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Back to the Future event talks market strategies

Local commission responds to deportations in Washtenaw County Activist group addresses issues of immigration enforcement through advocacy and support ALICE TRACEY

Daily Staff Reporter

As immigration status has become an increasingly divisive political topic in recent years, student organizations and local activists are working to advocate undocumented students and Washtenaw County residents. Local activist organization, Washtenaw Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights, has addressed issues of immigration enforcement by advocating for and providing support to the families of undocumented individuals who have experienced raids or deportation orders by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. WICIR was founded in 2008

in response to a mobile home raid in Washtenaw County. Since then, ICE and local authorities have conducted several raids and local authorities, including a 2013 raid that displaced at least 15 individuals in Ypsilanti Township and a 2017 raid during which three employees at Sava’s in Ann Arbor were detained. William Lopez, WICIR volunteer and Public Health professor, said the organization engages in anti-deportation campaigns, locates missing individuals and has implemented an urgent-response system for immigration-related issues. WICIR’s website also says the organization helps educate immigrants about their rights and resources.

According to Lopez, another main component of WICIR’s work is assisting the families of detained individuals. He said the families of detainees have basic needs that are often overlooked. “People most often need food, they need diapers, they just need the stuff of everyday life,” Lopez said. “We focused so much attention on deportation that we forget the deeply human element.” Immigration policies have shifted over the course of WICIR’s existence. Lopez said the Postville, Iowa raid of 2008, which led to the deportation of almost 400 workers, elicited such a negative public reaction that ICE began moving away from large-scale work raids. The

Obama administration favored smaller raids and collaboration with local law enforcement officers, a decision that Lopez said decreased trust of police and led to a record number of removals. Under the Trump administration, Lopez said, coordination between immigration officials and local police has continued. There has also been an uptick in workplace raids.

Retired MSU professor presents five propositions to improve economic system BARBARA COLLINS Daily Staff Reporter

Lawrence Busch, professor emeritus of sociology at Michigan State University, spoke to University of Michigan students and faculty Monday evening about markets from an economic perspective in his presentation sponsored by the University’s Science, Technology and Society Program. Busch began his presentation, titled “Back to the Future: An STS Approach to Markets,” by explaining three different ways of examining markets. He said markets can be examined as an economic transaction, as a place where politics are enacted and as an institution. According to Busch, mainstream economics firms focus on the economic transaction approach and ignore political and institutional examinations. “(Mainstream economics) simply says those approaches aren’t economical. What this allows economics to do, I will argue, is to remove the political from markets,” Busch said. “At the same time, however, as economics does this, is that economics

“ Wit h T r u mp, we see a ret u r n of t hese la rgesca le work ra ids,” Lopez sa id. “ In my opi n ion , ver y pu r posef u lly v isible f lex i ng See ICE PAGE 3

is performative. We need to examine how the theoretical treatment of markets actually inf luences actual markets.” Busch discussed five propositions throughout the presentation. In his first proposition, “Markets are impure distributive systems,” Busch described the perfect image of markets. He said in actual markets, corruption is to be found and wages are typically biased in respect to race, ethnicity, gender and class. “I want to argue that actual markets are always in perfect distributive systems, and that untethered markets lead to massive inequality,” Busch said. “I want to emphasize the point that the vast majority of the population still buy into the idea that markets are a pretty good distributive system.” In the second proposition, “Markets do not differ in kind from other institutions,” Busch said economists are solely concerned with the efficiency of markets and are inf luenced by both human and non-human actions. See MARKET, Page 3

ROSEANNE CHAO/Daily

GOVERNMENT

ACADEMICS

Community Cafe Shapiro hosts 22nd annual poetry reflects on and short story reading in Bert’s Cafe legacy of Fifty-five instructor-nominated writers share original pieces aloud at UgLi Rep Dingell

SACUA talks new initiatives and policies

Congressman’s efforts throughout the years and presence on U-M campus remembered

Provost Martin Philbert discusses biosciences plans and felony charge self-reporting practice

RIYAH BASHA

Daily Staff Reporter

Nearly every retrospective memorializing the late U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., remembered the 92-year-old as a man of another era. Dingell, first elected to the House of Representatives in 1955, served in Congress for 59 years in a political career that spanned 11 presidencies. Dingell, the longest serving member of Congress in U.S. history, passed away in his Dearborn home Thursday evening after he entered hospice care just the day before. He was diagnosed with cancer earlier in 2018, yet remained a force to be reckoned with, often going viral on his Twitter account with sharp political quips and commentary. A host of family and friends, political allies and adversaries, journalists and commentators are painting the congressman as more than a memory. Dingell’s life and death, they say, is of utmost importance for our politics today. See DINGELL, Page 3

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EMMA STEIN

Daily Staff Reporter

Approximately 25 students and faculty members gathered at Bert’s Cafe Monday night for the University of Michigan Library Cafe Shapiro’s first night of a weeklong poetry and short story reading event. The event has been happening annually for more than 20 years, and this year

there are a total of 55 student writers speaking over the course of 6 nights. Students are invited to participate in the event after they’ve been nominated by their professors. Student Engagement Librarian Amanda Peters, a host of the event, said the event began in 1997 and has only grown since. She said one of the goals of the series is to expand the impact of creative writing on campus.

“It’s been going on for 22 years, and it started as part of the University’s Year of the Humanities and Arts, so that was kind of a special thing that had happened that particular year,” Peters said. “It had a goal to explore the role of arts and humanities in civic and community life. It’s just become so much more than that over the years. It has become this really amazing event for students to come and share their work

in this informal way, but it’s just really cool to see how it keeps growing and growing and we get more nominations every year from our faculty.” Peters said the event is a great opportunity for undergraduate writers to gain confidence reading their work aloud to an audience and a chance for attendees to learn more about the University community through student voices. See SHAPIRO, Page 3

JIALIN ZHANG For the Daily

The Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs held its weekly meeting Monday afternoon, discussing recent changes to the University of Michigan’s Standard Practice Guide and the introduction of electronic voting into Senate Assembly. SACUA also hosted University Provost Martin Philibert to speak on the new Biosciences Initiative. SACUA Chair Neil Marsh, professor of chemistry, urged committee members to help with the nomination of candidates for SACUA in the upcoming election. According to the committee, only three out of the six needed nominations have been made. “One engineering,” Director Tom Schneider said. “And two LS&A’s.”

CLAIRE MEINGAST/Daily School of Social Work freshman Abbey Phillipson reads her short story at Cafe Shapiro at the Undergraduate Library Monday night.

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MAX KUANG/Daily A traditional Korean Fan Dance team perform at Find Your Seolmate, the Korean Student Association Culture Night at Lydia Mendelssohn Saturday.

Editorial Staff FINNTAN STORER Managing Editor

‘U’ has most Fulbright scholars of all public schools For the 14th year in a row, the University holds title of public institution with the most recipients of the prestigeous academic grant amongst students, alumni, faculty st rong, compet it ive I n a n i nter v iew w it h a not her cou nt r y or be u sed a t he Un iversit y Record , a s a n oversea s resea rch appl icat ion . I n a n i nter v iew t he Un iversit y Bet h D ut r idg e - w it h Un iversit y P resident Ma rk awa rd . com mended Cor p, coord i nator of Record , Joh n son ex pla i ned St udent s at t he Sch l issel I n st it ute t he Un iversit y ’s successes Un iversit y of M ich ig a n t he Un iversit y ’s newest I nter nat iona l awa rdees for fel lowsh ips a nd g ra nt s, a nd reg a rd i ng t he F u lbr ig ht received a tot a l of 24 F u lbr ig ht F u lbr ig ht g ra nt s for t he t hei r ded icat ion to ma k i ng Heat her Joh n son , adv iser g ra nt . “ We have a sea soned tea m of I nter nat iona l I n st it ute 2018 -2019 academ ic yea r, posit ive g loba l i mpac t s. of F u lbr ig ht accord i ng to t he Ch ron icle “ U-M ’s com m it ment to fel lowsh ips a nd g ra nt s, con sist i ng P rog ra m adv isers a nd educat ion of H ig her E ducat ion . Th is i nter nat iona l f ac u lt y t hat is ver y i nvested is t he h ig hest nu mber of helps st udent s a nd schola rs i n ou r appl ica nt s ’ success,” new perspec t ives F u lbr ig ht schola rsh ips g a i n Joh n son sa id . “ It a lso helps h ig her levels of g iven to a ny publ ic a nd t hat U-M st udent s a re u n iversit y for t he 14t h yea r u nderst a nd i ng t hat ma ke peren n ia l ly i mpressive i n i n a row, accord i ng to t he ou r world a bet ter a nd t hei r ow n r ig ht .” sa fer place,” Sch l issel sa id . U. S. St ate Depa r t ment . A lt houg h t he There a re t wo ma i n t y pes The F u lbr ig ht P rog ra m , Un iversit y ’s O f f ice of one of t he most prest ig iou s of F u lbr ig ht g ra nt s for Nat iona l Schola rsh ips a nd awa rd s f u nded by t he U. S. st udent s. Eng l ish teach i ng Fel lowsh ips is not i nvolved St ate Depa r t ment , g ra nted a ssist a nt sh ips prov ided by w it h t he F u lbr ig ht g ra nt , schola rsh ips to Un iversit y t he F u lbr ig ht g ra nt send ONSF Di rec tor Hen r y f ac u lt y members, a lu m n i st udent s to ot her cou nt r ies D yson h ig h l ig hted t he a nd st udent s. The g ra nt s to work va r iou s jobs. There ef for t s put for t h by w i l l be u sed to f u nd t he a re add it iona l academ ic Sudoku Syndication Joh n son a nd D ut r idg e ca n schola r ’s oversea s resea rch F u lbr ig ht g ra nt s t hat http://www.sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ Cor p i n t he F u lbr ig ht be u sed to seek a deg ree i n for si x to 1 2 mont h s. work w it h st udent s appl icat ion process. “ Bet h a nd Heat her a re a nd f ac u lt y members to apply for F u lbr ig ht rea l ly f a nt a st ic at helpi ng st udent s f i nd t he best schola rsh ips. Fac u lt y members f it a nd a r t ic u late t hat ca n apply for a t h roug h t hei r appl icat ion s, MEDIUM sepa rate F u lbr ig ht a nd it ’s why I t h i n k it ’s hug e adva nt a g e for g ra nt ca l led F u lbr ig ht a Schola rs. Th is yea r, u s t hat we have t hese adv isers in f ive Un iversit y f ac u lt y specia l i zed received t he F u lbr ig ht t he I nter nat iona l I n st it ute Schola r recog n it ion . who ded ic wate so much They i nclude Yola i n of t hei r yea r to F u lbr ig ht Civ i l , i n st r uc tor of adv isi ng,” D yson sa id . Accord i ng to a v ideo by ped iat r ics; Seyed schola rs a re Mehd ia n , professor of F u lbr ig ht , f i na nce at U-M Fl i nt ; con sidered to be c u r rent Zora L ong wor t h , a nd f ut u re leaders who resea rch professor a re com m it ted to nat iona l of f a m i ly med ici ne; eng a g ement a nd open to Jef fer y W i lson , new idea s. a ssociate professor “A bove a l l , F u lbr ig hters of pa leontolog y; a nd Su ley ma n Uluda g, exempl if y t he power of academ ic i nter i m a ssociate i nter nat iona l to t ra n sfor m professor of computer excha ng e l ives, br idg e g eog raph ic science at U-M Fl i nt . The Un iversit y ’s a nd c u lt u ra l bou nda r ies, promote a more I nter nat iona l I n st it ute a nd a ides in adv isi ng peacef u l a nd prosperou s REBECCA puzzle by sudokusyndication.com F u lbr ig ht appl ica nt s a nd world ,” t he v ideo sa id . © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. prov ides t hem w it h t he resou rces to put for wa rd BARBARA COLLINS Daily Staff Reporter

