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Activists from Wash. County Climate Strike prep for rally KARTIK SUNDARAM/Daily
Poster presenter Miriam Connolly speaks to conference attendees on campus well-being as part of the Depression on College Campuses Conference in Rackham Wednesday.
Conference confronts mental health challenges at universities
17th annual meeting convenes to examine emotional wellbeing on college campuses ANGELINA BREDE Daily Staff Reporter
More than 450 people gathered for the 17th annual Depression on College Campuses Conference on Wednesday afternoon in Rackham Auditorium. The twoday conference, titled “One Size Does Not Fit All: Aligning Levels
of Care to Student Mental Health Needs,” aims to shed light on depression on campus, focusing on the best methods to provide support to all students with unique and varying needs. Hosted by Michigan Medicine’s Depression Center, the event consists of a series of workshops, guest speaker discussions and presentations
to address various issues on the mental health spectrum. Business senior Stefan Santrach and LSA senior Jordan Lazarus, the directors of student-led support organization Wolverine Support Network, and Lukas Henke, staff psychologist and coordinator of peer initiatives at the University of Michigan, hosted a discussion that
emphasized empowering support in communities on and off campus. The discussion attracted various people including students, faculty, mental health professionals and researchers.
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Banners advertising upcoming protest seen hanging from Central Power Plant HANNAH ALLERBY For The Daily
A large banner was hung on the east side of a smokestack in the University of Michigan’s Central Power Plant Wednesday morning, reading “Climate strike walkout 3/15” was hung on the east side of a smokestack in the University of Michigan’s Central Power Plant. It is currently unknown which group is responsible for making and displaying the sign. The act was not sponsored by the Washtenaw County Climate Strike. The banner is now one of the many signs around campus in support of the Washtenaw County Climate
Strike. On Friday, hundreds of environmental activists will be meeting on the Diag to join the Washtenaw County Climate Strike to make a statement on the pressing issue of climate change. Students are being urged to walk out of class at 11:11am for the 12:00pm event as a reference to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s statement that was made last October. It warns there are 12 years left to successfully mitigate the worst effects of climate change. For those who are not able to leave class, they are asked to wear green to show their support.
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College of Engineering will eliminate Reps. urge Researcher ICE to halt additional printing supplements highlights
GOVERNMENT
Gutiérrez deportation
Letter calls for authorities to stop removal of KnightWallace journalism fellow RACHEL CUNNIGHAM Daily News Editor
U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., and Fred Upton, R-Mich., have written a letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement asking to halt the scheduled deportation of journalist Emilio Gutiérrez Soto, a Knight-Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan. Gutiérrez joined 2018-19 Knight Wallace Fellowship class, studying safety and freedom of journalists. The fellowship is an eight-month program designed for mid-career journalists to help advance their skills and address challenges in the industry. Gutiérrez was denied asylum Feb. 28 and scheduled to be deported back to Mexico. Gutiérrez and his son Oscar sought asylum in the United States in 2008 after receiving death threats for his reporting for news outlet El Diario Del Noroeste on crimes committed by the Mexican military in Chihuahua, Mexico.
CAMPUS LIFE
Students across colleges discuss discrepancies in respective dollar allotments DANIELLE PASEKOFF Daily Staff Reporter
According to the College of Engineering, many Engineering students do not exceed the standard limit of printing pages allocated to each student in the school per term. As a result, the College of Engineering will be eliminating their supplemental allocation for students after the 2019-2020 school year. Dan Maletta, executive director of information technology for the College of Engineering, explained the reasoning behind the phasingout of this accommodation.
“We have generally seen a decline in (printing) demand,” Maletta wrote in an email. “We consistently see that almost two thirds of our students never exceed the ITS printing allocations, and as a result we are phasing out engineering’s supplemental allocation.” Tanner Robison, an Engineering PhD candidate, explained that he often has large homework assignments and labs to print out, but doesn’t see the need for Engineering students to receive greater printing allocations compared to students in other colleges. “I don’t get the feeling that Engineering students
necessarily print more,” Robinson said. “I mean, I have to print off my homework and stuff periodically and some of them are pretty extensive. But that doesn’t mean that people who are not in the engineering program don’t have to print off similar things.” According to the College of Engineering, many Engineering students do not utilize the supplemental allocation they are given each term. In fact, the Michigan CAEN (Computer-Aided Engineering Network) website states that over half of students in Engineering don’t exceed the standard
printing allocation available to all students. As a result, the College of Engineering will be eliminating their supplemental allocation for students after the 2019-2020 school year, an announcement they made on September 8, 2017. In 2016, Engineering students received an additional $40 for printing, but it was decreased by $10 the next school year. This four-year process of cutting down the allocation is helping to phase out the allocation altogether.
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Activist speaks about human rights absuses , violence against women ISOBEL GRANT For The Daily
Dr. Alain Mukwege, a research associate at University of Michigan School of Nursing, spoke about human rights advocacy and sexual violence against women from a global health perspective in front of about 40 students in Weiser Hall on Wednesday night. The event was hosted by The Program in International and Comparative Studies and the Donia Human Rights Center. Mukwege is an activist and member of the advisory board of the Panzi Foundation USA, a non-profit organization that works to combat sexual violence against women by providing care to victims and advocating for solutions to human rights issues in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Robert Franzese, director of the Program in International and Comparative Studies, explained to the department invited Mukwege to speak because they felt the lecture would be a great opportunity for students to learn more about the cause.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 8 ©2019 The Michigan Daily
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................3 CL ASSIFIEDS................. 5
michigandaily.com SUDOKU.....................2 SPORTS...............4 ARTS....................1B
News
2A — Thursday, March 14, 2019
MONDAY: Looking at the Numbers
TUESDAY: By Design
WEDNESDAY: This Week in History
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
THURSDAY: Twitter Talk
FRIDAY: Behind the Story
Eric White @lungDrE
Regena @RegenaRobinson
Emory Roane @EmoryRoane
@JabrillPeppers is going to my beloved @Giants !!! @UMich once again provides me a source of happiness!!
After learning about the college cheating scandal, I’m even more grateful I attended the University of MIchigan @UMich in a honest manner! The school is filled with integrity, commitment to excellence and diversity! #BestPractices
We’re working with a group of students from @UMich - the school of information has programs to connect nonprofits to student teams (!) - and I am so continually blown away by the skill and talent of these young professionals. Gobsmacked at what they can do. The kids are alright.
Rep. Dan Kildee @RepDanKildee
Michigan Men’s Basketball @umichbball
The Black Sheep Michigan @blacksheepumich
Always great to be with @ DrMarkSchlissel and the entire @ UMich community at the annual Congressional Breakfast. Appreciate the work the University has done expanding access to higher education for all! #GoBlue
But wait there’s more ...
tour groups on campus are cute because they’re so full of life and hope
Add another certificate to the honor board for @_iggy_braz & @ Xaviersimpson3 as they were named the @USBWA All-District V team!
W O LV E R I N E O F T H E W E E K Q: What did you do over spring break? Any memorable moments? “I spent spring break in the San Diego area working with GRID Alternatives, a non-profit, and twelve UMich students installing solar panels on two modular homes on the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeña Indian reservation...There was one member of the tribe who stopped by to visit us most of our nights staying on the reservation to talk to us and spend time with us. He opened up a lot about his life and experiences and started dialogue about very serious problems and injustices in the U.S. The trip really forced so many of us to talk about identities and our experiences.”
Aliyah Borntrager LSA sophomore
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Roundtable talks community impact while incarcerated Carceral State Project event discusses consequences of imprisonment and how to address them EMMA RUBERG Daily Staff Reporter
On Wednesday night, the Carceral State Project hosted a roundtable discussion in Hatcher Graduate Library to discuss how incarceration affects various communities and how to repair the resulting damage. Established in 2016 by Professor Heather Ann Thompson and the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies, the Carceral State Project brings together members of the community to research and discuss mass incarceration in the United States. The event drew about 100 attendees and is the fifth event in Sudoku Syndication their symposium series. Ashley Lucas, member of the
CSP Steering Committee and associate professor of Theatre & Drama at the Residential College, hosted the event. She explained why she believes the work of her organization, and that of the featured panelists, is so important in today’s political climate. “We are living in a moment of extraordinary crisis,” Lucas said. “With the highest incarceration rates in the world’s history, this is a time that I believe we will look back on with the sorrow and shame with which we now view slavery.” The first question presented to the panel was about their personal experiences with the carceral state and how those experiences affected their lives. Natalie Holbrook, program di-
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rector of the Michigan Criminal now works as a substance abuse Justice Program, was the first pan- counselor and the executive direcelist to talk. She explained how the tor of A Brighter Way, a non-profit carceral state affects everyone — organization that provides assisboth people who have relationships tance to individuals transition back with inmates and those who have into society. no direct connection to the criminal Suganuma explained the obstajustice system. cles he faced as a felon, especially Holbrook specifically discussed when trying to secure housing. Suthe connection a prison can have ganuma said McKinley, one of the with the place it is located. largest landlords in the area, will “I think that we don’t realize not rent to felons, and other landhow much prisons become parts of lords use McKinley’s standards. whole communities where everySuganuma also discussed how body knows somebody who works his previous incarceration affected at the prison,” Holbrook said. “It his choices when applying to colgoes unrecognized, but it is totally leges. part of the landscape.” “I ended up not going to school Kathie Gourlay, whose son has here and not going to school at http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ previously been incarcerated, ex- Wayne State University, even plained the effect his incarceration though I was accepted, because of had on her and her family. Gourlay the admissions process,” Saginuma also discussed her belief families said. “I felt like I was discriminated should be taken into account by against, I felt like I was unwelcome.” the justice system. While her son When asked about the effect inwas being tried, her family wrote carceration had on familial relationletters to explain how his absence ships, both Suganuma and McPhercould affect them, but the judge son felt they could persist through said they couldn’t be considered incarceration. Suganuma used in the case. the example of his mother, while Gourlay also explained the McPherson discussed her brother challenges of communicating with and his kids. her son while he was in prison be“My mom was engaged in my cause of the barriers the carceral life, at least, she tried to be,” Sugstate had imposed. anuma said. “The funny thing is, at “Once you’re in prison they least because of the carceral state, don’t care about the family,” she she always knew where to find me.” said. “The only time they’ll tell you McPherson explained her brothanything is if your family member er was mentally ill and a substance is almost dead.” abuser, but this didn’t keep his chilMelnee McPherson, who re- dren from seeing him. ceived a PhD in sociology from “Even though he was mentally the University, spoke about her ill and a substance abuser, they still experience taking care of her loved their father,” she said. “Chilbrother’s children while he was dren love their parents.” incarcerated and the struggles she Gourlay believed prisons were encountered. a huge detriment to the formation “Every three or four weeks of community, something she perthe social workers flipped over,” sonally experienced while her son McPherson said. “The system is was incarcerated. She explained the really screwed up. The system that carceral state prevented formation is supposed to be helping young of communities between prisoners, people especially — it doesn’t as well as with those on the outside. work.” The last panelist to speak was Read more at Aaron Suganuma, who served MichiganDaily.com four and a half years in prison and
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Opinion
3A — Thursday March 14, 2019
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KIANNA MARQUEZ | COLUMN
How seeking a meaningul life starts with incremental change Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. Stanford Lipsey Student Publications Building 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com
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ZACK BLUMBERG | COLUMN
As China grows, so does their list of human rights abuses
I
n 1982, Chinese citizens who had been forced to move to the countryside under Chairman Mao Zedong ’s Cultural Revolution f led back to China’s urban centers. However, as this mass exodus occurred, one young Chinese official requested a position in Zhengding, Hebei Province, far away from the rapidly growing urban power centers: Xi Jinping. This seemingly strange request from the lowlevel government worker was the first notable move by Xi, who built his career through shrewd, power-consolidating moves. Thirty years later, Xi has become China’s president and general secretary of the Communist Party, and appears to have grand ambitions for China on both domestic and international fronts. However, as China becomes a dominant player in world affairs, Xi’s oppressive government promotes a vision that disregards basic liberties, rights and international principles, making its ambitions a threat to its own citizens. The most prominent example of China’s disregard for human rights is the Xi government’s abhorrent treatment of the Uyghurs, a primarily-Muslim minority ethnic group who live in the far western province of Xinjiang. In Xinjiang, the Chinese government has established a surveillance system rivaling the one George Orwell describes in his novel “1984”. In order to keep tabs on the Uyghurs, thousands of video cameras are in place along streets in Xinjiang, and policemen are stationed in front of nearly every major building. China has recently even beg un administering “physical exams” in order to non-consensually gather identification information from Uyghur citizens, such as DNA samples, fingerprint scans and retinal scans. However, surveillance is only the tip of the iceberg in Xinjiang. Under Xi, China has also introduced a policy called “de-extremification,” which includes “re-education” camps, to which over a million Uyghurs have been sent. The camps are designed to indoctrinate Uyghurs through promoting Chinese values and destroying Uyghur culture. Treatment in the camps ranges from things such as forcing Uyghurs to drink beer and eat pork ( both of which are forbidden in Islam) to more extreme human rights violations, including torture, the banning of certain Muslim names and extreme political indoctrination.
