, therapeutic and painstakingly meaningful. It gives you the opportunity to take a group of tasteless ingredients and assemble something extraordinary. For me, the month of Dec. building up to Christmas has always meant a lot of things, but one of them stands out above the rest: baking. While other children associate Christmastime with the first snowfall or a desperate hunt to uncover their presents, I was happiest peeking into the oven, dipping my finger into unwatched batter and being the first taste tester of the ungodly mass of cookies my mother cranks out every year. I’d like to think of myself as a mature adult, one who doesn’t fall for the childish whim of an over-advertised holiday. Yet as soon as I catch the first whiff of my mother’s dangerously delicious chocolate-dipped butter cookies as their presence envelops my house, I can’t help but become possessed once more with that pesky holiday spirit. And so I give you this recipe — this melt-in-your-mouth, sacred recipe — in hope that you will stop lamenting over the allegedly evil personification of capitalism and organized religion that is Christmas. When I make it myself, I lay out each step as if I am a Food Network star instead of a 19-year-old girl making cookies alone. Each ingredient is a story, each step an assurance, all coming together to craft one damn good cookie. To quote the great modern philosopher Sara Bareilles, “You wanna know what’s inside? Simple question, so then what’s the answer? My whole life is in here, in this kitchen baking. What a mess I’m making.” 1 cup butter, softened If you can give a cookie a heritage, butter cookies like
these are technically Italian, but that doesn’t stop my Polish side from perfecting them each year. I’d like to think baking them is an attempt by my Polish family to take advantage of holiday cheer and reach across the aisle to the other half of my family, the one that came from Italy. Or maybe they’re just easy to make. My grandmother
While other children associate Christmas time with the first snowfall or a desperate hunt to uncover their presents, I was happiest peeking into the oven, dipping my finger into unwatched batter and being the first taste tester.
and mother always fight about who used the recipe first. I don’t care. I’ll never tell whose are better. ½ cup confectioner’s sugar My 18th birthday was a snow day. Instead of enduring the ego-boosting delight of everyone in the hall wishing me a “happy birthday,” I sat alone in my room starting and restarting books that stood piled on my nightstand. I made my first mug brownie that day, and I’ve made hundreds since. 1 teaspoon vanilla Who isn’t obsessed with the scent of vanilla? To this day I inhale the aroma with the enthusiasm of a juul addict.
Spoiler: It doesn’t taste nearly as good as it smells. 2 cups all-purpose f lour My first attempt at baking came at the hands of a corrupt Easy-Bake Oven. It was not even my own, because as a young tomboy I couldn’t imagine anything worse than spending my afternoons partaking in pink frilly activities meant to confine women to the domestic sphere before they even hit puberty. I tried to make a mini bundt cake and burnt my hand, cementing my hatred and resentment of Hasbro and its patriarchal propaganda. 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips As I normally write for the TV section of The Daily, many of my friends think that I am an expert on all things television, popular and unpopular. I nod, agree and ignore the fact the only show I’ve watched for the past month is “The Great British Baking Show.” 1 tablespoon butter Do you ever wonder why the world still gives Paula Deen a platform? Holiday sprinkles Christmas was the last day I saw my grandfather before he died years ago. We snuck too many cookies behind our family’s back. He helped me perfect the art of dunking a holiday cookie into a bath of hot cocoa, letting the red and green colors run together like a river. Last year when I was baking Christmas cookies, a cardinal perched outside the window.
In a bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla; mix well. Gradually add f lour; mix well. cover and chill for 1 hour. Shape tablespoonfuls of dough into 2-1/2-in. x 1/2in. sticks. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten about three-fourths of each stick lengthwise with a fork. Bake at 350° until set, 14-16 minutes. Cool on baking sheets. Melt chocolate chips and shortening until smooth; dip the round end of each cookie. Add holiday sprinkles. Place on waxed paper until firm. And above all, enjoy.