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ICE From Page 1 “ Wit h T r u mp, we see a ret u r n of t hese la rgesca le work ra ids,” Lopez sa id. “ In my opi n ion , ver y pu r posef u lly v isible f lex i ng of muscle.” The Un iversit y of M ich ig a n ha s a lso reac ted to recent i m m ig rat ion polic y cha nges. In respon se to t ravel rest r ic t ion s i mposed by t he T r u mp ad m i n ist rat ion , Un iversit y President Ma rk Sch lissel a n nou nced i n 2017 t he Un iversit y wou ld not disclose t he i m m ig rat ion st at us of it s st udent s. The Un iversit y welcomes applicat ion s reg a rdless of i m m ig rat ion st at us, accordi ng to a U-M website for u ndocu mented st udent s created by St udent Com mun it y of Prog ressive Empower ment a nd t he Of f ice of Academ ic Mu lt icu lt u ra l In it iat ives. Not i ng none of W ICI R’s a nt i- depor t at ion ca mpa ig n s have been successf u l si nce T r u mp’s elec t ion , Lopez sa id ICE appea rs to be less concer ned w it h it s i mage t ha n i n prev ious ad m i n ist rat ion s. “ ICE’s public face used to be somet h i ng t hat wou ld cause t hem to cha nge what t hey a re doi ng. It ’s no longer t he ca se, genera lly spea k i ng, a ny more,” Lopez sa id. “They ’re not a sha med of t hei r v iolent i m m ig rat ion en forcement t ac t ics.” Because Wa shtenaw Cou nt y is not located on a U. S. border, Lopez

SHAPIRO From Page 1 “For some of them, it is their first time ever reading their work in front of an audience other than their classroom, and so we really like being able to give them that experience,” Peters said. “For the listeners, they’re just hearing so many interesting stories about the student experience because a lot of students are writing about their own life experiences or people they know.” The event features students studying a wide variety of disciplines ranging from English and creative writing to psycholog y, public policy and computer science. English lecturer John Buckley said he nominates

sa id most i m m ig rat ion en forcement occu rs when a n u ndocu mented person get s a t ra f f ic t icket or a n a r rest . He sa id t h is ma kes u ndocu mented i m m ig ra nt s less t r ust i ng of public ser v ices, especia lly si nce t he T r u mp ad m i n ist rat ion proposed a “public cha rge” r u le i n Oc tober 2018. The law wou ld deny leg a l st at us to u ndocu mented people who use cer t a i n public benef it s. “There’s t h is a mbient fea r of t he u n k now n a nd of t he potent ia lly cat a st roph ic t hat sha kes fol k s’ w illi ng ness to use medica l ca re a nd socia l ser v ices a nd i nterac t w it h gover n ment of f icers,” Lopez sa id. “ I’m not i n t he busi ness of encou rag i ng fol k s to t r ust law en forcement if t hei r judgement tells t hem t hat t hey shou ld n’t .” Ja son Forsberg, deput y ch ief of t he A n n A rbor Police Depa r t ment , sa id Chapter 1 20 of t he cit y code, wh ich proh ibit s public ser va nt s f rom a sk i ng about i m m ig rat ion st at us except i n ca ses such as a cr i m i na l i nvest ig at ion , wa r ra nt or federa l order, is mea nt to encou rage u ndocu mented people to t r ust law en forcement . “The spi r it beh i nd t hat ordi na nce is t hat we don’t wa nt people to be a f ra id to ca ll us when t hey need help, a nd so t hat ’s why when people a re w it nesses or v ic t i m s of cr i mes, we wou ld never a sk for i m m ig ra nt st at us,” Forsberg sa id. Forsberg added most of t he cou nt y follows a

si m ila r polic y. The Boa rd of Com m issioners of Wa shtenaw Cou nt y ha s publishedw r it ten suppor t for loca l i m m ig ra nt com mu n it ies. “ Most , if not a ll, of t he agencies i n Wa shtenaw Cou nt y, law en forcement agencies, have got ten toget her a nd we’re a ll sor t of i n ag reement on how we wou ld ha ndle t hese t y pes of t h i ng s,” Forsberg sa id. The U-M Div ision of P ublic Sa fet y a nd Secu r it y follows a si m ila r polic y by on ly i nqui r i ng about i m m ig rat ion st at us i n t he ca se of a secu r it y t h reat , wa r ra nt or felony. Accordi ng to DPSS Deput y Ch ief Melissa O ver ton , however, t he Un iversit y ra rely ha s to com mu n icate w it h ICE . “ We ra rely have to t a l k to t hem ,” O ver ton sa id. “ We have had t h i ng s i n t he pa st , but I ca n’t tell you how long ago it ’s been . It ’s ma i n ly when somebody ’s been a r rested u nder a not her wa r ra nt a nd it comes up t hat t hey ’re not here leg a lly.” LSA sophomore Sa nd ra Perez is leag ue represent at ive for t he St udent Com mu n it y of Prog ressive Empower ment , an org a n izat ion t hat suppor t s for u ndocu mented a nd DAC A-suppor ted st udent s. Perez sa id she a nd her peers a re st ill push i ng for cha nge at U-M. For i n st a nce, SCOPE w ill at tend t he nex t meet i ng of t he Un iversit y ’s Boa rd of Regent s to discuss t he Un iversit y ’s 28 -mont h polic y, wh ich st ates

u ndocu mented st udent s on ly qua lif y a s i n-st ate st udent s if t hey at tended M ich ig a n h ig h schools a nd m iddle schools a nd mat r icu lated to t he Un iversit y w it h i n 28 mont h s of g raduat i ng h ig h school. Perez sa id t he 28 -mont h r u le is u n fa i rly st r i ngent towa rd u ndocu mented st udent s, especia lly because u ndocu mented st udent s ca n’t apply for federa l f i na ncia l a id, ma k i ng t he cost of out- ofst ate t uit ion pa r t icu la rly cha lleng i ng. SCOPE is work i ng to eli m i nate t he polic y or cha nge it s i nter pret at ion . “ It is a discr i m i nator y polic y for u ndocu mented st udent s, specif ica lly because a way to prove i n-st ate residenc y is prov idi ng ( proof ) f rom m iddle or h ig h school,” Perez sa id. “A n u ndocu mented st udent ca n prov ide a ll t hat i n for mat ion a nd more, a nd yet st ill be den ied just because of t he 28-mont h r u le.” Thoug h t here a re no f ig u res on t he nu mber of u ndocu mented st udent s on t he Un iversit y ’s ca mpus, Perez, who is u nder t he protec t ion of DAC A herself, sa id SCOPE work s w it h ma ny u ndocu mented st udent s, helpi ng t hem build leadersh ip sk ills a nd f i nd a com mu n it y on ca mpus. “Th is is a ver y ma rg i na lized ident it y i n a la rge u n iversit y,” Perez sa id.

his students to give them a chance to share their work in public. “For the last couple of years, I’ve been privileged to teach through the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program which enables me to pick three or four students to really do an intensive weekly workshop with and help them try to get published,” Buckley said. “Part of that always ends up being nominating them for Café Shapiro to give them publishing credit and give them a chance to read in public.” Buckley said Café Shapiro really boosts his students’ confidence in their own abilities, and it is especially memorable and important for those who have never participated in an event like it before. “I think my students gain confidence,” Buckley

said. “I think confidence is the big thing. Just like most things, the first time is the hardest. The first time is the scariest, so if we can get over this initial hump, that’s a big step.” LSA junior Mahmuda Ahmed is an aspiring author and a student of Buckley. She was very f lattered Buckley nominated her to share her work and said it would be her first time participating in a read in front of strangers. “It was really cool (to be nominated) because I’ve never done anything like this before and my professor is really cool,” Ahmed said. “We’re in a creative writing group kind of thing so we work on our stories together, and this was one of the one’s they helped me edit and so this is the final product of it.”

In addition to providing a space for undergraduates to read their pieces, Café Shapiro publishes an antholog y of all the work. Ahmed said she has never been published before and is excited about the opportunity. She added she appreciates how in addition to being an opportunity to share her own work, the event gives her a chance to listen to her peers and learn more about the campus community. “I think I’ll gain experience,” Ahmed said. “Also, it will be published in the antholog y too, right, so that’s also pretty cool. I’ve never had anything published before. And it’s just a really cool event, too — we get to hear readers and their stories, too.”