Politically, China has also worked to limit Uyghur rights through the passage of religious reg ulations and counterterrorism laws. China’s dedication to denying its own citizens human rights is perhaps matched only by its dedication to denying it has ever done anything wrong. In response to the Uyghur controversy, China initially denied the re-education camps even existed. Once that was proved verifiably false, the government shifted its position, saying the camps were necessary for fighting religious extremism, and likened them to boarding schools (ironically, it’s already illegal for Uyghurs in Xinjiang to not send their children to governmentrun schools). The Chinese government has also deliberately spread false information about life in the camps in order to make it more difficult to accurately understand conditions there, and at one point dismissed criticism of the camps as the West baselessly criticizing China’s human rights record.
China believes that strengthening the state is the highest priority Though this may seem awf ul, it is hardly outside of the norm for China, a countr y that has consistently opposed human rights. In addition to cracking down on dissenting journalists, law yers and activists within China, Xi has also worked tirelessly to weaken the United Nations’ abilit y to investigate and punish nations for human rights violations. In 2017, Human R ights Watch exposed the Xi government’s attempts to prevent critical actors from contributing to reviews of China’s human rights record. In 2018, China introduced a U.N. bill aimed at limiting human rights oversight, which suggested replacing punishments and sanctions with “dialog ue.” In addition to violating human rights, Xi has also worked to streng then his personal power as president at the expense of both electoral fairness and previously established rules and norms. Af ter the death of Mao Zedong, China shif ted away from focusing on the power of individual leaders, implementing term limits
which shif ted the focus to part y power, a development many cite as a factor in China’s subsequent economic g row th. Xi, however, has reverted strongly away from this policy. In 2017, the Communist Part y added “Xi Jinping Thought” to their Constitution, putting him on the same level as Mao Zedong. In 2018, Xi’s Communist Part y, which controls most of the National Assembly, voted 2,958 in favor (three abstained and t wo opposed) to remove presidential term limits, allowing him to ser ve indef initely. Xi has also engaged in an anti-corruption campaig n, which has largely been used to ensure important part y positions are held by loyalists. Out wardly, Xi also preaches part y loyalt y above all else to citizens and had his government issue a directive that all Chinese citizens studying abroad “always follow the Part y.” While these developments may seem disheartening, they ref lect a f undamental difference in governmental and geopolitical attitudes bet ween China and the West, something which the West has consistently failed to f ully comprehend. Unlike the prevailing Western ideolog y, which prioritizes individual liberties and freedoms as the essential building blocks of societ y, China believes that streng thening the state is the highest priorit y. This cultural difference helps explain why the Chinese government takes such a dim view of human rights — the rights of the individual are not of crucial concern, and they can interfere with the processes that help the state. For Xi, consolidating power is primarily about attempting to run the countr y as eff iciently as possible, something which democratic norms interfere with. Sadly, this statestreng thening approach is incredibly destructive to the rights of Chinese citizens, especially ethnic minorities like the Uyghurs and those who disag ree with Xi’s policies. Ultimately, while China’s economic and political rise has been astonishing, the United States and other nations should be war y about China’s policies. Xi is a politically sav v y leader with lof t y goals, but those goals must be accomplished without sacrif icing human rights or disregarding international law.
Zack Blumberg can be reached at zblumber@umich.edu.
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I
’ve been thinking a lot lately about what I want to be doing when I leave college for the real world. As a freshman, I’m going to have to decide soon which undergraduate degree to pursue so I can have an idea of the classes I will need to take in the upcoming semesters. Just the other day, things started to click. I finally conceptualized what my ultimate career goals are, but at the cost of informing myself about a phenomenon that is on its way to tear our communities apart: environmental gentrification, which is when policies that are intended to service the climate drive up property costs. Today, the lawmakers of many metropolitan areas are seeking to improve the qualit y of life by urbanizing sectors that are underdeveloped. For instance, Detroit’s Planning and Development Department has created several initiatives to improve infrastructure, economic opportunit y and neighborhood relations over recent years. Federal and local lawmakers have also demonstrated their awareness for the need to execute g reen urban development in the process, making strides toward the construction of more g reenways and conser vancies within the heart of the downtown area. Despite these strides, I fear that Detroit politicians are conducting urban development in a way that prioritizes prof it for corporations over the needs of the populations who live near these new projects. Whether these projects feature impressive man-made infrastructure or large-scale natural attractions, the possibilit y of creating an attraction just to draw people into the metropolitan area seems to promote gentrif ication. If so, the actions of our authorities would contribute more to the capitalistic side of the economy rather than the health of the environment
or the wellbeing of the people living in that area. As a result, I fear that perpetual gentrif ication, whether it occurs due to the development of commercial areas or natural preser vations, will create f urther economic and social turmoil for Detroit. In New York Cit y, the High Line, a former railroad line, was renovated to ser ve as g reenway on which pedestrians can walk for miles throughout the cit y. Having completed its f inal renovations in 2014, the High Line has attracted nearly f ive million residents and tourists for its walkway, artistic commissions and events. As a result, the g reenway has undoubtedly caused an increase in economic activit y, prof its for businesses that surround it and thus in the price of the surrounding real estate. Unfortunately, this has caused those on the disadvantaged side of gentrif ication to feel its effects: Many have had to leave their home in nearby neighborhoods or been forced to g ive up their small businesses due to the g row th of commercial demand. In an effort to create a piece of infrastructure that would make the cit y appear g reener both visually and characteristically, authorities in New York utilized wealthy and resourcef ul benefactors to create a monument to receive more money and unintentionally transform the socioeconomic character of the area. Greenways like the High Line that defeat the purpose of g reener metropolitan areas are being constructed in numerous locations worldwide. I fear that ours in Detroit, the Dequindre Cut, will have a similar fate. These gestures to renovate current infrastructure into g reen infrastructure mean well, but to what extent should we demand that they also help the surrounding environment and populations? For one, I think it’s
absolutely possible for us to demand better from project developers, lawmakers and monetar y contributors to create more mindf ul urban developments than the g reenways. These projects can prioritize success for a sector of societ y that needs it more. In essence, authorities with control of metropolitan areas should adopt a prog ressive method deemed as “conscious anti-gentrif ication” when pursuing g reen urban development. This process would consist of renovating technolog y and infrastructure incrementally, allowing the public to maintain a lifest yle they’re comfortable with while making small changes to mitigate the consequences of peoples’ t y pical impact on the environment. As a result, our neighborhoods should benef it from improvements made to the qualit y of the environment as well as to the well-being of the general public without making drastic changes to its own socioeconomic character. In hearing about the downfalls of green urban development, I felt within myself a burning passion to prevent this type of economic f lourishing that occurs at the degradation of the lives of people in my community and that occurs with ignorance towards our environment. In essence, I found meaning in a type of career directed towards the development of disadvantaged communities by way of incremental change. Therefore, I believe authorities should fulfill their intentions of urban growth by designing methods of change that specifically address the needs and utilize the advantages of that area rather than diminishing it by some overwhelming economic feat. In doing so, I foresee these authorities achieving a society balanced by the rise of all of the people it encompasses.
Kianna Marquez can be reached at kmarquez@umich.edu.
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CAPTAIN from walk-on to
LANE KIZZIAH Daily Sports Writer
Since her first days of high school, senior softball catcher Katie Alexander has been willing to do whatever it takes to get on the softball field. Formerly a second baseman, Alexander only had one response when her high school coach Alicia Seegert asked on the first day of practice if she’d ever considered catching: “Well, could I try out for varsity?” She’d been playing softball since the first grade and was ready for some real competition. Not only did Alexander try out for — and make — Saline High School’s varsity team as a freshman catcher, she was subsequently voted team captain three years in a row. Although she had the confidence of her teammates, as an underclassman, Alexander struggled to adjust to her new position and level of play. This was particularly true on offense where she either hit it hard or struck out, nothing in between — a pattern that Seeger said stemmed from a lack of patience. But with a work ethic like Alexander’s, the struggles wouldn’t last long. Much like she has in her four years at Michigan, in high school, Alexander only got better. As time went on, she gained confidence and consistency — a combination that, by her senior year, made her ready to walk onto a top-ranked team like Michigan. Throughout her high school career, she was chosen as the team’s MVP and was twice named a Michigan All-State player. Despite not being recruited, Alexander was eager to stay in the game after high school. Growing up ten minutes from Ann Arbor, it had always been a dream of Alexander’s to play for the Wolverines, a dream Seegert — a Michigan graduate herself — fully supported. Coming to Ann Arbor would challenge Alexander both on the field and in the classroom, something Seegert knew from personal experience. Seegert served as the Wolverines’ starting catcher from 1984 to 1988, holding ten team records — including for home runs and batting average — by the time she graduated. Remembered as one of the best catchers in Michigan’s history, Seegert was the first Wolverine softball player named an
All-American in 1986. Throughout high school, Seegert held the current senior catcher to a high standard, knowing what would be asked of her if she was going to play at the collegiate level, especially for a program like Michigan. When Alexander walked onto the team her freshman year at Michigan, she went from being coached by one Michigan softball legend to another. Carol Hutchins —Michigan’s longstanding head coach —had coached Seegert over 30 years earlier. While the two coaches share a similar style, nothing could have prepared Alexander for the coach she was about to have. “Hutch is incomparable to anybody else,” Alexander said. Though it’s hard to imagine not seeing her behind the plate now, Alexander didn’t begin her collegiate career as a starter. Lagging behind other catchers in the lineup and failing to fill the shoes of an impressive senior class including catcher Lauren Sweet, she appeared in just 13 games with a batting average of .273 in 2016. Alexander never resented her position as a walk-on, seeing it as an opportunity for growth. “I could only go up from there,” Alexander said. “My dad always told me to work hard and that you’d rather be the underdog. Thinking that way always helped me strive to be greater. My dad’s always reminded me that I can do anything.” During her sophomore year, she earned more time behind the plate, maintaining a near perfect fielding percentage of .997 and committing fewer errors than in her freshman season. Even when she wasn’t playing, she watched and learned, getting ready to seize her opportunity when the time came. And then, it finally did. Alexander rocketed into her junior year with the hard work and determination she had showed Seegert all those years ago. “(Alexander) has improved beyond measure,” Hutchins said. “She’s got a heart to beat. She wants to be great. She wants to be her best. This is a kid who’s come to me as much as anybody in my time — ‘Can we hit early? Can we do this?’ She’s open. She wants to improve. We like to see kids on that kind of a trajectory. “It’s the same with offense; her offense has come a long way and that’s just hard work. In our sport, it’s just a lot of swings, a lot of throws, a lot of detail.” Alexander’s momentum only took off from there. Her performance at the plate began to catch up to her defense. Within the first 10 games of her junior season, Alexander ran off with the starting position, at the time held by then-junior catcher Alex Sobczak. She ended last season with a batting average of .314, with 29 runs scored and five home runs — a force to be reckoned with. Her energy on the field prompted Hutchins to start Alexander in 54 of 57 games last season and ultimately earned her a place as the catcher on the All-Big Ten Second Team. After that season, Alexander was given an athletic scholarship. “She was as good a catcher as there was in the league, in my opinion,” Hutchins said of Alexander’s performance last season. “She handles the pitchers fantastic, her receiving skills — she was throwing everybody out — and she was just having fun with it.” Despite her personal success, Alexander’s favorite moments have always been with her teammates, whether off the field — counting cacti in Arizona or go-karting in Kentucky — or on it, watching the team succeed. “When I see people who haven’t played a lot — someone who wasn’t highly recruited or wasn’t meant to be playing a lot — do something great like get a good hit in a big situation, those are my
