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New LSA dean welcomes students ACLU calls for back to school at pop-up event change to ‘U’ Activities outside Angell Hall include visit from surprise guest Anne Curzan policies on misconduct Civil rights organization takes issue with cross-examiniation protocol AMARA SHAIKH Daily News Editor
DANYEL THARAKAN/Daily New LSA Dean Anne Curzan plays cornhole with students at an event to introduce her to the U-M community in front of Angell Hall Thursday afternoon.
ARJUN THAKKAR Daily Staff Reporter
New LSA Dean Anne Curzan welcomed students back to campus with a pop-up event Thursday outside of Angell Hall to introduce herself to students. LSA representatives encouraged students walking by to chat with the dean and enjoy snacks and cornhole games during the event. LSA Communications Director Tamra Talmadge-Anderson credited the dean for having come up with the idea. “When we sat down and met with (Curzan) before she became dean, she said ‘It is so important to me that I connect with students, and I want to connect with them in ways that are fun and meaningful and give them the opportunity to talk with me,’” Talmadge-Anderson
said. According to Curzan, this is the first time the college has done this kind of spontaneous event to connect with students. The dean explained how, as she was planning her meetings at the beginning of the semester, she also wanted to hold an event to welcome undergraduates to LSA. Curzan worked with her team to plan the event three weeks ago, stressing the importance of play in an individual’s well-being as well as the importance of the connections between University faculty and students. “It’s really important to me that LSA be a place where students feel like they can explore, find the subjects that they love to study, feel connected to faculty and other mentors on campus and then connect that education to whatever they want the next chapter to be,” Curzan said.
ACADEMICS
LSA alum awarded prestigious fellowship Carly Marten to pursue project based in Ethiopia LIAT WEINSTEIN Daily Staff Reporter
This summer, recent LSA graduate Carly Marten was awarded the prestigious Wallenberg Fellowship to pursue a research project in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The award offers $25,000 to a graduating senior who is interested in public service to conduct a year-long, selfdesigned research project abroad. Henry Dyson, director of the Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships at the University of Michigan, said the fellowship attracts students with a willingness to take risks and strong interest in public service. “On the one hand, (they need) an entrepreneurial spirit,” Dyson said. See FELLOWSHIP, Page 3A
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Talmadge-Anderson explained how the event was designed to be a pop-up event and the department used social media to spread awareness of the event. The day before, the LSA Twitter page teased the event with the hint of a “special guest.” The day of the event, Curzan sent out an email sharing her vision for LSA and inviting students to join her that evening. Before becoming dean on Sept. 1, Curzan was an associate dean for the humanities as well as a professor of linguistics, education and English. She received a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University in English Language and Literature and appears regularly on Michigan Radio’s segment “That’s What They Say” about the English language. The dean explained how her work as a professor influences how she views her new position.
“We are as good as the people in the college, and so my job is to make sure that everybody can thrive,” Curzan said. “We’re gonna try to make sure that this is a place where students can enjoy learning … because that’s how you get the best education.” LSA sophomore Jasmine Glover was passing by when she saw the crowds. She spoke with the dean, who asked her about how her classes were going and told her to explore her interests and passions before committing to a major. Glover expressed appreciation for the opportunity. “She seems very enthusiastic about what she’s doing and really wants to help people,” Glover said. “It was really nice that she decided to do this and decided to come out and interact with us. That’s something I don’t typically see.” See DEAN, Page 3A
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and the American Civil Liberties Union Women’s Rights Project released a letter to the University of Michigan Thursday morning calling on the administration to change its interim student sexual misconduct policy. The investigative resolution pathway of the policy has students who file a sexual misconduct complaint undergo an in-person hearing and crossexamination. The interim policy was implemented on Jan. 9 due to a Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling. Though the outcome of the Sixth Circuit’s ruling allows students to directly crossexamine their accuser, it does not ban the employment of personal advisers — like attorneys — to conduct the procedure. It was the University that decided students alone must complete their own cross-examinations. According to Bonsitu Kitaba, deputy legal director at the ACLU of Michigan, the letter was written as a follow-up to the University after they rejected the ACLU’s request for a meeting. The meeting would have been for the purpose of further discussing the interim
Panelists discuss sexual assault at ‘The Hunting Ground’ showing Documentary viewing features expert conversation about rape on campus CALLIE TEITELBAUM Daily Staff Reporter
On Thursday night, the Ann Arbor District Library, in partnership with the University of Michigan’s Michigan Community Scholars Program, offered a free viewing of the 2015 documentary, “The Hunting Ground,” which depicts sexual violence on college campuses and the failures of universities to appropriately seek action against perpetrators of sexual assault. The viewing was followed by a panel discussion led by Elizabeth Seney, senior associate director of the U-M Office for Institutional Equity and Title IX Coordinator; Heather Colohan, program manager for the University’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center; and Kamaria Porter, U-M doctoral candidate and Title IX Project Lab manager. The film discussed the shame survivors feel in speaking out, the actions by universities to minimize reports of sexual