DINGELL From Page 1 U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., John’s w ife of 38 yea rs a nd cong ressiona l successor, w rote a Facebook post Friday evening recounting her husba nd’s f ina l hours. “ He wa s lucid, v isiting w it h f riends, in cha rge until t he end,” she w rote. “A nd t r ust me he knew exact ly what he wa nted, when he wa nted it a nd we did it his way… T uesday he had a sked for a pad of paper he had t hing s he wa nted to say. Writing had become ha rd. Wednesday he sta r ted dictating to me, had t houghts he wa nted sha red when his time ca me.”

These words made up John Dingell’s la st op-ed, published in The Wa shing ton Post Friday morning w it h t he preface t hat “some occa sions merit more t ha n 280 cha racters.” Dingell espoused cong ressiona l action a nd policy on climate cha nge, hea lt h ca re a nd racia l discrimination, a mong ot her topics. Over t he course of his ca reer, Dingell helped pa ss or ca st critica l votes on t he Civ il R ights Act, Medica re, t he Clea n Water a nd Clea n A ir acts a nd t he Enda ngered Species Act. “My persona l a nd politica l cha racter wa s formed in a dif ferent era t hat wa s kinder, if not necessa rily gent ler,” he w rote. “ We obser ved modicums of respect even a s we fought, of ten bit terly

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CAROLINE LLANES | COLUMN

How the NFL fumbles with female broadcasters

will be the first to over to YouTube to listen to her admit that I’m not the commentate, just to get a feel most knowledgeable or for what that might have been like. In an interview indeed, the most with NPR, Hannah enthusiastic about Storm describes the NFL. Growing up NFL broadcasts as in San Diego, Calif., being “extremely I was peripherally technical, and to aware of the drama some … it kind of with Dean Spanos sounds like they’re and the Chargers speaking a different culminating in language.” I found their controversial of this to (at least in my CAROLINE elements be true as I listened community) move LLANES to Mowins; I had no to Los Angeles, and I have f riends who go to idea what a “two-tight end set” church w it h Philip R ivers was, but I felt the energ y and a nd his enormous fa mily. excitement as she exclaimed, I’ve ma naged to obta in, by “Touchdown, Denver!” Though osmosis, a pa lt r y collect ion this may be subject ive, I of facts about t he Det roit t hought t hat Mow ins wa s a Lions t ha n ks to ma ny of my rea lly excellent com mentator. wa s k nowledgeable, Michiga n born-a nd-ra ised She f riends. Whet her it ’s t he quick on t he draw, a nd had head t rauma , t he seemingly a clear, audible voice that cut a rbit ra r y scoring system or my through the noise of the game. lack of exposure to a winning Though male is the default, her team, I’ve just never been able female voice did not feel out to truly get into the world of place whatsoever. I found it of professional football. My refreshing and even assuring. Sometimes when I watch interest, however, was piqued when my boyfriend told me football with other people, I feel about Amazon Prime’s female stupid for not knowing what’s broadcasting team of Hannah going on. Listening to Mowins, Storm and Andrea Kremer. I I didn’t. It was as though there had never really thought about was another woman in the room football commentating as who made me feel less like an something that women could, outsider, like I understood what or even should, be involved in. it was like to be the default for My view of football once. I then made the mistake of commentators and play-by- scrolling down to the comments play analysts is that they are section of the video. “How to meant to be a sort of default ruin a football game 101,” one persona: They both explain the said. “Made my ears bleed,” complained. The game to the viewer a nd a re t he another v iewer. They ’re watching t he comments continued in that ga me right a long w it h you, manner, all of which seemed t hey ’re just a s sur prised a s to be people complaining about you a re when someone r uns her voice, an obvious code for 30 million ya rds for a double “I hate that a woman is doing touchdow n or whatever, but this.” One viewer even said, a lso t hey have to show you t he “wow... Between letting players replay a nd expla in how t his disrespect our f lag, including male cheerleaders ma n who probably has head (f*gg y) trauma was able to exploit the dancing like women and this weaknesses in the defense to abomination of an announcer, score six points. Even so, this the NFL seems to really want to doesn’t seem like a difficult make sure people aren’t tuning job, but it definitely seems like into football anymore.” Beth Mowins is a a man’s job: They have to be a default and have a normal, consummate professional. She unassuming male voice spends months preparing for because straight white men are each game. She researches seen as the default in American not just the teams, but their society. No woman is going divisions and their conferences, to be seen as an everyman, a in order to paint a larger default in the eyes of the red- portrait of what’s happening blooded, male-dominated, in football. She handwrites and color-codes index cards football-watching public. In September 2017, Beth and creates a game board of Mowins called ESPN’s Monday potential information she can Night Football game between use. She meets with her partner the Los Angeles Chargers and months ahead of time, and they the Denver Broncos, and she did watch old games and practice it again this past year for the calling them together. She New York Jets and the Detroit meets with players and coaches Lions. I decided to meander on before games to get quotes and

information she can use in a broadcast. She cares about her job, and it shows in the quality of her work and her commitment to detail. Furthermore, she has been lauded by industry professionals for her excellent work. The malicious comments on Twitter and YouTube come from a group so used to being the default, so used to football being “a bastion of male superiority” that they could not even begin to comprehend a woman being good at her job, let alone better than a man. Many criticized her broadcasting partner, former NFL coach Rex Ryan, for not being quite up to scratch. Though our dear friend from YouTube, who was so concerned about the NFL not wanting people to watch football, should be worried about a number of issues when it comes to the league, a woman broadcasting is not one of them. Accessibility and expanding to a wider audience is a huge focus for the NFL, and networks having female broadcasters on their teams have the potential to be that expanding factor. My only gripe about Amazon Prime offering the option of Storm and Kremer commentating NFL games is that it is an option. Obviously, there is nothing Amazon can do about the Fox Sports and ESPN broadcasting crew when they offer those as well. However, it seems reductive to only make them a part of the company’s effort to “enable customers around the world to customize their viewing ex p er ience ,” ju s t a s it f e el s re duc t ive t o rele g at e Mow i n s t o a couple pre - s e a s on g a me s a nd a si n g le Mond ay Nig ht Fo ot ba l l doubleheader each s e a s on . A l l t h re e of t he s e women a re s e a s one d sp or t s jou r n a l i s t s w it h more t h a n enou g h c re dent ia l s t o c a l l a n N F L g a me . Thou g h I , f or one , w i l l b e t u n i n g i n t o A m a z on P r i me t o he a r St or m a nd K remer come aut u m n , I k now m a ny v iewer s , e sp e c ia l ly m a le v iewer s , w i l l not . B y g iv i n g t he s e women t he opp or t u n it y t o do t he s e jobs and do them well, we provide millions of other women the opportunity to truly feel a part of a national phenomenon, to hear themselves on a national stage, to know that there are opportunities for them in these fields. Male viewers, quite frankly, need to sit down and let these women do their jobs. Caroline Llanes can be reached at cmllanes@umich.edu

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The audacity of Howard Schultz

t is hard to recall any generally well-liked public figure who has so deeply or quickly damaged their own reputation as former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. It only took him a week, but he managed to piss off almost the entirety of the Democratic Party. During an appearance on CBS’s “60 Minutes” to promote his new book, Schultz disclosed he is considering running for president in the 2020 election. He is just another in a long list of people announcing their intentions to run, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Julián Castro, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., Former Congressman John Delaney, D-Md. and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. Despite an already loaded field, it is likely that even more candidates will join the race, especially given some of the prominent potential candidates, such as former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., have yet to declare their own decisions. Unlike the rest of these candidates, Schultz does not intend to vie for the Democratic nomination for president, despite being a lifelong Democrat. He said, “I am seriously thinking of running for president. I will run as a centrist independent, outside of the two-party system.” In deciding to run as an independent, Schultz has decided to skip the fight. The point of a party primary is for candidates to present their ideas to the party and convince voters that their plan for the country is the best

one. A primary allows a group of people with similar values to debate and vote on policies that best fulfill those values. “The way I’ve come to this decision is, I believe that if I ran as a Democrat, I would have to say things that I know in my heart I do not believe, and I would have to be disingenuous,” Schultz said.

In deciding to run as an independent, Schultz has decided to skip the fight He has decided that his policies are so unattractive that he will refuse to do the hard work of persuasion, and instead, risk the re-election of President Donald Trump. Unlike the other candidates who have declared their candidacy, Schultz can use his billions to get his name on the ballot in every state and hire the best pollsters and strategists. These billions allow him to skip the debate exactly when the electability of candidates is so crucial. In doing so, Schultz poses a problem for the country. If he runs as an independent, he could shave off enough votes, even if it is just 3 to 4 percent of votes, from the Democratic candidate to deliver a fatal blow. As a fiscally conservative and socially liberal centrist, Schultz does not have a big enough coalition to win. He does, however, have a big enough coalition to ensure

a Trump victory. See Ross Perot and Ralph Nader. This is the Howard Schultz problem, but there is also a problem with Howard Schultz. In the time since he has mused about running for president, he has not actually presented a substantive plan for the future of the country. He has not offered one single positive policy to solve the myriad of problems the country faces. He has also not explained why he wants to be president or why he thinks he should be president. Instead, Schultz has attacked Democrats. He called Elizabeth Warren’s new wealth tax “ridiculous” and said Kamala Harris’ plan to eliminate private health insurance was “not American.” All of these attacks do little to help the Democratic Party but do a lot to fuel Republican vitriol and talking points. He has demonstrated the same egotism — the same “I alone can fix it” — attitude as Donald Trump in 2016. So far, he has predicated his presidential run on his business success. To be fair, he did implement several progressive policies while running Starbucks he could potentially base his candidacy on, such as intentionally hiring both refugees and veterans, as well as giving employees paid parental and sick leave. However, he has not cited these reasons for his announcement. And if one thing is clear from the past two years, it is that being the CEO of a company does not qualify you to be president of the United States. Marisa Wright can be reached at marisadw@umich.edu