favorite moments,” Alexander said, “Just to see my teammates succeed after putting in all this work for the past six months or years on end.” While her teammates now describe her as positive and supportive, some were at first a little intimidated by her presence. At the imposing height of 5-foot10, it’s easy to see how Alexander could prompt intimidation. But it’s much more than her tall stature that has commanded the respect of her teammates. “On the field, she’s a beast,” Hutchins said earlier this season. “I’ve been really pleased. Katie’s a kid who’s done nothing but get better every year. She’s one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet; she’s a great teammate. Her teammates love her. She’s a nice kid, but on the field, she wants to beat you. That’s the kind of kid I want on the field.” Alexander has seen it as part of her role as team captain to keep the game fun again this season, despite early losses. The Wolverines suffered several tough defeats against teams like then No. 9 Louisiana State and North Carolina, leading to their current record of 12-10. For the first time in almost 20 years, Michigan spent two weeks unranked, though recent wins have propelled the team to the No. 25 spot. As her senior year continues and her time with the Wolverines comes to a close, Alexander’s own legacy will start to take shape. A tenant of Hutchins’ program is to leave the team better than you found it — a challenge Alexander has not shied away from. “She takes (the mantra) to heart, which is the first step,” Hutchins said. “It’s not something that’s totally measurable, but they understand that if we can get this team to be all in. That’s what I want the seniors to lead this team to, a team that is all about the team on every pitch.” Whether the team has been “all in” up to this point in the season is up for debate. With erratic performances practically every weekend, Michigan is still looking for consistency from its players. Alexander is no exception. Though Alexander boasts an impressive 11 RBI thus far, her batting average of .152 — the lowest of the starting players — leaves much to be desired. On defense, Alexander has maintained her confidence, throwing batters out and saving the Wolverines runs in practically every game. As Michigan faced the ups and downs of the first few games, Alexander tried to lead by example, coming in each day as if she was still the freshman who hadn’t earned her spot. That mentality has helped her push through the challenges and avoid getting in her own head. “Always focus on what you can do at the time,” Alexander said. “Even if you make an error or mess up, focus on what you can do on that next pitch. Focus on what you do well opposed to what you can’t do at the time because it’s so quick paced. It doesn’t matter what you did before.” Alexander’s natural confidence and inclination to lead carry over into everything she does. Always one to take charge in group projects or volunteer in class, she’s never hesitant to use her voice. She’s developed that voice both on and off of the field, simultaneously growing as a player and a person. By virtue of her position as catcher, Alexander has been leading the team from behind the batter’s box long before being officially voted a captain this year. As leader of the defense, Alexander’s prowess behind the plate has garnered confidence from many her teammates. “She definitely shows passion,” said sophomore shortstop Natalia Rodriguez. “You can see that right away on the field. You can see how seriously she takes the game. She wants to build the people around her. As a catcher, she takes that captain role, which is one of the most vocal.” Added sophomore left-hander Meghan Beaubien: “Anything I
5A throw, I know she’ll be able to get it. She’ll be able to block it. I know she can throw runners out. She’s tough. She gives you a lot of confidence because she just has a presence. She’s very good at understanding my head knowing the right thing to say to get me back in the mindset to do what I need to do.” One of the most important elements of Alexander’s legacy will be leaving the team in the capable hands of another catcher. That role will likely be filled by freshman catcher Hannah Carson. The two have already worked together in preparation of Carson eventually taking the reins. Although she hasn’t gotten many innings yet, Carson is next in line, now preparing for Alexander to pass the torch. When Carson is playing, Alexander is always nearby, giving critiques on form, demonstrating a play or offering a word of encouragement. Her advice to Carson has been clear: Be vocal; be confident; be the leader the team needs you to be. With softball legends like Tera Blanco, Megan Betsa and Kelly Christner to look up to, Alexander had many mentors to choose from as an underclassman. “Every person that’s older than you or every person here, tries to make the people around them better,” Alexander said. “I took something from almost every single person that I got the chance to play with. “To be able to see what they did for me — what worked and what didn’t — and now I can use that for the underclassmen.” One lesson Alexander has imparted, not just on Carson but all of the underclassmen, is the importance of commitment. “All years, they preach here that you’re
a leader and you can be on the field,” Alexander said. “No matter how old you are, you can still have a say and that’s what’s going to make everybody else better. I really took pride in, no matter whether I was in the dugout or on the field or how old I was, I could be valuable to my teammates. That’s how we’re going to succeed: if everybody puts in that much effort.” With these types of sentiments, Alexander strives to emulate the same team culture that Seegert experienced in her time at Michigan, a collective atmosphere upheld by team traditions like a “no phone” rule or writing in the dirt before each game. It is this culture that has lead the Wolverines to 20 Big Ten Conference Championships, 18 All-American players and one NCAA World Series victory — a level of play Alexander would love to see again from her team. As the season gets into full swing and Michigan bounces between hard losses and easy wins, Alexander is not satisfied — she rarely has been. In her freshman year of high school, Alexander could have been satisfied sticking to second base on Saline’s junior varsity team. When she got to Michigan four years ago, she could have accepted that she’d get little playing time as a walk-on. As errors plummeted and her batting average soared, she could have been happy with her role as starting catcher, content in being remembered — just like her high school coach — as one of the strongest catchers in Michigan’s history. But instead, she’s gone above and beyond, serving the team as a leader and mentor, on and off the field. Regardless of the number of runs she’s scored or runners she’s thrown out, Katie Alexander’s legacy will be defined by one thing: her drive.
Navigating Uncharted Territory LILY FRIEDMAN Daily Sports Writer
Carol Hutchins said it better than anybody: “This team has been a little bit of up and a little bit of down.” The Wolverines head into home play with a 12-10 record, something that the Michigan coach, her players and the softball community at large aren’t accustomed to experiencing — nor could’ve predicted given the program’s precedence of dominance. The team has weaknesses: namely, finding starters at first base and pitcher, hitting consistently and closing out tight games. But so does every team, as Hutchins said after practice Tuesday. This season still marked a change from the program’s typical preeminence, and the problem isn’t how players hold a bat or field a fly ball. Michigan has a few choices to make. To focus or worry about their legacy. To hope for results or get them. To swing with authority or think too much. For so many years, Michigan held a mental acuity that allowed it to reach a pinnacle of excellence as a program, and this year has tested that focus. In game after game, players have pointed to mental struggles as the root cause of awry pitches, problems hitting and general strife on the field. The Wolverines know their problem. And while repeated mental lapses have certainly created new obstacles, they also present a new opportunity. This is the first team the program has seen in years to face a recurring issue affecting performance. Sure, that’s not ideal, but it also sets the stage for greatness. This team could be the one to face adversity and attack it. The Wolverines can show up at the plate, be ‘on’ mentally and perform at the level at which we know they’re capable from big wins against ranked opponents. They’ve identified the problem — now they just have to solve it. To truly get to the root of the problem, though, Michigan has to look at why it keeps falling into mental lulls in the first place. The sixth inning of the Stanford game, the first game in the LSU Invitational in Baton Rouge, La., provided a potential answer. After a strong start with a tied score of 1-1, sophomore left-hander Meghan Beaubien stepped in to relieve freshman right-hander Alex Storako in the circle. Beaubien let up four runs before Hutchins pulled her from the lineup mid-inning. “You want to go into that situation with a clear head and just telling yourself to throw your game and that it’s going to work out,” Beaubien said. “What you don’t want to do is try too hard to get out of a situation or to get the results
you wanted, and that’s what I was doing. I was trying too hard to get the results I wanted, and that leads to bad pitches.” Like Beaubien, several players have found that after one discouragement, it becomes harder to avoid result-oriented play — trying to force an outcome and forgetting to play freely. And when one player falls into that mentality, it can affect the entire team. But in the same way that panic spreads quickly, so too does a revived team atmosphere. “It’s a contagious effect,” Hutchins said. “When a couple of us (hit well), we’ve opened up. We did it against Arizona State. …When we’ve scored runs, it’s because we’ve only had to get a couple things going and then everybody takes the pressure off themselves.” The Wolverines understand why they can beat No. 2 UCLA and almost defeat No. 9 Louisiana State yet lose to unranked Louisville, North Carolina and the Cardinal. They’ve encountered mental setbacks, and they now have the chance to change their mentality at home, proving resilience in the face of a rocky start. With comfortable winning records in the scorebooks the past 14 years, this is the first time in a long time Michigan has needed that spark. And the Wolverines have the chance to create that hungry mentality for themselves. A major turning point in finding that rhythm also occurred in Baton Rouge, just four games after the loss to Stanford. Playing a tough Tigers team with a home-field advantage, Michigan held strong defensively, eventually losing 2-1, but playing with a passion and ease they lacked in previous contests. “They’ve learned it at LSU, and they didn’t get the win, but they played to win it, and we played like that in California every game,” Hutchins said. “The jungle tiger doesn’t go in there and wonder or worry or hope he gets his prey. He goes in there to get it, or else he’s not going to eat.” Two weeks ago, the program stood at a crux: carry on the success of the program or drop the ball, sliding into the team’s first losing season since recordkeeping began 14 years ago. Ten games later, the Wolverines remain on that precarious edge. Michigan managed to claw its way back to a winning record. But to really cement themselves as the team that continued the success of a legendary program in the face of adversity, Team 42 can’t just be “a little bit of up.” The team needs sustained ferocity, and the players know that. And with the Wolverines returning to Ann Arbor this weekend, it’s time to see if they can survive in the jungle.