Arts
6B — Thursday, December 6, 2018
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B-SIDE SECONDARY
Our reflections on soundtracking in the kitchen DIANA YASSIN Daily Arts Writer
SHIMA SADAGHIYANI Daily Music Editor
I write this having just signed my lease for the next school year, petrified at the prospect of having to cook for myself EVERY DAY. Call it lazy, characteristic of the weird millennial-Gen Z hybrid I am — I don’t care, I am the leftover queen! When you’re raised by someone with a knack for cooking sans the recipes, you can’t help but feel like a fool every time you enter the kitchen (thanks Mom!). It’s more funny than it is tragic — from making playlists to slicing onions with goggles on, I don’t think any other activity better draws out my creativity. However, I will say that goggle situation was a one-time thing. The true dream team is the union between my cooking and music. Music is the key spice to all of my recipes. I’m not particularly adroit nor attentive in the kitchen, so I’m certain my music has saved countless baked goods. That being said, my music taste for the moment can get contextual. If I’m cooking at my parents’ home over the holidays, I’m inclined to listen to Arabic music. It transports me back to a Ramadan, my mom pulling rotisserie chicken out of the oven with the cold wafting in from outside the way it did 10 years ago. Arabic music also has a distinct character and range to it, the energies shifting from your characteristic love song to unadulterated, unironic patriotism. There was also a point in the mid to late ’00s where every Lebanese song sounded like it came out of a
tropey spy movie — this is my most ideal taste. It almost elevates the task of rolling grape leaves when Fares Karam is blaring in the background over a goblet drum. More often, I have taken to baking with my friend in her apartment on Fridays. I consider myself more of spoon licker in these situations, occasionally cracking the eggs or adding a dash of cinnamon. But I promise this bond is symbiotic. These moments are when I feel most like a DJ, cranking out my very niche taste in rap music as Makenzie works her magic with the oven — we are now both very enamored with Noname’s Room25 and snickerdoodles. Numerous Kendrick Lamar appearances also make their way into this jam session as well — I aggressively advocate for his G.O.A.T status. The idea behind this is for Makenzie to teach me to bake as we exchange music tastes, but it usually ends with us lip syncing to 3OH!3’s “Don’t Trust Me” and realizing what’s in the oven. I flounder in the summer when it is necessary that I cook on a daily basis. I have my fair share of microwave magic, but I’ll also occasionally turn to sandwiches when I’m feeling particularly innovative. The sweet spot is breakfast foods — it can’t get worse than a burnt first pancake. This is where my cooking music takes a turn for the mundane and unexpected. I’ll find myself restrained enough to listen to full length albums or explore new artists I otherwise wouldn’t feel inclined to. It makes for some uncanny associations I can never seem to rip apart. I refuse to separate the scent of burnt pizza with Tyler the Creator’s
Flower Boy. I wouldn’t say I have any interest in or hopes of becoming a master cook, though I don’t believe that has diminished from my experiences with cooking. Beyond the hilarity I attribute to my innumerable defeats in the kitchen, some of my best ideas for playlists and opportunities to share music root themselves here. — Diana Yassin I used to hate cooking, which, in my Persian family where the menu for dinner parties was planned weeks in advance and execution was an all-day affair, was near blasphemy. But I couldn’t deny it — I grew up watching my various aunts, older cousins and two grandmothers bustle around different kitchen backdrops cooking everything from Zereshkt Polo (barberry rice) to Bademjan (eggplant and tomato stew) yet I could never bring myself to recreate these recipes back home. Part of it was intimidation — Iranian dishes are notoriously difficult to make, and, since most recipes are passed down between family members, it’s hard to find the best agreed upon recipe online. Diving into a recipe that calls for an array of herbs, different types of beans and lamb without really understanding how to best cook the beans, sauté the herbs and prepare the lamb is a hassle at best and terrifying at worst. However, most of my hesitation came from the knowledge that I would never be able to recreate the atmosphere I saw surrounding cooking in Iran. There, the kitchen would be packed with different family members, each preparing or helping to
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prepare a dish. Cooking was an extravagant affair, the clamour of different voices climbing over each other and multiple appliances clanking against pots and pans serving as a constant soundtrack to the whole endeavor. There was no appeal in coming back to my silent kitchen and attempting to make these meals if I knew the most important part of the meal — the company — would be missing. I cannot tell you what changed this past summer, what shift in mindset caused me to wholeheartedly start to love cooking. Perhaps it was my resolve to leave Persian recipes behind for the time being and turn to more friendly dishes. Perhaps it was my discovery that music could just as easily replace the chatter and the clamour I had grown up with. Or perhaps it was a little bit of both that caused me to dedicate the empty stretches of late afternoon that oftentimes come during summer months to learning and mastering recipes I stumbled upon online. Most importantly, the songs that accompanied my cooking helped make the food more intimately mine, tumbling out of my speakers and providing me the company I needed to enjoy my time alone in the kitchen. The first recipe I truly mastered, the one that was most integral in changing how I felt about cooking, was the French dish ratatouille. When I first started learning, it was deep in the middle of this past summer, and both Playboi Carti’s Die Lit and Parquet Courts’s Wide Awake had just dropped. Ratatouille is essentially a summer vegetable medley —
a mix of eggplant, zucchini, tomato and onion. I have memories of walking down to Lucky’s Market to gather the vegetables with songs like “Shoota” or “Mardi Gras Beads” blaring out of my headphones. Unlike most French cooking, ratatouille does not have a set recipe; rather, it differs depending on the cook. The only aspect of ratatouille that is definitive is the detail that makes its flavor so distinctive (and worth the long cooking time): all the vegetables are oven roasted separately, wellbathed in olive oil and then roasted together again in order to revive the flavors. It is a dish that is simultaneously very easy — it’s only roasted vegetables, after all — and very difficult: These roasted vegetables have to be prepared, chopped and seasoned with care in order for the best flavors to come out. I found that playing slower songs — “Nakamarra” by Hiatus Kaiyote and “The Bird” by Anderson .Paak come to mind — when prepping the ingredients helped me achieve the best results. “A bird with a word came to me / The sweetness of a honeycomb tree,” .Paak croons, and it was near impossible to not pause whatever I was cutting at the moment and take a step back, knife held aloft, and assess the scene around me in relation to the smooth groove of the song. Everything was harmonious: The underlying bright jazz instrumental matched the hue of the vegetables spread across the cutting board, the late afternoon breeze entering my sun-drenched apartment was as light as .Paak’s voice. It felt good to be cooking this dish in this moment. It felt right.