TIMOTHY SPURLIN | COLUMN

Understanding the Polar Vortex

he recent polar vortex tweeted out his thoughts about that swept through the the polar vortex, suggesting it was Midwest trapped many connected to global warming. “In the beautiful inside as temperatures Midwest, windchill dropped dangerously temperatures are low, resulting in the reaching minus 60 University canceling degrees, the coldest classes for just the third ever recorded,” time in the past 40 years President Trump due to weather. Indeed, wrote. “People can’t everyone bundled up last outside even for and watched as the minutes. What the whole state seemed to shut down for a few TIMOTHY hell is going on with days — stores closed SPURLIN Global [sic] Waming? Please come back fast, early or altogether, schools canceled classes and only we need you!” This is not the first time the the bravest among us dared spend more than a few minutes outside at president used cold temperatures to try and sow doubt about climate a time. Now that we are safely on the change, nor is he the only politician other side of the winter storm, as to use this tactic. Famously in we thaw ourselves and our frozen 2015, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., pipes, it is important to take a brought a snowball onto the Senate closer look at exactly what the floor in an attempt to prove global polar vortex is, and what it means warming is a hoax. for us in the Midwest in the future. Unfortunately, as is customary by this point, some politicians took to Twitter and attempted to use the cold weather to attack the science of climate change among other environmental ideas. Apart from being wildly scientifically inaccurate, this kind of rhetoric is careless and dangerous to public interests. Before delving into the different examples, we ought to establish the baseline in definitions. According In an even more bizarre move, to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, political pundit Jim Hoft tried “(W)eather refers to short-term using the cold temperatures against changes in the atmosphere, climate renewable energy, tweeting, “It’s describes what the weather is a bit cold outside this morning in like over a long period of time in middle America... Aren’t you glad a specific area.” To put it simply, you aren’t heating your home with weather refers to the everyday a solar panel like nitwit Socialist fluctuations of the atmosphere @AOC is demanding?” What I — temperature, precipitation, believe was supposed to be an humidity, etc. — and climate is the attack on U.S. Rep. Alexandria general average in an area over a Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal long period of time. A great analogy backfired on Hoft as many were is that weather is your mood, quick to point out that the sun does whereas climate is your personality. indeed still shine when it is cold Climate change is the (in fact, solar panels can be more scientific phenomenon of rising efficient in colder temperatures). It is clear that there is a severe global temperatures on average over time due primarily to the misunderstanding of the climate addition of greenhouse gases to science surrounding the polar our atmosphere. While the data vortex. Despite the dramatic name, surrounding climate change is the polar vortex isn’t anything out rather undeniable, it remains of the ordinary or all that unique. a political issue. Regardless of Moreover, our conversations political views, however, climate surrounding it ought to reflect our change is happening and is already scientific understanding. As Simon Clark, an Oxford alum affecting the United States. This doesn’t stop some who has a doctorate in theoretical politicians from taking every atmosphere and physics, points opportunity available to express out in a recent YouTube video, the disbelief. President Donald Trump vortex is something that always

Regardless of political views, however, climate change is happening

exists and is constantly moving. “The polar vortex is a big, zonal circulation in the stratosphere that forms every year,” Clark says. “Usually, the circulation stays in a tight circulation around the poles, but every seven years or so the vortex weakens, causing it to dip further south, resulting in the arctic temperatures felt in the Midwest last week.” Interestingly, climate scientists are studying the cycle of the vortex to see if there are any longrun effects of global warming on the phenomenon. As global temperatures rise, extreme weather events are predicted to increase in frequency and volatility. While there is evidence to show changes in atmospheric jet streams due to rapid Arctic warming, there is inconclusive data thus far to prove a concrete connection between climate change and increased frequency of the polar vortex cycle. While there is no conclusive evidence yet showing if or how the polar vortex cycle will be affected by climate change, it should absolutely not be used by politicians to try and contradict it. If anything, future observations and scientific study could prove the two to be linked — and that is something Midwesterners should pay close attention to. Reports show that during the three coldest days, the vortex cost the U.S. economy up to $5 billion due to closed businesses, schools and transportation. Additionally, effects of the dangerous temperatures claimed the lives of at least eight people, including a University of Iowa student. If there is a possibility that this is to happen more frequently as some researchers suggest, it could be very bad news for the Midwest. It would be inaccurate to claim the polar vortex this year is directly a result of a changing climate. However, it does highlight that the Earth has an extremely complex climatic system and we ought to study it as closely as possible. Reducing it as something totally unique is a careless misrepresentation that could cost us in the future. By paying attention to climate scientists and the data, we can better prepare ourselves should this become a more commonplace occurrence and adapt accordingly if needed.

Timothy Spurlin can be reached at timrspur@umich.edu

Arts

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Tuesday, February 12, 2019 — 5

BOOK REVIEW

EVENT REVIEW

‘The Current’ meanders with clear, certain beauty SARAH SALMAN For The Daily

NIKI WILLIAMS

Juliana Huxtable explores crossroads of race, culture ALIX CURNOW Daily Arts Writer

It’s apparent that the internet has shaped our culture in ways our grandparents couldn’t have imagined. The internet holds endless information that will take years to even brush the surface of, information that lends to the shaping of nations, of cultures, of racial oppression and destructive gender norms. The internet is a powerful force that has shaped the individual identities of all of us, whether or not we realize it. Growing up in the age of the internet has exposed us young people to endless content that has impacted the way we live and, more specifically, the way we create art. Juliana Huxtable, an American artist, writer, performer, DJ and co-founder of the New York-based nightlife project Shock Value, seems to understand it better than any of us. Huxtable’s performance at the Lydia Mendelssohn theatre last Wednesday invited the audience to “contemplate the power and powerlessness of the body as well as its dispossession in relation to technology, violence and blackness.” As soon as Huxtable began to speak, I immediately thought of a quote from the popular film, “Juno”: “You’re the coolest person I’ve ever met, and you don’t even try.” On days when I’m particularly lucky, I meet someone and think exactly this. There are people in this world that are so effortlessly cool that it seems to be a genetic trait they’ve inherited, like hair color or height. Huxtable

is a perfect example of this effortless coolness. The energy of the Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre that night was that of a New York City nightclub. Huxtable and her entourage seemed to illuminate a swanky, “relax, enjoy and let me take you on a journey” vibe that I was excited to experience. I had previously been exposed to Huxtable’s work in an art installation at the UMMA’s exhibit, “Art in the Age of the Internet, 1989 to Today.” After the exhibit, I was impressed by her understanding of the history of the internet and its impact on culture and art. I expected her performance to touch on similar themes. During this concert, it was apparent that these themes seemed to be a driving force in her work. Huxtable has complex thoughts about the internet and the way it influences various — but particularly Black — identities. Rather than a performance, I’d go so far as to label this event as a live art installation. The evening was filled with mixed media, including lighting, projections, music and spoken word poetry that brought to light Huxtable’s thoughts on the perception and presentation of identity, history and online communities. I was immediately impressed by the lighting design created by Michael Potvin that was exploding throughout the theatre. Potvin’s lighting techniques were as complex as the words being spoken on the stage. With each different shade and varying projection, I was reminded of the brilliance that lay behind the lighting board.

In addition to the lighting, I was enchanted by the music of both Joe Heffernan and Ahya Simone. It was constructed in such a way that instead of overpowering Huxtable’s spoken word, it complimented it. Her words were an additional instrument to the music that was moving and reshaping the members of the audience. Huxtable’s rhythmic speaking voice over the equally rhythmic tunes allowed the music to be more than easy listening. It pushed audience members to question and analyze what they were hearing on stage, rather than accept the role of a simple bystander. Yes, Huxtable and the rest of her entourage have a sort of untouchable coolness surrounding their art, but they also have a very accessible message that audience members need to hear. While the constant shaping and reshaping of our world by the internet and technology can be a very beautiful thing, there are also some dangers that lie within it. Remaining overly aware of every act you take on the internet, of your own privilege and of your art that the internet influences is immensely important. In times when the pursuit of truthful media is dire, it’s important that the media we contribute to is honest. There is no time to sit idly as forces of unknowable danger are forever shifting the information we consume. Huxtable is a great example of an artist that uses her talents and knowledge to not simply promote, but directly partake in positive social change.

Tim Johnston opens his book with a Hemingway quote: “He whispered this last so low that it was inaudible to anyone who did not love you.” It’s short. Poignant. Tinged with melancholy. The book is the same way. Slow and sure. If you mouth the quote, you almost want to elongate each vowel, to taste each word. Each word is like a snowflake, intricate. Each word you want to inspect. The cover of “The Current” features big, blocky letters, encompassing a third of the space of the dark background and cracked with ice. It gives off the impression that “The Current” is an eerie book. Even the title itself has a shadow of something malignant — The Current. The simplicity has ominous connotations. The novel itself, however, never delivers on the cover’s implications. It moves at a snail’s pace for over half of the book. The book is told in five parts, but it feels more like three. The first part reads like a chapter in its brevity (just over 20 pages). It concludes with the mysterious death of a girl in the river, an event then used as a springboard to investigate an eerily similar death of another girl ten years back. We’re offered a glimpse of Caroline’s perspective, the more recent of the two young women to plunge into the icy,

black river. We’re able to watch her relationship blossom with Audrey, an ex-roommate, through relatable college scenes and rich prose. It culminates with an infraction between a Caroline and a professor that rings heavy under the recent #MeToo movement. The first part, exactly 23 pages, of Caroline and Audrey’s impromptu decision to visit Audrey’s father in smalltown Minnesota deceptively sets up the novel to be a fast-paced thriller that never delivers. I kept waiting — 100, 200 pages in — to return to that initial heartelevating rush.

‘The Current’ Tim Johnston Workman Jan. 22, 2019

Instead, in part two, I’m yanked out of my exhilaration, the gnawing curiosity of the young woman’s death — was it murder? — and sped back into the past. The second part is the story of the small Minnesota town. Its structure is confusing. A quarter of the way through, I realized the plot was alternating between past and present. The recent death of one of the aforementioned college girls revives memories of another girl’s mysterious death 10 years earlier. The continual change in perspective, both in time and characters, makes it

hard to immerse into the book completely. It’s a chore to pick the “The Current” up again after I’ve set it down, knowing that I have to acquaint myself with new characters and a new mystery. The story is redeemed with lovely writing like, “I was underwater looking up at them from below. Like everyone was upside down. The sky, the water. Everything.” The repetition and sparse sentences have a rhythmic quality, mirroring the Hemingway quote in the opening. The lyrical prose makes it hard not to get attached to each character, to the small town — their stories and their lives and the difference that ten years make. The third part attempts to tie the two deaths together. Despite the jarring difference between them, there’s a thread of coalescence that makes for a satisfying ending. It acts as an award for the readers that paid close attention from the start. The book does not stand on its own as a thriller — the pacing is too slow, and the novel is stretched out unnecessarily to ever binge. Still, “The Current” differentiates itself from other suspenseful thrillers exactly because of that. Each character, however minor, plays a pivotal role in the small town. You can’t help but mourn the tragedy of another young girl 10 years before. You can’t help but cheer the characters on, reading the last few lines and wishing that everything will be OK.