The jungle tiger doesn’t go in there and wonder
Breaking down ‘M’ Softball’s 2019 roster DANIEL DASH
Daily Sports Writer
When the No. 25 Michigan softball team takes the field at home for the first time in 2019 this weekend, it will look to put early-season inconsistencies in the rearview mirror. After securing the Big Ten regular-season title a season ago — the program’s 10th in the last 11 years — the Wolverines enter their first homestand with a record hovering around .500. After spending two weeks outside the NFCA Poll for the first time in 18 years, Michigan will look for contributions from its entire roster at Alumni Field. The Daily breaks down each of the Wolverines’ position groups as they aim to capitalize on a Kent State team that enters Ann Arbor mired in an eight-game losing streak. Pitchers: This year’s pitching staff is headlined by sophomore Meghan Beaubien, who posted a 33-6 record, 1.16 ERA and 266 strikeouts across 217 innings pitched en route to first team All-American honors in 2018. The southpaw’s success in the circle has been highlighted by the four no-hitters to her name, one of which came less than three weeks ago against California State Northridge. After suffering a broken wrist in the weight room last fall, Beaubien’s ERA has ballooned to 2.44. She’s been dominant as a starter, but Beaubien has allowed upwards of four runs in multiple relief appearances in 2019. Another arm that’s been impressive is freshman right-hander Alex Storako, who has firmly established herself as the team’s second starter. Storako is often referred to as a “spin pitcher” by Michigan coach Carol Hutchins, which has been evident in her 76 strikeouts across 65.1 innings pitched. Opponents are managing a batting average of just .167 against Storako, but her 2.14 ERA has taken a hit thanks in part to the 10 home runs she has surrendered. Though her numbers aren’t as dominant as Beaubien and Storako’s, sophomore right-hander Sarah Schaefer provides value to the staff by inducing soft contact. Schaefer has recorded a 2.69 ERA across nine appearances thus far, a
sizeable inflation from her 1.57 clip in 2018. Catchers: After taking over as the starting catcher midway through her sophomore year, senior captain Katie Alexander has established herself as one of the best backstops in the conference. She slugged her way to a .314 batting average with 24 RBI while picking up second team All-Big Ten honors a season ago, but has struggled at the plate in the early stages of her senior campaign. Alexander enters the homestand with a .152 batting average in 17 starts, but leads the team with three home runs and ranks second with 11 RBI. Freshman Hannah Carson — FloSoftball’s No. 21 2018 prospect — has assumed the backup catcher duties so far this season, despite junior catcher Abby Skvarce’s upper-hand in age. Carson tallied a .571 batting average and 31 home runs as a senior in high school en route to her fourth consecutive first team All-State selection. First base: This season’s starting first baseman job has presented the biggest head-scratcher so far, following the graduation of Tera Blanco, a first team All-Big Ten selection in 2018. It’s been a battle between senior Alex Sobczak and sophomore Taylor Bump since opening weekend, but neither player has much experience on the right side of the infield. As of now, the position appears to belong to Sobczak, who entered the season with 63 career starts under her belt. On the other hand, Bump’s natural positions are third base and shortstop, meaning she is accustomed to playing defense on the other side of the infield. Neither player has put up big numbers at the plate so far this season, but Sobczak’s team-high .429 on-base percentage trumps Bump’s .250 mark. Second base: Michigan’s lineup starts and ends with senior second baseman Faith Canfield — both literally and figuratively. The two-time All-American has firmly established herself as the leadoff hitter, and she comes into this weekend scorching hot after posting a .448 batting average
during the team’s West Coast trip last week. Canfield spent her freshman season learning the ropes of her position from then-senior Sierra Romero, who took home 2016 National Player of the Year honors. Now that Canfield is in her second year as captain, Hutchins wants to see her “take this team by the horns.” Shortstop: For the second straight season, sophomore Natalia Rodriguez will be the Wolverines’ everyday shortstop. Rodriguez registered a .250 batting average in 53 starts as a freshman, so her .333 mark thus far represents a massive leap forward. After recording 10 stolen bases on 12 attempts last season, Rodriguez has already swiped five bags on as many tries in 2019. Third base: Last season, Madison Uden was Michigan’s breakout star. After finishing her freshman year with a .255 batting average in 12 starts, 2018 brought about monumental success to the tune of a .357 average and 35 RBI. While the numbers prove that Uden stepped up as a hitter a season ago, her biggest development came from a leadership standpoint — something evident in her teammates’ choice to nominate her as a 2019 captain, despite being just a junior. One of this year’s early-season shocks has been Uden’s struggles at the plate. She limps into this weekend with a .174 batting average — a 183-point regression from 2018. Outfield: The Wolverines’ outfield corps has been their most consistent position group over the first month of the season. Freshman left fielder Lexie Blair has been a staple towards the top of the order, posting a .316 batting average with a team-high eight doubles. Now in her third year as the starting center fielder, senior Natalie Peters is another staple of the lineup. She earned second team All-Big Ten honors in 2017 after posting a .361 batting average, but saw that number dip to .312 last season. When it comes to defense, junior right fielder Haley Hoogenraad is one of Michigan’s finest. Hoogenraad recorded 43 putouts without committing an error a season ago.
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Release Date: Thursday, March 14, 2019
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
STORAGE
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Grammy category word 6 “And here it is!” 11 Pickup spot, perhaps 14 Take a break 15 “Return of the Jedi” forest moon 16 Fashion or sense preceder 17 *Like power lines 19 Band booking 20 Conspiring (with) 21 Cake invitation Alice accepted 23 Does, say 24 *End an engagement? 27 Alternative rock genre 29 “Come on in!” 30 Any member of ABBA 33 What a birdie beats 34 Aromatic herb 37 ’90s game disc 38 *Teddy kin 42 One of the fire signs 43 Pull a fast one on 45 Served, as time 46 Brilliance 48 One-footer, e.g. 50 Gray shade 51 *Feature items in some annual sales 55 World-weary words 59 Up 60 Babe __, only woman in ESPN’s Top 10 North American Athletes of the 20th Century 62 Life-saving pro 63 Simple card game, and what’s hidden in the answers to starred clues 66 __-disant: selfstyled 67 Ancient Aegean region 68 “The Wreck of the Mary __” 69 Channel that airs many RKO films
70 __ closet 71 John of “The Addams Family”
DOWN 1 Agricultural pest 2 “Rawhide” singer 3 Taps player 4 Brought (in) 5 Like a footnote that explains footnotes 6 Locale 7 Early stage 8 Dictator played by Forest 9 Leicester toilet 10 Journalist Peter 11 Time of one’s life 12 Cartoon genre 13 Continued unabated 18 “The one who makes it, takes it” breakfast brand 22 Breezed through 25 Recipe verb 26 Crucifix letters 28 Fellows 30 Beach letters 31 Try to attract 32 Lacking humility 33 Third deg.?
35 Verdant patch 36 Auction unit 39 “Gotcha!” 40 Singer Vannelli 41 Some RIT grads 44 After-hours 47 Supplies power to 49 #2, for one 50 ’60s-’70s tennis great Arthur 51 Extract forcibly 52 Bleachers sign
53 David and Ricky’s dad 54 Israeli hero Moshe 56 Drum kit part 57 Motherly introduction? 58 German steel center 61 Operatic princess 64 Versailles monarch 65 Taylor of fashion
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B-SIDE: COMMUNITY CULTURE
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DANA PIERANGELI / DAILY
Intermediate Lake, MI, Ceaselessly into the past: or my little blue heaven Renaissance daydreams
WARNER BROS. ENTERNTAINMENT
DANA PIERANGELI Daily Arts Writer
For much longer than I can remember, my grandma has owned a little blue cabin on the shores of Intermediate Lake, Michigan. And when I say cabin, I don’t mean one of those quaintyet-simultaneously-the-cost-ofmy-tuition cottages. I mean leaky roof, one bathroom, zebra mussel cabin. I mean memory filled, unconventionally beautiful, blue heaven cabin. This is the cabin where I grew up for one week every summer. I traveled up with my family, bunked with my sister (literally — we had bunk beds) and delighted in a whole week void of responsibilities and reality. Every time I returned to my blue heaven, it embraced me with consistency. The rickety dock from little feet running to see crayfish, the crumbling fire pit from nights of s’more contests and campfire discussions, the sandy carpet from days spent making teetering towers and temporary tapestries, all reminded me of summer spent in sameness. Each year we spent in a similar simplicity: We would lounge on the beach, go into town for penny candy, visit Pirates Cove
for mini golf, lounge on the beach some more. But the most relaxing part of the vacation was not our little excursions, or lack thereof, but that it acted as an excursion from everyday life. That little cabin is where, for one week every summer, I escaped to a place untouched by time. No outside world existed; my worries of the approaching school year, friendship drama clouding my thoughts and fears of what the coming year would bring all faded away. Instead, my anxieties went out with the lazy tide, my worries melted under the summer sun. As I laid in the hammock with my book and ukulele, my little blue cabin harbored me from the only constant in my life: change. We are always changing and growing, undergoing our own little renaissances. And that is a beautiful thing. The fact that we are always a work in progress means we always have the capacity to improve, learn and flourish. What typically prompts us to change are our experiences, whether we have a hand in bringing them about or not. Events that change our lives force us to adapt and evolve, leading to a change within ourselves. But while this constant growth does benefit us, it can sometimes
be exhausting. Living in such a fast paced world forces us to change due to outside forces, not because we have any desire or reason to change. Rarely do we get the chance to stand back and think about who we have become and who we want to be. Rarely do we control our own renaissance. But away from the real world, in the timeless blue cabin, I do control my renaissance. I can grow on my own terms. I can read books, play instruments, explore nature. I can stop and think and just be, which sometimes is the most important form of growth. While life comes to a standstill on the edge of the lake, I can decide where to go from there. Of course, not everything can truly stay the same. The zebra mussels are still as annoying as ever, but the leaky roof has long since been fixed and the bathroom has expanded. And I never truly escape reality. But for one week every summer, I find shelter. My blue heaven has watched me grow up and move through my own renaissance, but it has always stayed the same, granting me the space to evolve in the ways I need the most, comforting me with safety and simplicity. My blue safe haven is where my renaissance is in my control.
B-SIDE: COMMUNITY CULTURE
Finding freedom in Italy TRINA PAL
Senior Arts Editor
I often find myself longing to live in another decade. My personal favorite? The ’70s. The heyday of rock ‘n’ roll, the golden age of hippie counterculture and the open passion for love that comes with it. My urge for this time travel comes at trivial moments in a day, such as when I’m in an elevator surrounded by five people all staring down at their phones, faces illuminated by harsh, unwelcoming blue light. Or when I’m walking through the Arb and see students in hammocks staring into their screens. When did life become so antisocial, the need for human contact and conversation replaced with small devices that now contain our whole world? And that’s just it — I think my yearning to escape our contemporary world stems from technology. It’s a love-hate relationship, a double-edged sword. Our generation grew up at a pivotal time. We watched Saturday morning cartoons on CRT box televisions and marveled at flip phones 15 years ago, and now find ourselves setting screentime limits on our own devices, stored somewhere within reach at all times. We grew up in the midst of a massive technological revolution, and it shows. Turning to our screens became our study break, our escape from boredom on long summer days and our primary method of communication. Technology is so ingrained in our lives that we forget what it was like to live without it. But there’s a great remedy. *** Summer 2014: My thighs graze against each other as I walk through the cobblestone streets, the humidity hanging in the air like a thick, woolen blanket. I’ve just finished my freshman year of high school (oh, the innocence!), a year mostly spent wearing my thick black curls in two pigtails on
the sides of my head. I know you’re already thinking it so I’ll confirm it: They looked atrocious. My hair was the least of my worries, though, with the Italian country beckoning me to explore. Rambling through those narrow streets, some so tight that cars can’t drive through, it’s easy to forget the world that we live in. When you’re surrounded by churches, plazas and statues built during the Renaissance, you start to believe that you’re living in it. Tourists with bulky backpacks leading their gelato-laden children by the hand fade into the periphery. Only the baroque buildings with pure white trim surrounding their sides remain. If I’d turned a corner and seen Raphael painting the “School of Athens” or Michelangelo sculpting the “Pietà,” I wouldn’t have been surprised. Take, for example, the Pantheon. The colossal dome, built during the reign of the Roman empire in 27 BCE, sits in the center of the aptly named Piazza della Rotonda. Easily one of the most crowded piazzas in Rome, it took my family ten minutes to walk a hundred feet to the nearest gelato shop and stumble back to the center of the square. Sitting there, slowly numbing my tongue with the dark chocolate cream (the only gelato flavor I truly enjoy), I turned my eyes to the inscription on the front facade of the Pantheon: “M. AGRIPPA L.F. COS TERTIUM FECIT.” Translated: “Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, threetime counsel, made this.” I looked back down and imagined this place as it was all those years ago, when polytheism still reigned and Roman citizens used the Pantheon as a temple. The gelato shop replaced with tumbledown houses, shambles compared to modern-day Rome. Whoever Marcus Agrippa is, he let me live in the past for a fleeting second, and for that, I thank him. The same feeling overcame me when I stepped into Santa Maria
Maggiore, a church nestled in the northern part of Rome, a city with over 900 churches. Churches are hands-down the best way to see Italy; we were told this by our taxi driver on our first day in the city in broken English with brief interludes of rapid Italian. But we got the jist: Go see the churches. Touring all of them would take forever, so our driver narrowed it down for us, promptly listing off the four most “important” in Rome. Santa Maria Maggiore was one of them. I almost laughed out loud when I walked inside. Our taxi driver should have been named tour guide of the year. Sweeping marble columns towered over my five-foot frame, silently calling me to look up to the gold-leafed ceiling. The main passage and pews glowed with yellow light, but the dark, silent alcoves branching from the sides were much more compelling. Each one contained a statue or a painting — I found myself face-toface with countless Virgin Marys, baby angels and kings, sculpted to precision. What was it like to live here, during a period of such rapid advances in art? When people were drawn in three dimensions, not flat in typical medieval style. When a block of marble was all that artists like Gian Lorenzo Bernini, widely regarded as one of the best sculptors to ever live, needed to carve a masterpiece. Travel is my method of fleeing from this era for a week or two, a way of living in another time while not really being there at all. It’s fleeting, but it’s eye-opening. I cherish everything from short road-trips to national parks to international flights because there’s nothing better than being in the thick of things, right where all the action happened. Gems like Michelangelo’s “Moses” in Rome or Bernini’s “Ecstacy of Saint Teresa” shine light on what the Italian Renaissance really was: a different way of living, a different world.