The total time to make ratatouille hovers around three to four hours. The majority of this comes from the extensive period you have to let the vegetables bake in the oven. Therefore, for all the time you spend actually cooking ratatouille, you spend even longer waiting for it to be done. To distract myself from opening the oven every five seconds, I usually soundtracked this period with songs that announced themselves with intensity. Vegetables stewed under sprigs of rosemary and thyme. I let Princess Nokia’s “I don’t give a fuck” attitude in “Flava” rattle the walls of my studio. I tried to teach myself to dance to The Pharcyde “Soul Flower” remix (failing miserably). I watched as Young Thug’s “Memo” serenaded the sunset. And finally it was time to eat what I had made. Kendrick Lamar and De La Soul, Frank Ocean and Toro Y Moi, Mos Def and KAYTRANADA ... most of the music I usually like to listen to in the summer has now inexplicably been tied to cooking ratatouille in my cramped kitchen, excited for whatever the rest of the night had in store for me with warm weather still feeling like it would last forever. I still very much enjoy cooking now. The months have turned icy, but ratatouille, and the music that for a short period of time turned empty space into one filled with life and sound, will always remind me of why I fell in love with the art of cuisine in the first place — music and food blending together to create flavors I never knew existed. — Shima Sadaghiyani
FILM NOTEBOOK
‘Julie and Julia’ and the long legacy of food movies EMMA CHANG Daily Arts Writer
After every movie, without fail, I will watch the credits. This originally started because I was waiting for those surprise Marvel endings, but now it’s more about looking for random people in the cast like the interns and the other background people who helped bring the movie to life. Looking back, though, one key cast member is always missing: the food. Maybe this is because food isn’t a person or, more likely, it’s because the movie credits the prop or set designer under which the responsibility of food falls. The thing is, food is always in movies and always makes an appearance. It’s an A-list star that gets less attention than the intern making coffee runs “Julie and Julia” is a movie that emphasizes the role of food in our lives in an extreme way, yet never actually acknowledges its part in building the movie. It starts with Julie Powell (Amy Adams, “Enchanted”) deciding to cook all 542 recipes in Julia Child’s (Meryl Streep, “The Post”) “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” Not only does the food serve as a catalyst
in Julie’s life, but it’s also the thread that holds the whole film together. Without it, there is no connection between Julie and Julia, and there is no movie. “Julie and Julia” also carries the distinct air of a romantic comedy, but both characters have already found their “one.” So what gives? It could be the fact that “Julie and Julia” is a Nora Ephron movie, but I think it’s because we are still watching two characters fall in love — just with food instead of a person. Another part of food that “Julie and Julia” captures beautifully is its dynamic relationship with someone. Turning something as simple as a piece of beef into beef bourguignon or killing a live lobster is an intimate process that brings Julie closer to food and, subsequently, the audience. Together, we go through the same emotional turmoil when the stew is ruined, or a freshly murdered lobster is slathered in butter for our enjoyment. Not only that, but food is also used as a tool of empowerment for Julia. As a woman in 1950s Paris trying to break into the cooking world, a mostly maledominated profession, she has her work ahead of her, but food doesn’t discriminate. Food,
instead, is Julia’s key to a life that is more than just being a diplomat’s housewife. Julia Child and food also have a unique relationship: Before her, food wasn’t recognized as widely in the media as it is today. There were no “cooking shows” or Food Network. So, while we may owe our enjoyment of media to food, food owes its own media legacy to Julia Child. It could be argued that the way food gets used is up to the directors and producers, but that is true for all actors. In the same way that an actor’s talent can get lost in a director’s vision, so too can the essence of food. We can see in reality television shows like “The Kardashians” that food isn’t so much of an art as it is a spark for drama. Heated arguments are made over Waldorf salads while family announcements occur at a backyard dinner. One of the more iconic dramatizations of food is a drink thrown in anger, frustration or even just plain fun. Other times, food’s role as a character (like in “Julie and Julia”) isn’t as important as its place in a character’s personality. Take “Gilmore Girls,” for instance. Lorelai (Lauren Graham,
“Parenthood”) and Rory (Alexis Bledel, “Handmaid’s Tale”) are known for their voracious appetites, and much of the show’s plot occurs either at Luke’s diner over a hamburger or Friday night dinners with Emily (Kelly Bishop, “Bunheads) and Richard (Edward Herrmann, “American Dad”). Food is present throughout the entire show, and not once has anyone
stopped to consider just how critical it is to the success of the characters — it makes them relatable and quirky and brings the audience closer to the Gilmore family. Whether it’s the main sticking point for a movie or a defining characteristic for a lovable TV personality, the best part of food in film and television is the fact that there is no drama. Food doesn’t,
and will never, care that Hollywood has never given it any recognition. All it really wants is to be there for us when family drama comes to a head during a holiday romantic comedy or a character needs some kind of quirky hobby. The least we can do is appreciate the steam curling up from a soup or the satisfying first taste of a new dish, both in film and in life.
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