FILM REVIEW

TV NOTEBOOK

20TH CENTURY FOX

‘Will and Grace,’ comedy ‘The Kid Who Would Be and the ghost of New York King’ is imperfect, needed ELI LUSTIG

Daily Arts Writer

I’ve got an idea for television’s next comedy sensation: Quirky, attractive, primarily white singles kind of struggling — but more often drinking — in New York (read: Manhattan or Brooklyn, NOT the Bronx). Now, if this sounds like every sitcom or comedydrama ever made, that’s because it is. The image of the college-educated, 20-something trying to “make it” in New York is so ingrained in the American psyche that it has basically become the definition of what it means to be in your 20s. This relationship between New York and the comedy genre has birthed so many nearlyidentical offspring that any show with these characteristics must be exceptionally special to pique my interest. “Will and Grace,” currently midway through the second season of its series reboot, is not proving to be interesting enough to distinguish itself from the pack of New York-centric content. “Will and Grace” is like the middle child of the New York comedy — respected enough, but clearly holding onto the past

in the hopes of one day being discussed in the same breath as the “golden child” of the New York comedies, “Friends.” It would be unfair to make the claim that “Will and Grace” does not depart from the formulaic cliche of the “straight attractive singles” comedy, as two of the central characters are gay men. Sadly, the freshness stops there. Watching this show

completely unrecognizable. That’s the thing about New York comedies: The person they are trying to portray doesn’t really exist, and if they do they certainly don’t have nearly as much free time as the characters in these shows do. The honest truth is that being young and single in New York, or any big city, does not guarantee that you will live a quirky, romanticized, socially active life. It’s more mundane, sleepdeprived and lonely than the media portrays. Yet, comedy can be found in this bleakness and real genuine humor can be made from these realities. However, in shows like “Will and Grace,” this humor is nowhere to be found. “Will and Grace” instead clings to a fantasy where studio apartments in Manhattan grow on trees. The relationship between New York and comedy isn’t a bad thing. There is a sliver of truth to the fantasy, but I just wish the content wasn’t so misleading. As I progress through college, imagining my life after school is becoming more and more pertinent. It’s not an easy transition for anybody, and right now, televised comedy is only building expectations that I know will let me down.

The relationship between New York and comedy isn’t a bad thing. There is a sliver of truth to the fantasy, but I just wish the content wasn’t so misleading.

feels like watching off-brand “Friends” or “Sex and the City,” or the millions of other shows like it. There’s the proverbial laugh track for lines that can be funny, depending on who you ask. The environment looks flat because you know they’re shooting it in a studio, and worst of all, the characters are almost

JEREMIAH VANDERHELM Daily Arts Writer

Before 10 minutes passed, “The Kid Who Would Be King” lets you know what it stands for. Dictators and strongmen have risen to power. People are more divided than they have ever been. The world is in danger not just from without but from within. The words “Brexit” and “Trump” are never spoken — the better for director Joe Cornish (“Attack the Block”) to ensure the timelessness of his film — but the ways in which the film mirrors the present couldn’t be more clear. It’s an unempathetic world, getting more so by the second and it would be easy for anyone, perhaps most of all children, to surrender to that cynicism and give up all hope for the future. But that’s not what Cornish does with “The Kid Who Would Be King,” and it’s because of the optimism his film wields like Excalibur that, whatever its flaws, I believe it to be an important story — one that not only deserves to be told but needs to be told. The world can be unfeeling and cruel, but “The Kid Who Would Be King” explains to its young audience that they don’t have to be, and in its sincerity, it may remind adults of the same thing. The movie follows young Alex Elliott (Louis Ashbourne Serkis, “Taboo”), a boy living in England

who finds himself attacked every day by bullies while he does his best to just make it through the day. Everything changes when Alex finds and draws a sword from a stone, only to learn that it’s Excalibur — “The Kid Who Would Be King” plays it forgivably fast and loose with Arthurian mythology — and that he’s the descendant of King Arthur. No sooner has he discovered his heritage than he learns that he only has four days to prepare himself and his friends for the arrival of Morgana (Rebecca Ferguson, “Mission: Impossible – Fallout”), an evil sorceress bent on

‘The Kid Who Would be King’ 20th Century Fox

subjecting the world to her will. Even setting aside the bracing optimism at its core, “The Kid Who Would Be King” is admirable for how it encourages its adolescent viewers to identify with its characters even at the darkest moments of their quest. No one on screen is portrayed as perfect and each of them wrestle with demons of their own, yet this doesn’t stop them from becoming heroes. It would have been all too easy to make Alex’s schoolyard tormentors into one-dimensional villains, but despite feints in that

direction, Cornish keeps the humanity of each of his characters front and center. This goes for the battle scenes as well; multiple times throughout the film, Alex and co. feel like they’re in real danger, thanks mostly to the superb design work on Morgana and her minions. The action suffers in other areas, particularly in its disappointingly mundane depiction of magic — a half-baked series of snaps and claps that actively drains the stakes the more it shows up — but it’s doubtful kids in the audience will pay these weaker parts much mind afforded the opportunity to see young people like themselves actually treated as heroes in their own right. And as if the message couldn’t be any clearer, an elderly Merlin (a delightful Sir Patrick Stewart, “Logan”) all but says it outright: “It will eventually fall to today’s children to push society forward, and to do so, they’ll need to work together and to actively forge empathy where there otherwise is none.” So, would I argue that “The Kid Who Would Be King” could use maybe another pass or two on its script, that one of the characters exists solely to recount what’s already happened and that it’s about 15 minutes too long? Yes, but that’s almost beside the point. If the next generation will be learning from films like this, then maybe there’s a reason to be optimistic.

Arts

6 — Tuesday, February 12, 2019

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

FILM REVIEW

‘Velvet Buzzsaw’ is an enjoyable camp atrocity ANISH TAMHANEY Daily Arts Writer

“Velvet Buzzsaw,” a hot mess of high art horror-satire from Netflix, is the absolute best kind of bad movie. Written and directed by Dan Gilroy (“Nightcrawler”), the film is such a nebulous rollercoaster of jumbled ideas and characters that there is not one dull moment throughout. It works so unintentionally well because it balances a viewer’s reactions between “What am I watching?” and “This is so ridiculous I can’t stop.” Jake Gyllenhaal (“Wildlife”) plays a cynical, cheeky art critique with the meticulously lazy bangs and thin black wirerimmed glasses to match. To complete the caricature, think of the most overthe-top art critique name you can. Do you have it? I have a better one: Morf Vandewalt. His character faces dark and paranormal consequences when an agent, Josephina (Zawe Ashton, “Nocturnal Animals”), steals the paintings of recently deceased artist Ventril Dease and begins to sell them. To be fair, the plot is hardly the draw of “Buzzsaw.” Every single line of dialogue in this movie is so breathlessly written that I actually started making a list of Morf’s most memorable verbal ruminations. You will discover some of them below. To quote from Vandewalt, “A bad review is better than sinking into the great glut of anonymity.” He’s right. And as a staunch advocate for the power of bad movies, I cannot let this one go unnoticed. Truthfully, it would be easy to tear this movie apart for what it is. But I can’t. The reason is that, unlike in so many bad movies,

the cast and crew of “Buzzsaw” seem completely genuine in their effort. Nothing is awarely awful about the movie, and yet everything is laughable. It’s a precarious Jenga tower of scenes that don’t at all cut together, two-dimensional, inexplicably fickle characters and perplexing plotting that appears to have even escaped the understanding of its author. For all these things “Buzzsaw” deserves far more than a rudimentary rant. I’ll again allow Vandewalt’s wisdom to guide me: “Critique is so limiting and emotionally draining. I’ve always wanted to do something long form, dip my toes into an exploration of origin and essence. A metamorphosis of spirit into reality.” Whatever that means.

‘Velvet Buzzsaw’ Netflix In the name of dipping my toes into an exploration of origin and essence, here are some of my most noteworthy observations from “Velvet Buzzsaw”: The most fitting metaphor to describe the film is that it centers around dumpster paintings for which the entire art community immediately clamors. “They’re visionary, mesmeric,” Vandewalt admits immediately after a once-over. While the Dease collection becomes the next hottest collection in the pretentious and stuffy world of art buyers, the group that Gilroy fails to sell on his own art is the audience of the film. The movie frantically leaps around genres to such an extent that I’m not sure what was intentionally funny and what wasn’t. Although the finale

does play out like the ending of a slasher movie and surely was not meant to evoke laughter, I couldn’t help but crack up at the entire sequence. At times, art gala owners turn into professional investigators on a whim and banal love triangles appear out of thin air. It’s glorious. The denouement of “Buzzsaw” is intentionally open-ended, unwilling to divulge the specific mechanics of the ghostly apparitions that haunt its periphery. To me, the actual reason for this ambiguity was that there was no legitimate way to explain any of the events in the film to begin with. Oh yeah, and John Malkovich appears in the end credits drawing lines of sand on a beach with a wooden stick. He was in the movie at some point. I think. Given my aforementioned belief in the importance of bad movies, I cannot stress how important it is to see this one. It is as fun to discuss with others as it is to watch, a hollow interpretation of high art that only reaffirms to me that bad movies can be art after all. But, alas, I cannot do my own words justice. There’s only one man who can. My favorite Morf quote describes both his own convictions and mine in reviewing this movie: “This is my life. How I connect with some sort of spirituality. I assess out of adoration. I further the realm I analyze.” Say what you will about the forgettability of “Velvet Buzzsaw” in the vast abyss of Netflix misfires, but Morf Vandewalt is an inspiring idea of a man. His movie may have failed, but he did indeed convince me to further the realm I analyze. So thanks, Morf.