DYLAN YONO Daily Arts Writer
Society has had many cultural rebirths, and I have always wanted the same for myself. But not just a new chapter of my life. I waste too many hours pondering a literal rebirth — if I could be born again in another time and experience my personal renaissance in a different way. It’s a shame that the only renaissance I’ve been (un) lucky enough to be present for is the rise of social media. Of course I got to be there for the phenomenon that would enable my mental health hitting the gutter in high school. It feels like I missed out on all too much. What if I’d been born in 1973, and got to grow up with the birth and golden age of hip hop? I’d be six years old when the Sugar Hill Gang dropped “Rapper’s Delight,” surely dancing to it with all my friends in front of the boom box at the playground. I imagine being fourteen when Paid in Full came out. I would close my locker and look to my friend beside me, wearing overalls with one strap off, and say, “Yo, you hear the new Eric B. and Rakim?” (According to my dad, who was indeed fourteen the year Paid in Full came out, this highly-
important question was on the mouth of every kid in school when he came back in the fall). Instead of crying over Mac Miller, I would have been there shedding tears when I first heard about Tupac’s untimely death. I imagine if I’d been 16 at the height of drive-in movie theatres. It’s the summer of 1956, and I’m behind the wheel of my dad’s Buick only days after getting my license. Beside me is the most beautiful girl in the school, Tina Jane with the blond curls, and we’re watching “Rebel Without a Cause.” Inches separate our shoulders. Nothing is on my mind other than her, and I can hardly focus on the movie — I’m trying my hardest to keep it cool, making a silent prayer for my first kiss. Maybe if I got to experience my 20s in the ’20s, I would be living in New York, freshly graduated and dancing for the first time at a lavish party on Long Island’s North Shore. I’d rock the brown wool, peaklapel, four-button jacket and a light pink cotton dress shirt with french cuffs. I’d match it with sleek brown cap toes and a diagonal striped tie — deep burgundy, forest green and golden brown. Relaxing on the balcony after hours of dancing, I’d look up to the stars, sipping champagne as the live music beat on, boats
against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past (“The Great Gatsby”). Is there a place for me, even further back and farther away? At my heart, I am a bornand-raised product of the 21st century. At fourteen, I got to be there when Drake’s Nothing Was the Same came out — which is cool, but substantially less cool than experiencing the new Eric B. and Rakim. There was no glamorous first kiss in Dad’s Buick with a curly-blond bombshell — I took my first date to the regular movie theater, awkwardly held hands during “The Fault in Our Stars,” and only had a nervous “i had fun :)” text to show for it. My first party was not in a fancy oceanside mansion but in a cramped basement. There was no champagne, just Costcobrand vodka and Mike’s Hard Lemonade. Admittedly, I don’t see any Gatsby-style roaring ’20s parties in my future. Maybe it’s not so bad. Maybe there’s no time better than now to grow into myself. After all, most of my closest friends are of racial and sexual identities that didn’t have a space in society until now, and I wouldn’t have become who I am without them in my life. I still do yearn for a rebirth, to get a taste of a pastime I never had. But my golden age is today, and I think that’s perfectly okay.
MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW: ‘BINZ’
COLUMBIA RECORDS
The best part about a new Solange album is that we’re always spoiled with moviequality music videos to go with it. And with her latest release, When I Get Home, we practically got a full movie, a precisely choreographed half-hour long companion piece and surreal love letter to the artist’s origins in Houston’s Third Ward. Solange dropped five minutes of it on YouTube as a music video for “Almeda,” stitching together the “Nothing Without Intention” interlude with the standout song of the album, a Playboi Cartifeaturing, jazzy flip on the chopped and screwed genre. The “Almeda” video is a well-oiled machine, with legions of dancers orbiting perfectly around Solange, Houston locales and even a fleet of DeLoreans. While Solange deserves an immense level of respect for her dedication to precisely
curating this mechanical aesthetic in her music videos and promotional material, an unedited and unrehearsed slice into the artist’s life can be a breath of fresh air. This is
Binz Solange Columbia Records
what we get with the “Binz” music video: 86 seconds of Solange spinning, popping, twisting and twerking in front of a webcam. “Binz” is low quality, but it’s not low effort. To a particular eye, Solange’s movements could seem
incredibly precise and purposeful, as she dances around in a variety of outfits that probably cost more than University tuition, but it still maintains a carefree vibe. There’s no better fit for the song — “Binz” breezes. It’s a lazy sprint, reveling in taking it slow. Solange doesn’t even bother to start her verse until halfway through: “I just wanna wake up to the suns and Saint Laurent / Hundred thousand dollars on the fronts and the blunts.” “Binz” is the sun breaking through the grey sky on a muzzy March day, warming us up to 90 degree afternoons but not giving them to us quite yet. Solange is aware the summer heat will soon creep through the clouds, and dances with an incessant smile on her face for what’s to come.
— Cassandra Mansuetti, Senior Arts Editor
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ARTIST NITYA GUPTA Daily Arts Writer
“The world is getting faster, more complicated and more fucked up, so there are always larger problems to solve and new frontiers to make accessible,” said Jack Kornet, Stamps School of Art & Design junior. Kornet uses his graphic design skills to address challenges he or his clients face. His work ranges from creating event branding for startup Ann Arbor SPARK to freelancing for Systematic Vision, a high speed camera supplier and system integrator based in Boston. “My favorite part about design work is that it’s not work,” Kornet wrote in an email interview with The Daily. “I have an unreasonable amount of fun solving problems with creativity. There seems to always be more to learn about design. I have never gotten bored with it, and I’m not sure I ever will because there are so many potential projects.” A significant reason for the rise of graphic design is the mass amounts of information we have access to and consume on a daily basis due to smartphones and social media. In an age where we’re simply seconds away from sharing or reading information, the manner in which we display text and visuals becomes important. “If you’re trying to portray information, then graphic design is the best medium of art to do so,” said Stamps School of Art & Design sophomore Eliana Harrison in an interview with The Daily.
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PROFILE
Harrison has created posters for Ann Arbor’s “Shakespeare in the Arb,” designed promotional f lyers for studentrun theater group RC Players and more. But while we may think of graphic design work as being an art form born from the modernization of technology, it’s been around for much longer, starting from the Renaissance as the invention of movable-type printing allowed for the rapid spread of ideas. “In the Renaissance, artists began to value gaining knowledge of materials and subject matter and their effects on the viewer which I see to be on the same train of thought as modern designers,” Kornet wrote. “The main connection I see between Renaissance art and modern design is the role of a cultural inf luencer. In the Renaissance, art could be used to represent important people. Artists would create lasting relics of identity and reputation for their ‘clients’ which is very similar in my mind to corporate branding (logos, the look and feel and messaging).” Just as the printing press allowed for the Renaissance in Europe, the Internet has allowed for a revitalization of graphic design throughout the world. “Everything came from the Renaissance,” Harrison said. “Even if you look at art nouveau, which was almost a very early form of graphic design — they did a lot of posters for the world’s fairs — they drew from the styles of the Renaissance. And I think that has evolved into modern graphic design.”
The main difference between design work from the Renaissance compared to today is the purpose behind it. “Where Renaissance art involved itself with political, religious and intellectual promotion, design today is used in the construction of public infrastructure, consumer products and basically everything,” Kornet wrote. “This adds a tremendous amount of possibilities for creative projects because the range of people who value design is much broader than that during the Renaissance.” This added creativity and purpose behind graphic design work is what appeals to many artists like Harrison. Harrison started out training in contemporary realist art before shifting some of her focus towards graphic design work. Harrison thinks creating work for a client is what distinguishes graphic design from other forms of art. She’s fond of learning people’s visions and thinking about the overall message they hope to convey as she makes her work. “I love the fact that graphic design is such a practical use of art in order to advertise, market and brand companies and people,” Harrison said. “I think it’s awesome I can do that for people.” No matter what the message or vision is for a design, it often circles back to the people themselves. “Design is a deeply human practice, and it takes a lot of empathy to design things that other people will love,” Kornet wrote. “The process is both gratifying and eye-opening.” COURTESTY OF JACK KARNET
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WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
How ‘The Decameron’ launched the Renaissance SOPHIE WASLOWSKI Daily Arts Writer
I didn’t know the book had a naked woman on it when I asked for it as a Christmas present. I had first heard of it from my world history teacher in high school, in an offhand comment during one of her tangents I had come to know could be as educational as the class material itself. She had been lecturing on the Italian Renaissance that day, about enlightenment and scientific reasoning, when she stopped mid-sentence and asked if we had heard of Giovanni Boccaccio. Met with only blank stares, she launched into a speech about how Boccaccio’s “The Decameron” was an extremely influential work of fiction and above all the very manifestation of fun itself. I was intrigued by her description of the book but didn’t think much of it until my aunt asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I couldn’t think of anything, until suddenly “The Decameron” came to my mind. I loved reading and was always looking for a good book, so I thought I’d give it a try and see whether or not it was all my teacher claimed it was. I didn’t realized what I was getting myself into until my aunt called the next day, asking if my mother thought “The Decameron” was an appropriate gift for a fourteen year old. “There’s a naked lady on the cover,” I heard her inform my mother over the phone. My mother assured her it was fine and said I’d heard about it from a respected teacher. “I just wanted to make sure you were aware,” was my aunt’s reply. After my mother had hung up the phone, she asked me what the book was about. I realized I had no idea, so I simply shrugged and said “the Italian Renaissance.” On Christmas Eve, as my family finished dinner and
began watching our traditional holiday movies, our phone rang. No one thought much of it at first. My father excused himself to answer it and when he came back I could tell from the expression on his face that it was “the call.” The one that crossed my mind every time the phone rang, that made my heart speed up and my hands begin to sweat. The one we had been waiting for since the nurses told us my grandmother wasn’t doing well, and that we should visit if we wanted to say goodbye. My grandmother died that night and I did not know what to do. She was the only grandparent I had known and with one phone call she was gone. It was a delicate dance of balancing our grief and celebrating Christmas. We cried that night but opened presents the next day. It was strange and uncomfortable, a new territory none of us knew how to navigate. My parents spoke to my relatives to plan her funeral and arrange travel itineraries, while I sat in my room, unsure of what exactly I was supposed to be doing. I started reading “The Decameron” then, partly because I didn’t know what else to do and partly because I always read, and reading made things feel more normal in a way. I soon discovered “The Decameron” was about a group of friends who go to the countryside to wait out the Black Death and pass the time by telling each other stories. The work is set up as a frame story, or a series of smaller stories within one larger, overarching story. The main story is that of the friends trying to escape the plague, while the smaller stories are the ones they tell each other. Ten stories are told each day and each day has a certain theme. The themes range from trickster stories to adventures that go wrong but end happily, among others. Although I didn’t realize it
at the time, “The Decameron,” which Boccaccio wrote around 1353, was arguably one of the most influential works written during the Renaissance. The majority of writing and published work before “The Decameron” focused on religion or the aristocracy. “The Decameron” marked a shift toward literature about everyday people. It focuses not on lords or wealthy royals, but a group of commoners. It provided average people with the rare chance to read a book in which they were the stars. After “The Decameron,” there was an increase in work written with a frame-story structure, something that arguably laid the groundwork for the structure of Cervantes’ “Don Quixote.” “Don Quixote” is considered by many to be the first real “novel” that resembles the novels in modern day society. By extension, it can be said “The Decameron” helped make the novels we have today possible. Beyond its influence during and after the Renaissance, what struck me the most about the novel was the way it grappled with death and mortality. It was written in the wake of one of the most devastating plagues humans have known, yet the stories themselves are mostly about having fun. It’s a work filled with wit, humor and stories about humans following their desires and simply having a good time. As one of the blurbs on the back of my copy stated, “It’s purely a celebration of being alive.” Essentially, Boccaccio’s response to such death and destruction was to live. To enjoy life while it’s possible to and pursue happiness and fulfillment without holding back. In the wake of my grandmother’s death, it helped me see that life in a way is more meaningful because it does not last forever, and we must try to make the most of the time we have.
with few changes and Olivia Hussey (“Social Suicide,” another “Romeo and Juliet” remake that brought Hussey and her co-star together again) with her intense eyes, bringing a sophisticated air to Juliet that is missing when a high school freshman reads the play in their head. Not only that, but Leonard Whiting (“Social Suicide”) is a Zac Efron look-alike
1996 performance as Romeo was flawless — the boyish charm and agonizingly “passionate” death of the enamored teenager was a perfect practice run for Jack in “Titanic.” Claire Danes (“A Kid like Jake”), like Hussey, turned Juliet from a whiny 13-yearold girl to a slightly less whiny but still naïve 17-year-old ’90s chick. Luhrmann’s take on this definitive storyline demonstrates that it is very possible to make an appealing and dramatic version of “Romeo and Juliet” without relying on gimmicks like gnomes or even modern day language. The beauty of Shakespeare’s English isn’t taken away to make the movie more palatable; instead, “Romeo and Juliet” and its characters are imbued with ’90s fashion and grime only serving to make the play even more passionate and heartfelt than the original. This renaissance of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” in film has helped the play maintain relevance and adapt to changing technology. The classic tale is, and will forever remain, a pillar in romantic movies for years to come.
WALT DISNEY STUDIOS MOTION PICTURES
The steadiness of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ across time EMMA CHANG Senior Arts Editor
The popularity of star-crossed lovers is anything but tragic — we relish in the misfortune of the characters and celebrate when, against all odds, the two manage to find a way. The most famous pair is, of course, Romeo and Juliet. We all know their story: Two teenagers fall in love and, eventually, both die due to a serious lack of communication skills. Such a simple and, at this point, cliché idea. Yet, the play remains a staple on high school reading lists and Hollywood continually uses this Italian Renaissance-era tale in a variety of modern-day remakes. “Gnomeo and Juliet,” a 2011 retelling, follows two gnomes from rival gardens in their quest
for love. Emily Blunt (“A Quiet Place”) and James McAvoy (“Glass”) star in the Disney remake that never truly strays from the original, aside from the occasional break into song and dance and the fact that Romeo and Juliet are, in fact, gnomes. The movie even tries to open with the famous first lines from the play, but it eventually devolves into a peppy depiction of the blackand-white or, rather, blue-andred, feud between the Capulets and Montagues. “Gnomeo and Juliet” far from set the standard for “Romeo and Juliet” retellings, but it was a colorful take on the classic. A better known, and a little more subtle, remake is one of my personal favorites: “High School Musical.” The warring families take the form of Troy’s jock family and Gabriella’s beloved geeks
all in East High’s own fair Verona: An obscenely nice cafeteria in Albuquerque, New Mexico. On top of that, Chad (Corbin Bleu, “Jump In”), in the form of several basketball-related puns, brings new life to Mercutio’s character while Taylor (Monique Coleman, “Broken Star), as captain of the Scholastic Decathlon team, provides the manic energy of Juliet’s nurse. Like most familyfriendly remakes of “Romeo and Juliet,” there is no death (unless you count that of Sharpay and Ryan’s theater careers), but there is a major fight scene ending with Gabriella’s lunch on Sharpay. Maybe the “High School Musical” comparison is a bit of a stretch, but it does beg the question: What makes these remakes so popular? People obviously still enjoy the play, and without it nobody would truly
understand the ramifications of two people falling in love, despite every Magic 8 ball telling them “Outlook not so good.” But then, why not just see the original? The classic response is that retellings give the play accessibility, that by simplifying Shakespeare’s original work into something more “palatable” it becomes a piece for the masses. But modernday spin-offs of “Romeo and Juliet” lose the ridiculousness of two teenagers (one not even old enough to give consent!) falling in love in the span of two days, all while their families are fighting for no obvious reason and biting their thumbs at one another. That’s what makes film adaptations so appealing — no one is putting their own spin on Shakespeare’s famous take (which, for all intents and purposes, was a remake in itself.) In 1968, Franco Zeffirelli brought us a “Romeo and Juliet”
The classic tale is, and will forever remain, a pillar in romantic movies in years to come. — if that’s not proof that “High School Musical” is a “Romeo and Juliet” spin-off, I don’t know what is. The most famous of the remakes, however, stars the oneand-only Leonardo DiCaprio (“Titanic”). A renaissance man in name as well as looks, DiCaprio’s
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The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
B-SIDE: TV
B-SIDE: MUSIC
HBO
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Tracking the rise and the Reforming the methods of fall of TV’s golden age consuming music, media SAMANTHA DELLA FERA Daily Arts Writer
At the outset of its creation, television was an indicator of status. Only the rich could have more than four channels, a colored screen and a TV larger than a window. Now, television is one of the most accessible forms of media. With streaming services galore and channels cranking out new content every day, we appear to be in the midst of a renaissance of television — or perhaps, reaching the end of one. Let’s take a step back for a second — 7,368 steps back to be exact. That is how many days its been since “The Sopranos” debuted on HBO. The premiere of “The Sopranos” marks the beginning of the TV renaissance, essentially making David Chase the television equivalent of Masolino or DaVinci. Before “The Sopranos,” television was nothing more than a medium of distraction for middle class Americans. Then Tony Soprano lost his ducks, and the entire country sat at attention. “The Sopranos” showed viewers that television could be deep, heartfelt, witty and brutal all at once. It ended the parade of loveable characters whose only job on screen was to appear relatable and deliver polished one liners, and paved the way for 20 years of topnotch television. Then came the early 21st century, and TV screens were f looded with audacious programs. First up was David Simon’s “The Wire,” an intrepid pursuit to follow the narcotics scene of Baltimore through the eyes of both the drug dealers and those trying to stop them. Then came “Lost,” “Dexter,” “Breaking Bad” and “Mad Men,” all truly incredible shows (yes, that alpha male in your life was right about one thing) that developed cult followings and stay relevant and beloved to this day. Of course, the golden age of television is not to the credit of only these dramatic, masculinity-heavy expositions. Comedy, too,
HBO
saw a rise in both popularity and quality as the 2000s progressed. With sitcom staples like “Seinfeld” and “Friends” coming to an end in the late ’90s and early 2000s respectively, new half-hour comedies were a highlydemanded luxury. Larry David’s recently-rebooted “Curb Your Enthusiasm” took care of that need, swooping in at such a perfect time it’s as if David ended “Seinfeld” for the sole purpose of replacing it with this show. Soon after, shows including “Scrubs,” “Arrested Development,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and “30 Rock” came marching onto American screens like a militia dedicated to the preservation of great comedy, and this is all before 2010. Coming into the 2010s,
Comedy, too, saw a rise in both popularity and quality and the 2000s progressed.
television had already been established by the previously mentioned shows to be a complex and dynamic form of media. Yet there was still a glaring problem: TV was still pretty white. Casts were full of homogenous people leading fairly similar lives, with the occasional token minority thrown in as a sidekick or the butt of a joke. The growth of television in the 2010s came with the growth of representation, ranging from the inclusion of people of color to the LGBTQ community in all kinds of roles. Netf lix’s “Orange Is the New Black” is an early example of this, depicting trans women, lesbian relationships and complex characters of color
in a popular, groundbreaking show. Of course, the setting of a prison creates a problematic association with these characters, but it laid the groundwork for later shows to take the reins in representation to fight the ingrained television principle that only middle class white Americans can be cast as primary characters. Looking at television today, you’ll see an array of faces, backgrounds and storylines that are starting to align more equally with what being an “American” means. Shows like “Brooklyn 99,” “blackish,” “One Day at a Time” and “Master of None” are diverse and tackle contemporary issues without making them the forefront of their storylines. The renaissance of television has experienced a renaissance within itself — one of representation. Though media representation is nowhere near matched to the population of the United States, it is on the rise, from primetime comedies to Disney Channel originals. Some will say that the golden age of television is coming to a storied end. There is so much television now that the market is oversaturated, reaching a slow but sure collapse. While many iconic shows are ending this year — including “Broad City,” “Veep” and “Game of Thrones” — that’s not to say that even greater shows won’t take their place. There was a time nobody could imagine a world beyond “The Sopranos,” “Lost” or “Breaking Bad,” but here we are. People will always look for something accessible and entertaining to rally around, to bond with millions of strangers and see themselves in the faces of characters they love. Maybe you can’t stand sitting through a two-hour film or the thought of trying to figure out which music streaming service to subscribe to makes you want to scream. There will always be a Homer Simpson to laugh at, a Carrie Bradshaw to aspire to, a Don Draper to hate, a Lorelai Gilmore to cry with. They may just have a different face.
MADELEINEVIRGINIAGANNON Daily Arts Writer
Flipping through the channel guide over spring break, I stumbled across an early 2000s gem in my Florida-heat fueled haze: “Hannah Montana.” For those readers who are (sadly) unfamiliar with the show, “Hannah Montana” was a children’s television program from Disney’s longgone Golden Age. The show followed the shenanigans of a teenage popstar: By day, she was Miley Stewart, a “normal” teenage girl; by night, the international celebrity, Hannah Montana. As I reminisced while binging, my thoughts swirled around the program’s iconic catchphrase and the refrain of its title song, “You get the best of both worlds.” This concept of maintaining dual identities was true to both the show, and Miley Cyrus’s actual career. “Hannah Montana” was Cyrus’s alter-ego, a way for Cyrus to maintain a normal life while also pursuing a very public career. This idea of cultivating a separate, public image has also been significant within the greater music industry, too. Having a public image, or alterego, allowed artists to push boundaries and focus on their careers without compromising their personal lives. Take, for instance, Lady Gaga and stunts like the iconic meat dress. Her early public image catered to the shocking, strange and creative, and these displays significantly contributed to Lady Gaga’s ascension to global fame. In turn, the persona “Lady Gaga” protected the creator, Stefani Germanotta, from the darker edge of fame. Of course, the practice of crafting a particular celebrity image hasn’t been used by all artists, nor has it always been successful. For some, it may have been necessary — whether to grab attention, or to preserve some treasured privacy — while for others, it
may have simply been for fun. After all, who hasn’t envisioned what their stage name might be, or who they could be, with a little fame (and a little money, too). Some artists have even utilized temporary identities to produce and perform music that otherwise conflicted with their already developed image: Think of David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust,” or Hank Williams’s “Luke the Drifter.” And while Hannah Montana’s fan-base was limited to prepubescent youth, the concept of “Hannah Montana” — what she represented, and how she came into being — exemplifies this practice of separating private and personal life within the public spotlight. The music industry, however, is changing. The public of the 21st century is demanding a
privacy. Part of this is a result of social media culture, which encourages individuals to share the minutiae of daily life. On the other hand, the ease with which information is shared with nearly uninhibited accessibility also makes it easy for the personal lives of high profile individuals to be exposed. Whether it’s scrutinizing the President’s tweets, gossiping over voyeuristic tabloid shots or analyzing the ups and downs of the Kardashian family politics via Instagram “follows,” everything is up for grabs. Now, artists are obligated to not only impress the public with their performances and entertainment value, but also uphold their personal reputations. Nothing highlights this better than the recent string of sexual assault scandals which dog the steps of some of the most esteemed members of the global music industry. From R. Kelley to the King of Pop Michael Jackson, no one is exempt from the public demand for accountability and transparency. And whether you believe the allegations against these two aforementioned stars or not –– and that’s simply scraping the surface of the disconcerting, dark underbelly of the celebrity ranks –– the 21st century has declared itself to be the end of an era where fame and fortune are enough to impede the quest for justice. That is not to say that this is the end of excitement and creativity within music. Rather, the music industry is slowly shifting to accommodate this demand for transparency. The artist has reached a new level of significance. Not only must their music be inspiring and original, but the artist themself must similarly be an individual of good character, moral and principle. This is the so-called “renaissance” of the music industry. Now, who is making the music we consume, and how it is being made, is just as important (if not more) as the art itself.