NETFLIX

DAILY FOOD COLUMN

The pursuit of the perfect panini ELI RALLO

Daily Food Columnist

When I was 10 years old, my dad threw out our toaster. To replace it, he cleared about 80 percent of our counter space for a large, steel industrial panini press. Suddenly, our kitchen felt less like our homey space and more like the industrial kitchens of restaurants. Growing up, my friends came over and ogled over the machine: the centerpiece of our kitchen, the shining star of our counter space, the replacement for the rusted, old toaster. From that day on, everything from toaster waffles to grilled cheese was made in the press, and thus began my training as a panini connoisseur. Initially, I was a bit intimidated. What could this panini press do that my old toaster or a skillet with some butter couldn’t have done? How would I use it? When would I approach it? Call: #734-418-4115 A panini, or more Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com authentically the “panino,” is a grilled sandwich made with Italian bread Release Date: Tuesday, February 12, 2019 such as ciabatta or michetta. My parents never grocery shopped Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis for snacks like ACROSS 4 Part-time players 33 Farm moms 47 Side with a Oreos and Goldfish, 5 Glossy fabric 1 Enjoys 37 “Take __ at this!” sandwich LARGE 3 BDRM at 119 E Liberty. 6 Layered Nabisco 38 Signals the but they did always Breckenridge, say 48 Head of Haiti Free washer and dryer, central air. treat 5 Cries out loud arrival of, as a 49 Vessel with a make sure we had Heart of Ann Arbor, 5 min walk to 7 Belle’s 9 “If I Had a new era spout ciabatta bread, an UM. Available for fall. $2400. Please counterpart Hammer” singer 40 Dressed like a 50 Ho-hum array of artisan contact 734 769 8555 or 734 277 8 Basic food Lopez chef 51 Avocado shape cheeses and other 3700. preservative 14 In the past 41 Embarrassing 52 Canapé spread accoutrements 9 Was behind in 15 Geometry spots 53 Say with certainty the match to engineer our calculation 43 Typical chalet 54 San __, Italy 10 Herbal brew 16 Pay by mail perfect after school 44 Launch, as a 55 “__ it?”: 11 Apple since 1998 17 Metered work, breakfast, lunch new product “Comprende?” 12 Soon to happen usually or dinner paninos. 13 Suffix with urban 18 Duck that lends ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: Paninos became a 21 Songwriter its name to a staple of my every Kristofferson color 22 School research day life, a constant 19 Word from the assignment challenge I looked wise 20 100-mile-an-hour 25 Slap the puck forward to. I took toward the goal fastball, often to popping any 26 Get to the point? 23 Vent opening? odd combination 27 Cameroon 24 Stein filler or faithful classic neighbor 25 Classy neckwear 28 Prepare for a in the press 33 Total confusion bodybuilding that I could 34 Made public competition 35 Summer Games engineer from the 29 Middle Corleone org. ingredients in our brother 36 Admission of fault fridge, from fig jam, 30 Salon procedure 37 Less clumsy brie and turkey 31 Rich ore deposits 38 Back up a step, on cinnamon 32 Many a clan as in an app member bread to braciole, 02/12/19 39 “__ is me!” parmigiana and 40 For all to hear 41 Good feature honey on crispy 42 Bike storage baguette, to peanut bags, e.g. butter, banana and 45 Partner of to jelly on a baguette 46 22.5 deg. — everything 47 What a plus and anything sign indicates on a golf match was willing scoreboard to transform 55 Pick up gradually magically and 56 Crafted, as a tale deliciously in the 57 Keep for later panini press. 58 Wonderland cake The panino dates message back to 16th century 59 Morales of “NYPD Blue” Italian cookbooks; 60 Express line unit however, the 61 Jacket material sandwiches became 62 Bakery product trendy in Milanese 63 Fiddling emperor bars in the 1960s. In the 1980s the DOWN term paninaro 1 Soaks (up) 2 Wood arose in Italy with imperfection By Roland Huget the rise of youth 02/12/19 ©2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC 3 Cake finisher culture represented

Classifieds

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

FOR RENT

by patrons of sandwich bars in Milan. With the addition of our panini press, my kitchen transformed into a Milano panini shop, and my brothers and I transformed into the young paninaros of suburban New Jersey. On any given weekday or weekend afternoon, you could find us huddled in our kitchen as salty cheese melted and spilled over the sides of homemade bread and hit the searing hot grill. When I say “panini,” the first thing that comes to your mind might be a toasted baguette, a thick slab of mozzarella cheese, juicy, slightly sweet tomatoes

The minute the bread is soggy, slightly stale or just bad in general, the whole sandwich goes down with it.

GO BLUE

and slices of basil, all stacked and grilled to perfection and served with balsamic reduction or grassy pesto. While the typical “caprese” panini is for sure a fan favorite and always one I’m willing to have a bite or two of, it’s a bit basic. Ever since my father came home and ceremonially threw away our dingy toaster, I’ve been on the pursuit to the more unique, more idiosyncratic flavors that trump those of the mundane “caprese” sandwich. Through my panini journey, I hope you’ll feel inspired to ransack your fridge, hit the grocery store and start on your own unique paninis — there is so much more to the space between two slices of plain bread than we expect. A sandwich is typically seen as the lazy person’s meal, the regular, old lunch or the boring, easy snack. But the panini changes all of that — it transforms a cold, basic sandwich into the crispy, crunchy, warm handheld queen of all foods, kicking aside Wonder Bread, ham and cheese for a prosciutto, provolone and sweet pear panini on fresh, dream-like ciabatta. Good Italian bread is where it all starts. My father always told me that bread is the key to success in a panini: The minute the bread is soggy, slightly stale or just bad in general, the sandwich goes down with it. The bread is the anchor of the whole ship: It ensures that the juice and sauce stay soaked into the moist space in the puffy bread without turning it soggy. You cannot have panini success without ciabatta success. The key to good ciabatta, you ask? It’s actually quite simple, despite what one might think. It’s made from wheat flour,

water, salt, olive oil and yeast. Paying good attention to how long it should rise and bake is important, but the rest is rather simple. If the bread is perfect, the other ingredients can take center stage and shine. My flavor muse is my uncle Bobby. He knows flavor like no other and can always pair the most unlikely ingredients together to make the most gastronomically pleasing dishes. While pondering the perfect sandwich to share with you all, I decided to call him. I knew that he would have had a homemade panini recently, as a fellow panini scientist, and I knew he’d immediately be able to speak on the most distinctive, individual sandwich possible. He said he’d get back to me, as the call took place early in the morning, and he hadn’t had lunch yet. The anticipation nearly killed me. When he called me back, the first thing he said was, “spicy pickled chicken panini,” and I was immediately intrigued. He told me the process of making the simple, spicy sandwich: Chicken thighs brined in spicy Grillo’s pickle juice. Trust him on this one. He is a flavor god. (“Plan ahead! A one day brine with dark, juicy meat is the best!”) Bread and then pan fry the chicken thighs to a crispy, crunchy golden brown. (“Batter in eggs and Panko bread crumbs”) Use a crusty roll with light, chewy insides for the perfect happy medium. (“Top secret, it holds all the juice in!”) Top with mayonnaise, red wine vinegar, thin slices of red onion and Grillo spicy Italian pickle chips for added flavor. Press for five minutes — here’s where the press comes in! (“Half crunch, half chew!”) After making it myself, the result certainly does not disappoint. This panini is a jack of all trades: It’s creamy, spicy, crunchy, chewy and salty all at once. While the flavors could seem distracting, they somehow come together in a serendipitous moment of crispy perfection. Bobby’s review seems to sum it up perfectly for me: “Crunch… yes! Chew… yes! Salty… yes! Spicy… yes! Fatty & creamy & delicious… yes!” The special thing about paninis is that they are so much more than just separate ingredients: in one bite you can have the whole world on your palate as flavors that you never imagined combine and blend. No other food in the world is at once so simple and so complex, so manageable and so high maintenance. Like I said, the caprese is a fan favorite, but it is overdone and much too basic for the millions of possibilities that can nestle between two slices of perfect, fresh bread. Let that crunchy ciabatta try on some different dressings. Be creative — with a blank canvas of fresh, soft bread you are an artist. Once you open your fridge and turn that panini press on high heat, the possibilities are simply endless.

Sports

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Tuesday, February 12, 2019 — 7

Sophomores ready to lead in 2019 For ‘M,’ an enchanted performance JAMES HILL For the Daily

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Outfielder Jordan Nwogu was one of the best hitters for the Michigan baseball team last season, batting .349.

AVI RAJENDRA-NICOLUCCI Daily Sports Writer

Last season was baptism by fire for the freshmen of the Michigan baseball team. After the 2017 season concluded, seven of the Wolverines signed MLB contracts, a figure that led the nation, and thus created a void in the lineup. This year’s sophomore class was forced into action last season and is looking to build on that experience. “The storyline of this team, I think, is guys who have been patient in our program that have waited their turn, so to speak,” said Michigan coach Erik Bakich. “I don’t envision a whole lot of newcomers emerging on the scene like we had last year. Last year the situation presented itself. We led the nation in draft picks the year before, after the 2017 season. We had 11 guys drafted, seven of them were juniors, all seven juniors signed. So the opportunity was there for freshmen to earn starting jobs.” Last season, sophomore outfielders Jesse Franklin and Jordan Nwogu were two of the top batters in the lineup. Franklin batted .327 with a team-leading 47 RBIs, while Nwogu was third in batting average at .349. Franklin had the best fielding percentage on the team at .991 (minimum 50 attempts) last season. The Wolverines will need that

production to return along with their stellar defense in order to win the Big Ten for the first time since 2008. “I see just a little bit of an older team, so I see a group of kids who’ve had another birthday, who’ve gotten stronger, who’ve become more physical,” Bakich said. “So I would like to think we’re capable of hitting for more power this year.” Bakich clearly expects more from all of his returning players. The amount of playing time for last season’s freshman was unusual, not only for the program, but nationally. “Looking around the field, those spots just aren’t quite as available because we do have some returning starters back. But every position is rented in our program,” Bakich said. “Just because they started there last year doesn’t mean they’re entitled to the position this year. They have to go out there and earn it again, and a lot of them have.” The pair of outfielders may have been solid, but Michigan struggled with consistency all season. They started out 2-10 before rattling off 20 consecutive wins. The Wolverines then dropped five of their last six regular-season games before bowing out in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. On paper, the expectations are high because of the invaluable experience gained in the prior season. But, a lot can go wrong in a season, and the pillars of

this program are its defense and pitching. Sophomore pitchers Jeff Criswell and Angelo Smith are expected to contribute more as starters this year after pitching in relief last year. This is partially due to the fact that sophomore pitcher Ben Dragani is out for the year after having Tommy John surgery. Dragani was one of Michigan’s best on the mound last season. “Angelo Smith had a great ERA last year and pitched just in some relief roles and some matchup roles,” Bakich said. “He was a matchup left-hander pitching in some short relief appearances, but he’s a guy that could be pitching at the end of games for us because he’s a year better. “A guy like Jeff Criswell, who pitched for us in relief last year, he’s been working as a starter this fall and preseason, he looks very good. He’s got one of the best arms on the team. He throws in the mid to upper 90s, he’s got a lightning bolt for an arm and he’s looking very good.” After an up and down 2018 season, the Wolverines seem poised for success in 2019 thanks to the return of a strong sophomore class. “Everything feels right, in terms of what type of group this could be,” Bakich said. “It feels like a special group, so we’ll have to make sure we stay at the front end of any potential threats and keep these guys moving in the right direction.”