The music industry, however, is changing. The public of the 21st century is demanding a reform: These days it seems the fine-art of “show-biz” is out, and transparency is now in.
reform: These days it seems the fine-art of “show-biz” is out, and transparency is now in. No longer do global audiences want a carefully cultivated celebrity persona. Instead, listeners desire authenticity, vulnerability and truth. In the past, artists could hide behind the shield of a stagename, a wig or an eye-catching outfit. However, in the digital age it is becoming more and more difficult for anyone — celebrity or regular Joe — to maintain
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Contemporary visual art and the Italian Renaissance ROSS ORGIEFSKY Daily Arts Writer
The Italian Renaissance was the birth of Western art as it is known today. When asked to think of “great” paintings, minds often conjure Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa,” Michelangelo’s program on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel or Sandro Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus.” These works were revolutionary, especially compared to the Byzantine iconography which they succeeded. It brought a new emphasis on naturalism and modeling, an attempt to show nature as it is (or, perhaps, as better than it is). The Renaissance also saw the invention of the one-point — or linear — perspective, one of the many techniques that made their mark on art history. The era saw a momentary return to the artistic origins of the ancients, a re-birth of the aptitude for creation found in antiquity. But the “Mona Lisa” is more than a pretty picture — Renaissance works are important to art and society today. Art has implications and it can be a tool to help individuals interface with the world. “The thing about art is that it can give us opportunities and incentives to look at things differently,” History of Art Professor Thomas Willette wrote in an email interview
with The Daily. In the Renaissance, art was often sacred: as a devotional object to aid worship, but more importantly as a guidebook. Art was a visual depiction of how to be a good Catholic; most, if not all, art coming from the Italian Renaissance was by and for Catholics. Art was deeply intertwined with religion, and thus secular themes in art were not well received. Nudity in the Sistine Chapel, for instance, was seen as so distasteful that the church had some of
and international relations. Tensions in Israel and Palestine, as well as in the Gulf and on the Arabian Peninsula can all be attributed in part to religion. Contemporary art may be able to play a mediating role, or art historians may look back upon today and see religious/ sectarian loyalty in the art of our time. “Contemporary art is capable of mitigating the kinds of political and cultural tensions that are, rightly or wrongly, justified by claims about religious tradition and
The era saw a momentary return to the artistic origins of the ancients, a rebirth of the aptitude of creation found in antiquity.
Michelangelo’s fresco work painted over after his death. The Italian aristocracy was dependent on and often a part of the church. Even independent patronage was often done by members of the clergy. Recent history has shown that religion remains a powerful cultural force, guiding politics
identity. It can do so by showing us thought experiments in which the spiritual side of religion is pried loose from the political and cultural hotbutton issues that have become opportunistically attached to religion,” Willette wrote. The Renaissance also saw a new importance placed on the
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From tragedy to triumph, or the evolution of Versace MARGARET SHERIDAN Daily Style Editor
When fashion designer Gianni Versace was murdered outside of his luxurious mansion in Miami Beach, Florida, the devastated fashion world assumed the iconic brand was dead. With the house’s fearless leader gone at a mere 50 years, designers and style connoisseurs alike were
prepared to leave his brand in the dust. After all, in fashion, one day you’re in, as for the next day … well you know the rest. The atelier was in shock. His death came before the knockout that was the Versace Ready-to-Wear collection at Milan Fashion Week in 1991, where model icons like Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford walked down the runway as a force to be reckoned with, singing along
to George Michael’s ‘Freedom’, all sporting bold colors and silhouettes: a style that can only be associated with the work of Gianni Versace. It seemed artistic moments like this were no longer going to be a product of the renowned brand. Yet, how is it that today, in 2019, Versace is just as integral as it was in the ’90s? The answer: Versace never really died. The iconic namesake was never tarnished, in fact the entire
Thursday, March 14, 2019 — 5B
artist. Today, the person behind the art matters a great deal. Artists like Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons are currently active and worth fortunes on their names alone. Artists as celebrity figures are evident in the recent past (Warhol, for example), but present-day artist-celebrities are few and far between. The large personalities who take a business-like approach to art (Koons worked on Wall Street for a time) crowd the scene and may doom the less networkingsavvy artists to the shadows. The Italian Renaissance saw an increased emphasis on the artist themself. In some cases, the artist was able to rise through social ranks and interact with the aristocracy. Jeff Koons may be a particularly worthwhile case to examine. “Artists in the early modern period … earned their livings either as clients of wealthy patrons or through the market,” Willette wrote. “Very few rose to the kind of social status enjoyed by a Raphael or a Michelangelo, who were able to work almost like modernday contractors. That kind of independence requires a lot of fame and a lot of connections in high places. The vast majority of artists were members of trade guilds and took orders for bespoken work, often never meeting the people who paid them. The idea that artists were highly respected during the Renaissance is mostly a myth created by wishful-thinking artists and art-lovers in the 19th century, particularly during what we call the Romantic period. The mass-celebrity and wealth that big-name artists can command now did not exist before the international art market became highly developed, so that is largely a phenomenon of the 19th and especially the 20th century.” One key Enlightenment thinker was Johann Joachim Winckelmann. He looked to the Greeks as creating art of “noble simplicity and quiet grandeur.” His focus was on art that improved upon nature, rather than merely copying it. Naturalism was not his ideal, but rather idealization of the natural forms. This interest in the superstructural beauty of nature, composed of the ideal parts of other forms, calls to mind the story of Zeuxis, painting Helen of Troy via the fragmented images of several different models. This idealization certainly has implications in terms of selfimage, and these implications should not be ignored. The other question, however, is in this constant self-referentiality. Winckelmann looked to the Greeks, and myths like the one
mentioned above. In the same manner, Bronzino referred to the Belvedere Torso when painting “Portrait of Cosimo I de’ Medici as Orpheus” from 1537 to 1539. Marcel Duchamp took an actual print of the Mona Lisa and edited it for
his “L.H.O.O.Q.” in 1919. This inspiration from the past is common and noteworthy. Winckelmann looked to the Greeks for artistic perfection in the same way artists during the Italian Renaissance looked to antiquity for inspiration and subject matter. Today’s art refers to antiquity in many ways; new revelations about once-painted marble statues may change the significance of antiquities themselves. “What we are learning about the original coloring of ancient Greek and Roman statues is not entirely new, but various technical refinements, now assisted by digital media, have made it possible to create and disseminate striking hypothetical reconstructions of the appearances of such works, (I stress hypothetical), and many people today seem to like the idea. Remember a few years back when it became fashionable to think that dinosaurs were probably brightly colored, like today’s birds, and not all dusky dark green and brown?” Willete wrote. “Fortunately, we have a bit more evidence where the coloring of ancient marble statues is concerned. The popular traveling exhibition “Gods in Color: Polychromy in the Ancient World” is probably an annoyance to white supremacist groups like Identity Evropa, who have been recruiting a lot of statuary to their cause in recent years, but I can’t agree with those who think that taking the white stone men away from white supremacists is the main reason to get excited about the investigation of polychromy in antiquity. Besides, no amount of color and vivid patterning can change the fact that most
people living in ancient Greece or ancient Rome were slaves.” The proliferation of art in the Renaissance would not have occurred without institutional and individual patronage. The Catholic church, clergymen and wealthy families like the Medici clan spent immense amounts of money on art, sculpture and architecture. Art was a status symbol, as it remains in some regard today. The work of artists who have been inducted to the canon of Western art is worth millions. Supporting artists — in contemporary times and in the recent — is a difficult task. The starving artist trope is not a lie. In Enlightenment-era France, as well as in Renaissance Italy, the state was a huge provider of arts patronage. While the United States has the National Endowment for the Arts, patronage is not given the same importance. This has its pros and cons. While the state has no say in what contemporary art is, it does leave important projects with cultural and societal significance unfunded. “The U.S. government can become a significant patron of art, perhaps even on a par with the court of Louis XIV, but many changes in our ruling culture and institutions will have to start coming about, and I don’t see any evidence of that at the moment. The Works Progress Administration was a highly successful New Deal agency, and it did a lot of good without any help from the art market, but that was the 1930s and early ’40s, when many people evidently believed that 1) the imaginative experience of art can help to make one a better person, and 2) the state is capable of assisting our better angels. Neither of these ideas seems to have much credibility today,” Willette wrote on the issue. The Italian Renaissance continues to offer valuable lessons to this day. The revolutionary nature of art is not constant, and the evolution of contemporary art is fluid and enigmatic. To gain better insight into contemporary art, and the interaction of art with society today, it is beneficial to understand the roots of Western art and note the differences between 15th century Italy, 18th century France and 21st century America. Art is always in a renaissance. Stagnancy recoils at the sight of the artist. There will always be something new in art, and it is worthwhile to understand the past to better understand self-referentiality, new impacts of old themes and the role of the artist in contemporary society.
house completely embodies the renaissance: In every corner of the Versace legacy from the evolution of Donatella Versace to the overall aesthetic of the brand’s recognizable pattern, color and silhouettes, Versace essentially started the trend of rebirth. Model powerhouses like Gigi Hadid and Shalom Harlow regularly walk the Versace runway, and they do so proudly. Although the loss of fashion genius Gianni Versace was a setback, instead of giving up and abandoning what remained of Versace’s legacy, the entire atelier used this loss and change to completely revolutionize the brand, the center of this revolution being Donatella Versace. Initially the muse for the company, Donatella Versace was her brother’s main source of inspiration. At the time of her brother’s death she was not completely involved with the designing of the luxury items, but rather the Versace poster child. But it is her shift in roles that completely defines Versace as the renaissance. Donatella Versace took what she knew about the company’s tradition and maintained it, embracing the changes and rebirth that came with her face as the new brand of the company. Ads for the company’s 2019 collections embrace the concept of change and breaking from tradition. In an interview with The New York Times, Versace explains the pressure she felt to keep Versace relevant after her brothers passing and how to ensure their customers the
brand would survive. In reality, instead of hiding behind the death of her brother, Versace pushed the brand further. “I like branding, all the time. It’s what I do,” said Versace. Where she could have stepped down, Donatella Versace gave customers and designers no excuses not to remember the Versace name, playing with patterns and layers so bold, one has no choice not to stop and remember a Versace design or textile. To this day, Donatella Versace is revamping what her late brother created, redesigning the iconic leather strap for the dress she wore in 1994 — undoubtedly remembered as one of the most iconic pieces of its time — for the 2019 Fall/Winter collection. In 2017, she even nodded to the aforementioned 1991 Milan show, paying tribute to iconic Gianni Versace by inviting models from the 1991 show to walk the runway in classic Versace prints, including butterf lies and Vogue covers. So, while Gianni’s Versace textiles have always visually and aesthetically embodied the renaissance — never straying from the boldest of patterns or layering — making even those most unfamiliar with fashion recognize a Versace print or silhouette, the true embodiment of the renaissance lies in the strateg y of branding that Donatella Versace has focused in on so clearly that, 22 years later, the Versace atelier is still the key to luxury and extravagance in fashion and style. In today’s fashion world,
consumers and designers are constantly encouraged to purge their fashion palettes, clearing room in closets and on sewing tables for new pieces and collections. Versace could have easily taken the traditional route, dividing the work of her brother Gianni from what she would create after his death. She could have completely rebranded the Versace atelier, but she chose to make her company even more bold and unforgettable, a strateg y that has in turn branded Versace as one of the most consistent and powerful fashion houses in the industry. When the phrase renaissance in fashion comes to mind, I would argue Versace’s oriental prints are the exact visual depiction of this era, the word change a close second thought. Yet Donatella Versace’s own renaissance involved little change, rather a focus on the existing, a choice that completely revolutionized fashion, a world where we are constantly ready to consume something new in order to abandon the old. The rebirth of Versace under Donatella’s name did not require completely going back to the drawing board for an entirely new aesthetic, and, lucky for the fashion world, a new wave of Versace was never born. There were just constant reminders of the Versace name and focus on expanding the existing, pushing for something even bolder. A telltale that consistency can, against all odds, activate change: A true, modern renaissance.
The Italian Renaissance saw an increased emphasis on the artist themself.
Arts
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Detroit: A sustainable city is not a segregated one BEN VASSAR
Daily Arts Writer
We rarely agree on what exactly gentrification means. To some, it merely suggests the improvement of a neighborhood. To others, the word inherently implies displacement. It could also suggest the forced removal of lower income peoples from a neighborhood due to economic push factors brought on by middle class investment. But is it gentrification if there’s improvement with no displacement? Can only poorer neighborhoods be subject to gentrification? And, most importantly, is gentrification really so bad after all for cities like Detroit? In a phone interview with The Daily, Joel Stone, a senior curator at the Detroit Historical Society, said “The word gentrification has a negative connotation.” Though the word itself was only popularized in the ’70s, it seemed to me that many people’s perceptions of the word was no different from what people before the ’70s would have merely described as “development.” But this isn’t all gentrification is. Since its introduction into mainstream media, “gentrification” has always carried racist and classist undertones that “development” doesn’t. “Historically, there have always been lower income people in places around the city that have been displaced,” Stone said. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. One such example of this is the Brush Park neighborhood. Now part of Detroit’s midtown, Brush Park was once entirely farmlands. Under pressure from developers, these farmers were forced to sell their land and move further out from the city center. This feels different from what we would consider gentrification today, though. White farmers moving out to what we now accept as the suburbs to make way for the city to grow? Isn’t this how all American cities came about? Stone then cited a photo in the Detroit Historical Museum’s collection of the General Motors building going up alongside tenement houses in the 1920s. In a neighborhood
once considered on the wrong side of the tracks, GM singlehandedly redefined a new city center (called “New Center”) over the course of the next few decades. “Did that improve the area? It did. Did it make that part of Detroit’s history? Absolutely. Did they remove lower income people? Absolutely,” Stone said. What differentiates Detroit’s current gentrification and the Brush Park case? In the Brush Park example, low-density land on the edge of a booming city was replaced with new, medium-density housing. People were displaced and emotional damage was surely done, but less so than in the higher-density displacement of the residents of the New Center. Wasn’t the mediumdensity housing there already comprising a viable city neighborhood? What right did GM have to displace these lower-income immigrant families from the city they were trying to make succeed in? “I suppose there are people who would argue, ‘Were they (the neighborhoods) viable? Or were they barely surviving?’ In which case the inf lux of new renters, renters with more money may be raising the viability standard,” Stone said, describing both historical and present-day examples of gentrification. This is the issue at hand in Detroit. In a city where the poverty rate differs significantly between the city’s core and the metropolitan area as a whole — 36 percent and 15 percent respectively — isn’t middle class investment a welcome change? Not if it creates a city blatantly divided by race, and certainly not if it forces minority families that have been sustaining the city for almost a century now to move out all together. To discuss the more personal effects of poverty and gentrification in Detroit, I spoke with Otiyah RossChapman, youth and young adult ministry chairperson at the Conant Avenue United Methodist Church in Conant Gardens, Detroit. RossChapman said she’s yet to see any examples of gentrification in the neighborhood, which is located just south of 7 Mile
Road. What she does see, however, is the struggle many neighborhood residents go through to put food on the table on a regular basis. At a local level, she believes that anchoring neighbors in the church and investing in youth are the two ways to deter gang violence and elevate residents to a higher ground than they currently stand on. “If you reach out to the children, then eventually you’ll get their parents. We have programs that allow children to come off the street, like the arts
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downtown since 2010 — which involves $5.6 billion spent across over about 100 properties and the employment of 17,000 people — has led to unprecedented growth in the Woodward Avenue area of downtown. But it’s unclear just how much of this investment is reaching neighborhoods beyond downtown. According to an editorial in The Detroit News, “In 2000, there were over 100,000 African American families in Detroit who earned $40,000 or more. In 2016, after adjusting for inf lation, there were only 44,000.” This makes a difference in a city where 79 percent of the population is African American, according to the 2010 U.S. Census (and even more so in Conant Gardens, where 93 percent of residents identify as such). And it doesn’t seem that Gilbert’s investment is helping. According to City Lab, jobs for Detroiters decreased from 46,309 in 2007 to 29,875 in 2014, while jobs for non-Detroiters increased from 75,000 to 88,000 over that same period. This ref lects a general trend of educated, middle-class people moving to Detroit’s suburbs for higher standards of living, and the resultant drainage of cash f low from the inner city. While the greater trend has been towards this suburbanization, contemporary examples of gentrification and inner-city development do exist. Joel Stone cites the development of Cass Corridor, Corktown, Woodbridge and several others as examples of places where the stabilization of downtown has pushed development beyond its borders.
What right did GM have to displace these lower-income immigrant families from the city they were trying to succeed in?
program allows for the children to come off the street rather than run to the gangs so they can come and work on their art. And we have a summer program for when they’re out of school and they’re hungry. It’s called a ‘meet up and eat up’ program … and that allows for them to come out and get something to eat and allows for them to learn academically as well as have social skills,” Ross-Chapman said. There are also other programs the church is involved in. “We have a youth program where we do dance, step and choir. So that allows them to get in touch with their musical side, if they love to sing or if they love to drop beats, you know, whatever. And they can live you know, not live the lifestyle they’re living now because eventually we want them to do better. He changed their hearts, and made them into better citizens,” RossChapman said. Local change like this seems to contrast with the public’s visions of Detroit’s revitalization. Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert’s investment in Detroit’s
When I asked if the commercial activity that’s happening downtown and along Woodward spilled out into the adjacent communities at all, Stone replied yes. “I would say now that the downtown has been stabilized, it’s encouraging entrepreneurs to invest in those ancillary
neighborhoods. In other words, if somebody invests in a beautiful building on Woodward or in a historic building on Cass, it encourages people to invest in the building next to and around it, and, you know, they’re putting up new buildings where there weren’t, where there were parking lots. Now there are brand new apartment buildings, and once you get those in and it stabilizes the block or stabilizes three or four blocks, that encourages people to invest their time, their effort, their money in the blocks adjacent to that. It’s kind of a ripple effect. So maybe the folks who lived on Cass have been able to find housing three or four blocks further away, but that also means in another four or five years, assuming we remain on the same trajectory, that they may be looking for new housing in another five or ten years,” Stone said. If a block does become revitalized and ‘stabilized’, a lot of people may point to the fact that it doesn’t take going very far in Detroit to find new housing. It only takes a few blocks just because that downtown area is so concentrated, and Stone agrees. “There were parts of Brooklyn that got so run down that they probably had a similar (situation), but theirs has happened faster, and now so much of Brooklyn is taken up you can’t say that’s the possibility … in Detroit I noticed they just opened the Saint Regis building, which is great. That was a gorgeous, gorgeous building, it needed help … and, if you used to live in Saint Regis or in a building near there, you probably only have to go a few blocks to find a place that has a rent that you can afford,” Stone said. It may be happening more slowly than in other cities, but surely, Detroit’s downtown is gentrifying. And not all of the city’s talent is moving out either. According to Alan Mallach, “Since 2010, Detroit has seen an increase of 8,000 in the number of people 25 to 34 with a college degree living in the city. That’s a change after the steady decline of this group up to 2010, but it’s small compared to Pittsburgh (15,000), Baltimore (24,000), Philadelphia (44,000) and many other cities.” Alan Mallach is the author of “The Divided City: Poverty and Prosperity in Urban America” and a senior fellow at the Center for Community Progress in Washington, D.C. In accordance with Joel
SINGLE REVIEW: ‘BANDANA’
RCA
Freddie Gibbs and Madlib have been hip hop’s most iconic contemporary duo since Piñata released almost five years ago (and has aged like a fine wine since then). In 2016, Madlib announced a follow-up, Bandana, with little information other than that it would feature rejected beats from Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo. The only thing fans have had to go on since then has been cryptic Instagram pictures of Gibbs and Madlib in the studio. Finally, the album rollout has begun: Bandana’s debut single “Flat Tummy Tea” dropped in February. On Mar. 5, the duo dropped the titular single “Bandana” featuring Jamaican dancehall artist Assassin. The continuity in sound between Piñata and its upcoming successor is clear right from the beginning of ALEXIS RANKIN / DAILY
Stone’s analysis, Mallach’s book also points to Cass Corridor, Corktown, Woodbridge and Downtown as the neighborhoods where poorer people are being supplanted by higher rents the most. Additionally, supporting Stone’s ripple effect theory, Mallach claims that “future gentrification elsewhere is likely to be slow and incremental, affecting mainly blocks right next to the ones that are already gentrified.” So where does this leave neighborhoods like Conant Gardens? The slow, incremental crawl of development from downtown seems incredibly distant from the urban farms, vacant lots and boarded up homes that now comprise Detroit’s former workingclass and middle-class neighborhoods. The aims of Gilbert, founder of a mortgage lending company, seem even more distant. This is all in great contrast to the “blank slate” idea of Detroit that the media paints. Yes, there are $5,000 homes in Detroit. No, they don’t seem likely to be developed any time soon. Even if development continued at its current rate for another few decades, it would make two cities: One Black and one white. In order to form a sustainable city economy, Detroiters — and that means the majority African American families that have been sustaining the city for decades — would need to gain an additional 100,000 jobs on top of the supposed 30,000 to 40,000 they currently hold, according to Laura A. Reece, professor of political science and director of the Global Urban Studies Program at Michigan State University. It’s unclear whether the development of downtown would ever be able to spur a turnaround like this. Public investment in education and career development has failed in the past, and who’s to say this where the money would go? The ball is in Gilbert’s court. Detroit’s Black middle class needs to come back, and it’s anchor people like Otiyah RossChapman that are fighting for this. We can’t sit back and act like Detroit’s coming back when it’s not coming back for everyone. A sustainable city is not a segregated one. While the city’s downtown comes back and public funds accumulate, Detroit’s poorer communities need leaders to propel the next generation toward a more equitable future.
“Bandana,” with trademarkMadlib drums that echo Piñata’s opening track, “Supplier.” An eerie vocal sample and ghostly sound effects are layered over a spacey pad, making for a beat that conjures images of an alien invasion. Gibbs delivers his verse with fiery, painting a grim
‘Bandana’ MadGibbs RCA Records
picture of his gang-affiliated days slinging crack in Gary, Indiana. Gibbs’s lyrics are dense, filled with metaphors and slang that mirror the complexity of Madlib’s production. Assassin, best known (outside of Jamaica) for his features on
Kanye West’s “I’m In It” and Kendrick Lamar’s “The Blacker the Berry,” is a phenomenal guest: His ad-libs and reverbing backup vocals bring a menacing mood to the track, and his Jamaican-slang-filled verse carries over the energy from Gibbs’s. “Bandana,” simply put, goes hard. The moody instrumental and direct lyrics (“I ain’t bullshittin’,” as Gibbs says) are uncharacteristic of a single: They make for what sounds like a deep-album cut, something that will sound even better in the context of the whole record. If “Bandana” is any indicator, the eponymous album will be well worth the long wait.
— Dylan Yono, Daily Arts Writer