There was magic in the air. The Crisler Center was full of magic Sunday, in part to the “enchanted” theme during the No. 10 Michigan women’s gymnastics team’s (4-0 Big Ten, 8-2 overall) meet against Iowa (1-3 Big Ten, 2-5 overall), but also in part to the dazzling performance and heroic efforts of the Wolverines. Along with the Disney sing-alongs and dance contests, there were plenty of impressive flips and feats to entertain the crowd. Michigan defeated Iowa with a season-high score of 197.350 to 195.350. Michigan was led by freshman Natalie Wojcik, who earned her fifth all-around with a 39.550, followed by senior Olivia Karas with a score of 39.250. The meet began with the Wolverines at vault and the Hawkeyes on bars. Freshman Abby Brenner posted the highest score of the meet with a 9.850. Wojcik and sophomore Anne Maxim were right there too with a 9.825 and 9.800, respectively. Karas and junior Maddy Osman

rounded out the scoring with a 9.775 and a 9.750, respectively, bringing the Wolverines to a 49.000 to 48.950 lead. The second event saw the two teams switch events. Michigan excelled at the uneven bars, posting two scores at 9.950, from Karas and Wojcik. There were also high scores of 9.875 from both freshman Maddie Mariani and Brenner in addition to a 9.850 from sophomore Lauren Farley. At the end of the second event, the Wolverines had extended their lead to make it 98.500 to 97.775. Leaving the bars and the vault behind, the third event saw Michigan on the balance beam and Iowa on the floor exercise. Junior Lexi Funk shined on the beam, posting the meet-high score of 9.950. Wojcik and Farley weren’t far behind with scores of 9.925 and 9.900, respectively, and Osman and Karas each earned a score of 9.825 to round out the scoring for the beam. Coming into the fourth and final event, chants of “Let’s Go Blue” could be heard from the crowd. Now up 147.975 to 146.875, the Wolverines encouraged the

crowd to cheer more and joined in on the chants themselves. Coach Bev Plocki noted how important crowd energy is to Michigan. “It’s been great this year, it really has been,” Plocki said. “I always want more, but I’ve been happy with our crowds and the event staff has been doing a great job of getting them involved in what’s going on and the energy has been great.” Not only did the crowd bring energy, but the Michigan squad brought some energy themselves. Before the floor exercise began, the Wolverines huddled up to get amped and prepared for the final event. “We just kind of remind ourselves to have fun and enjoy it,” Wojcik said. “Just go out there and be confident.” With Michigan amped up, the team began the floor exercise. Karas finished for the Wolverines and posted the highest score of the meet with a 9.925. Senior Emma McLean, coming back from a shoulder injury, earned an impressive 9.900. Brenner, Wojcik and Osman had scores of 9.875, 9.850 and 9.825, respectively.

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Freshman Natalie Wojcik earned her fifth all-around win as Michigan defeated Iowa on Sunday, 197.350-195.350.

Wolverines perform well over weekend meets Bench sparks Michigan WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

PHILIP CALDWELL For the Daily

Two weeks ago at Boston University, Chase Barnett and Ben Hill nearly broke four minutes in the mile. This weekend, they fell short again — only this time, the experienced distance runners didn’t come quite as close, with Barnett falling behind late to finish 4:05.14 and Hill at 4:08.26. Barnett and Hill were among the distance runners of the Michigan men’s track and field team who traveled to Ames, Iowa for the Iowa State Classic, while the throwers, jumpers and sprinters went to Nashville, Tenn. for Vanderbilt’s Music City Challenge. While the Wolverines failed to meet their full potential in the mile, there were a host of strong performances and personalbest records in both of the non-scoring meets to build

off of as the team prepares for the upcoming Big Ten Indoor Championships, which will be hosted in Ann Arbor. “We got done what we wanted to get done there in Nashville,” said Michigan coach Jerry Clayton. “And coach (Kevin) Sullivan’s group had some really good races there at Iowa State, so I thought that we’re where we need to be right now. But we still got to step it up at the Big Ten.” Sophomore Jack Aho impressed on Friday at Iowa State as he competed in the 5000-meter race for the first time this season, coming in just short of the 14-minute threshold at 14:02.28. Aho got off to a blazing start, but failed to keep pace with the leading pack the rest of the way. Finishing in 12th place, his performance earned him the 11th-best time in Michigan history in the event. Freshman Will Landowne hung around in the middle of

That was probably the best weight competition.

his heat in the 3000-meter race, catching up to finish in third place and earning a personal-best time of 8:17.14. Two other Wolverines gained new personal-best times as well in the same event. Sophomores Lewis Tate and Christian Hubaker finished at 8:21.92 and 8:21.00, respectively. While both meets were non-scoring, several Michigan athletes placed well in their events at the Music City Challenge. The throwers in particular left their mark on the final scoresheet, and very nearly in their school’s record books, against strong competition. Fifth-year senior Josh Ellis had the best performance of his season in the weight throw, launching the 35-pound ball 23.56 meters, a throw that pushed him to second in the country in the weight throw. He finished second behind former Wolverine teammate Grant Cartwright. Senior

Andrew Liskowitz finished third in shot put with a 19.62 meter throw that was just two centimeters short of breaking his own indoor school record that he set in January. “Of course Joe and Andrew have been pretty consistent all year,” Clayton said. “But for them to improve on their performances and then to do it under very good competition — that probably was the best weight competition of the weekend of anywhere in the nation, and the shot wasn’t far behind. And that’s why we wanted to get them there to get them that opportunity to go against those type of people.” Hurdlers Roland Amarteifio and Sierra Hendrix-Williams were a potent duo in the 60-meter hurdles. Both beat their own personal records in the finals, with respective times of 7.91 and 7.97. Amarteifio finished in second — .18 seconds short of first place — and Hendrix-Williams came in fourth. “I thought the hurdler races went really well,” Clayton said. “Those guys really dropped their (personal record) … really a lot of positive things there.” The two weekend meets were the last major ones of the regular season, before Michigan brings a small squad to Notre Dame next week before the Big Ten Championships on Feb. 22-23. Most of the team will have a chance to recover, and the coaches will focus on finalizing their strategy for the conference championship and making sure their athletes are ready. “It’s basically going back, tweaking things a little bit this week,” Clayton said. “And then next week it’s time to come out and showtime after that.”

Next week, it’s time to come out and (it’s) showtime

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Fifth-year senior weight thrower Josh Ellis had the best performance of his career, throwing 23.56 meters.

TEDDY GUTKIN Daily Sports Writer

There are few things that can be the difference between winning or losing a basketball game. The Michigan women’s basketball team has one of them down: bench play. “The way that they’ve been able to play has been the difference between us being successful, and early on in league play, us not being successful,” said Michigan head coach Kim Barnes Arico after the team’s 67-61 win over Nebraska on Thursday. The Wolverines’ second unit has come through time and time again to help them win games late. Freshman forward Naz Hillmon, who is the team’s leading scorer with 13.2 points per game, has routinely been Michigan’s go-to scoring option late in contests, and junior forward Kayla Robbins continues to be a rebounding and defensive force. Junior guard Akienreh Johnson has also begun to emerge, highlighted by her standout performance against Nebraska in which she tallied 14 points and six steals. In Sunday’s win against Penn State, Barnes Arico turned to her bench once again. The team’s second unit would need to produce in the absence freshman point guard Amy Dilk and with senior forwards Hallie Thome and Nicole Munger already limited with injuries of their own. Freshman forward Emily Kiser, as well as freshman guards Danielle Rauch and Ariel Young, played solid defense during a late stretch at the end of the first half to help Michigan hold onto a slim one-point lead. Hillmon was her usual dominant self

with a 19-point performance off the pine and Robbins dominated the glass with eight rebounds, including three on the offensive end. On a night where just two Wolverines scored in double figures and senior forward Hallie Thome failed to register a field goal, the Wolverine bench was able to hold the Lady Lions in check and make enough plays to help keep its winning streak intact. With Thome suffering from a lingering back injury and Dilk’s status uncertain after sustaining an injury against Nebraska, the Wolverines’ bench production has been more important than ever during its recent four-game surge. That’s especially so considering that the team is currently fighting for its NCAA Tournament life, currently projected as one of the first four teams to be left out, according to ESPN’s Charlie Creme. With little margin for error, the bench hasn’t always been perfect, but they’ve made the plays Michigan has needed to pull out four consecutive close wins. “Thank god for the depth,” Barnes Arico said. “Because if we didn’t have the depth that we did coming into the year we’d be in a predicament right now.” While Michigan’s ultimate goal lies in March, it is currently focused on what it can accomplish in the month of February. Despite a slew of injuries, the team has continued to fight and take the season one game at a time, in a large part because its reserves have stepped up. The result? The Wolverines’ best stretch of the season thus far. “February’s our month,” Akienreh Johnson said.

If we didn’t have the depth ... we’d be in a predicament.

Sports

8 — Tuesday, February 12, 2019

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Jordan Poole: Don’t call it a slump Storako starts season with a bang LANE KIZZIAH Daily Sports Writer

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily

Sophomore guard Jordan Poole has shot just 30 percent from 3-point range since a Jan. 3 win over Penn State.

ARIA GERSON

Daily Sports Writer

Don’t tell Jordan Poole he’s in a slump. At least not to his face. “I personally don’t like to use the word slump. It’s a media thing,” the sophomore guard said last Monday after he shot 3-for-9 in a loss to Iowa. “But there’ll just be games where you don’t hit shots. … I bounce back. That’s all there is to it.” Whatever term you use, it’s undeniable that Poole’s recent shooting numbers have been below his usual standards — something that has contributed to the Michigan men’s basketball team’s offensive regression in conference play. Since a Jan. 3 game against Penn State, Poole has shot just 19-of-63 — 30 percent — from beyond the arc. Though Poole’s dislike of the term “slump” may come down to just semantics, his shooting struggles go deeper than a simple blanket term. “One of Jordan’s issues was where he was shooting,” said Michigan coach John Beilein last week. “He was open, but he didn’t have — he didn’t need to be standing at the NBA line and shooting.” In recent contests against Rutgers and Wisconsin, it seemed

like maybe Poole was breaking through. But lost in the cheers after Poole drained a triple for Michigan’s first points of Saturday’s win against the Badgers was the fact that he still released the shot a few feet beyond the arc — the exact kind of NBA three Beilein wants him to avoid. Beilein estimated that Poole has hit 45 percent of his shots from the college line in practice, but just 33 percent from the NBA line. It’s a hard habit to break. After all, a shot is mostly muscle memory. Poole just gets himself open, takes the ball and shoots, the way he always has. These moments happen in a split second during a real game, so Poole has no time to look down and check his proximity to the arc. Instead, to combat the problem, Beilein and the other coaches have been working with Poole to readjust. During a practice last Sunday, assistant coach DeAndre Haynes stood on the sideline behind Poole, watching to see if he drifted too far out. Every time he did, Haynes pushed him back toward the arc. “It’s a hard thing,” Beilein said. “There’s some players with their GPS — it just takes time to adjust. I mean, they just have this feel of where they should be and it’s really hard. … And he’s not saying, ‘Heck with you, coach, I’m gonna stand

over here!’ It’s the GPS thing that people will go through.” The changes won’t come overnight, but if Poole continues to adjust his internal compass, it could pay dividends for him and the team. Meanwhile, there are other steps Poole has taken to put himself in better situations to get quality shots. He’s talked to junior guard Zavier Simpson about how to not only keep passing lanes open, but also how to angle himself so that he’s in a good position to catch and shoot from an optimal location. And he’s also become tuned in to where his defenders are and how they might close out in different looks. That allows him to strike a balance between getting open and being as close to the arc as possible. As for his depressed 3-point numbers, Poole’s just going to keep shooting. If there’s one thing he has in spades, it’s confidence, and he won’t let anything — whether it’s a few bad games or talk of slumps — faze him. “Most of us shoot thousands of shots a day in practice and you’re working on shooting your shots and then you come to practice,” Poole said. “I mean, you shoot all the time. There’s gonna be days it ain’t going in and days it is. … You can’t change anything due to one game or two games.”

After last weekend, one thing was cleared up for the No. 19 Michigan softball team: who will back up sophomore left-hander Meghan Beaubien in the pitching rotation. Alex Storako answered that question when the freshman right-hander made her collegiate debut in the first game of the season on Friday. Storako’s entrance at the top of the fifth inning, when the Wolverines were trailing North Carolina State by two, was a testament to the confidence she has earned from Michigan coach Carol Hutchins. She didn’t disappoint, pitching the final three innings without allowing a single hit, which allowed Michigan to squeeze out a narrow 4-3 win. “We were certainly excited to see what (Storako) was going to do for us,” Hutchins said. “She’s done nothing but get better for us.” And from the looks of this weekend, Storako may be able to do a lot for the Wolverines. She gave up just nine hits over four games, seven of which were translated into runs. But things

weren’t entirely smooth sailing for the freshman pitcher. Just a few hours after her first collegiate pitch, the Wolverines started Storako in the circle in a game against No. 7 Arizona. Showing her first signs of faltering in the bottom of the third inning, Storako walked two Wildcats. This prompted Hutchins to visit Storako at the mound and provide some straightforward advice: Be confident out there. “We want all pitchers to have command of their pitches,” Hutchins said. “In (Storako’s) case, she did a really nice job. She had a walk throw against Arizona and, more than anything, she needs to be very one pitch focused and really intense. Every pitch counts in this game. You can’t take a pitch off. “I think (Sunday) she was probably a little tired. Everyone’s a little tired. Five games is a lot of games. It’s a long weekend, especially for a young pitcher.” While Storako was later taken out of that game, she went on to play in games on both Saturday and Sunday. Over the course of the weekend, Storako pitched a total of 15 innings, just shy of Beaubien’s 18

and far surpassing sophomore right-hander Sarah Schaefer’s single inning. Last week, Hutchins said she was looking for a pitcher to step up and allow Beaubien some rest. As a freshman last year, Beaubien pitched 217 of 371 total innings, a statistic that possibly accounted for the rise in her ERA towards the end of the season. As Storako began to step into that role, Beaubien began to guide the younger pitcher. “(Beaubien) is a great mentor,” Storako said. “I’m so excited to have her. She has such great poise and is someone that anyone would love to look up to. She’s really pointed me in the right direction at times and I love having her on the pitching staff with me.” If the first weekend was any indication, it looks as though Storako will play a pivotal role in the pitching rotation alongside her mentor. “I just want to improve on getting ahead of the count and attacking batters from the get-go,” Storako said. “Just staying loose throughout the whole game. I hope I can contribute to the team’s success because we just want to win and I will do whatever it takes to do that.”

ALEC COHEN/Daily

Michigan coach Carol Hutchins tapped Alex Storako as her No. 2 starter during the season’s opening weekend.

The Wolverines’ Quinn Hughes and the process of bouncing back BAILEY JOHNSON Daily Sports Writer

With 17 minutes left in Michigan’s game against Penn State at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 26, the Wolverines trailed 4-0. But then sophomore defenseman Quinn Hughes fired a shot at goaltender Peyton Jones, and redshirt sophomore forward Luke Morgan was there to clean up the rebound and send it home. After 43 scoreless minutes, the Michigan hockey team was on finally the board. A few minutes later, the Wolverines were on the power play with a chance to further cut into the deficit. Penn State was able to clear the puck down the ice, and Hughes was the defenseman assigned to bring the puck back into the offensive zone. As the sophomore skated toward center ice, Hughes tried to send a backward pass to a teammate. But there was no one there, and forward Alex Limoges picked up the puck and sent it past a sprawling junior goaltender Hayden Lavigne. It was the Nittany Lions’ fifth and final goal of the night — and the second that came from Hughes giving up the puck. “That game against Penn State, (Hughes) stood up in the locker room after the game and said, ‘Hey, I was Penn State’s best player tonight,’ ” said Michigan coach Mel Pearson on Saturday. “First, you have to own it. I think that’s the first thing is you have to own it to be able to move forward and make changes. And he’s a smart guy. He knew it, he knew it. I give him a lot of credit for standing up in front of his teammates and saying that.” After completing the first step of taking ownership for his mistakes, Hughes’ next move was to talk with the coaching staff and watch film from the game. Pearson and the rest of his staff like to watch film with their players early in the week. Hockey is a sport more

ALEC COHEN/Daily

Sophomore defenseman Quinn Hughes bounced back from a poor performance on Jan. 26 in a 5-2 loss against Penn State with three assists in Michigan’s sweep of Michigan State over the weekend.

dependent on the decisions of an individual than other team sports, so every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, players will individually file into the coaches’ offices for a personal film session. Hughes sat down with both Pearson and assistant coach Brian Wiseman — who spends his time focusing on the defensemen — after that game in New York to look at Hughes’ performance. “He’s a smart hockey player,” Pearson said Monday. “He understands the game. At times they weren’t — it’s nothing he doesn’t know and the beauty of it is, it’s nothing you can’t overcome or you can’t correct. If it’s something you can’t correct or the player continues to do it,

then you have an issue. “But the way he plays, we’re gonna let him play his game, just like we would any of our players. There’s a certain style we play with and we’re gonna let guys play. They just have to limit their major mistakes. You’re gonna make mistakes, but you have to learn from them and try to limit them.” It’s easy to look at Hughes’ turnovers in New York and say they’re the result of a player trying to get too cute or attempting to make an eye-popping play.

But according to Pearson, it’s the exact opposite. “The thing with him is he wants to win so bad,” Pearson said. “He’s trying to create opportunities for us. You have to understand that. I don’t think sometimes a lot of people maybe get that. They just want him to dump it in and stay back, and anybody can do that. But it’s not in his DNA, so now we have to work with him to manage the game.” And since that game in New York, Hughes has clearly internalized what he talked

The beauty of it is, it’s nothing you can’t overcome.

about with his coaches and worked to limit his mistakes. His effort level has visibly been higher, and he’s made impressive plays in all four games since. This time, his plays have made Michigan’s highlight reel — not the other team’s. Hughes is refocusing on the little things that make him successful, and it’s been effective thus far. “As a competitor, when you don’t play that great, you want to follow up, trying to have a really good game and string together some good games,” Hughes said. “That’s what I think I’ve done, and I think that was my mindset. Just to — I think it was good for me just to refocus and get ready for the following weekend.” Added Pearson: “I think he’s

more aware defensively, more aware with the puck, more aware when he’s the last man, more aware when he can jump into the rush versus just putting himself in a bad position defensively. Being more physical, playing the body more. All those things.” Bouncing back from a bad game is a process, and it’s not one that Hughes — the No. 7 overall draft pick in the 2018 NHL Draft and one of the top prospects in college hockey — has a lot of experience with. But Hughes’ performance in the last four games shows that he’s moved on and come through to the other side, and his comments follow those same lines. “I haven’t thought about New York since New York.”