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assault and the role star atheletes have played in sexual assault allegations. Because the film was made in 2015, Seney discussed the changes and lack thereof she has
seen in the culture surrounding sexual misconduct. Seney said while there has been an increase in reporting incidents of sexual assault, that does not necessarily correlate with
an increase in action taken against perpetrators because it is dependent on the outcome desired by the person reporting the allegation. See DOCUMENTARY, Page 3A
policy with administrators and students. In the letter, the ACLU stressed how a policy that forces those accused of sexual assault or harassment to personally question their accuser could result in fewer sexual misconduct complaints, re-traumatization of those who made complaints and a hostile campus environment. The letter also urged the University to establish a new policy that better complies with Title IX and due process rights by having cross-examinations conducted by those who have legal training. Kitaba further emphasized the issue of students not having the option to employ a personal adviser for cross-examination. “It’s especially concerning because it prohibits ... the respondent’s or claimant’s adviser or representative from doing the cross-examination and actually requires that the students conduct it themselves,” Kitaba said. “It’s important to note that due process rights are vital to Title IX proceedings to ensure fairness for both parties, but the way the University has chosen to go about it completely undermines the Title IX process, as well as the safety and security of students on campus.” See ACLU, Page 3A
CAMPUS LIFE
Community still upset over Ross’ Trump ties Petition seeks to remove prominent donor’s name CLAIRE HAO
Daily Staff Reporter
KEEMYA ESMAEL/Daily
Title IX Coordinator, SAPAC Program Manager Heather Colohan, and the Title IX Project Lab Manager Kamaria Porter discuss different parts of the film “The Hunting Ground” at the Ann Arbor District Library Thursday evening.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 126 ©2019 The Michigan Daily
As students arrive back on campus, some in the University of Michigan community are once again calling on the University to sever ties with real estate developer Stephen M. Ross — the largest donor in the University’s history — following the controversy surrounding a re-election fundraiser he held for President Donald Trump in early August. When reports of the fundraiser broke, Ross’s name trended on Twitter nationwide, with many calling for boycotts of SoulCycle and Equinox, two luxury gym companies owned by Ross. Soon after, the companies released statements saying they did not support the fundraiser and are not affiliated with Ross’s political contributions. See ROSS, Page 3A
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MONDAY: Looking at the Numbers
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WEDNESDAY: This Week in History
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FRIDAY: Behind the Story
B EHIND THE STORY Every Friday, one Daily staffer will give a behind the scenes look at one of this week’s stories. This week, LSA junior Ethan Sears wrote about Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh and the intersection of football and family. “Well, when I got on the beat I knew I wanted to do some kind of deep dive on Harbaugh, and like the default angle on him when he got hired, was a bunch of people wrote the story of ‘Oh, he grew up in Michigan and he has this family,’ but obviously if you have this family that’s full of coaches, you’re going to have an inherent conflict there. I kind of just wanted to dive into it, and then I found out that Jack [Harbaugh] had had a heart attack three years ago and realized that that was the angle to take, Ethan Sears: “Jim Harbaugh’s drive home,” pages 4B & 5B
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
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Privatizing sexual health screenings will undoubtedly lower affordability and access to students who may or may not have personal insurance willing to cover the cost of the testing. This will further discourage students to get STI screened because they will likely have to pay some portion out-of-pocket, which is an added expense many cannot afford.”
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Rackham student Kaley Makino on the University’s decision to cut coverage of sexually transmitted infection testing at University Health Service.
Relationship Remix revamped Program for freshmen undergoes changes, updates for 2019-2020 school year BARBARA COLLINS
student feedback helping shape the workshop, as well as staying up-to-date with the latest developments in the changing field of sexual violence prevention and healthy relationships work,” Dros wrote. Nursing junior Ayla RayeLeonard began facilitating Relationship Remix as a sophomore. She said she noticed positive changes to the program curriculum this year. “(Relationship Remix) totally revamped the script,” RayeLeonard said. “They added in a lot more LGBTQ-friendly language, and the dental dam section is totally new, which is super cool and inclusive.” LSA freshman Jackson Strause participated in a Relationship Remix session Thursday evening. He said the program emphasized personal values while he expected it to include more aspects of sexual education. “Compared to a lot of other health classes I’ve had, the focus was shifted dramatically from more sexual related stuff
Daily Staff Reporter
Relationship Remix, a twohour workshop required for all freshmen and transfer students, got a makeover for the 2019-2020 school year. Previously led by student volunteers, the program instead hired 20 students this academic year as workshop facilitators. The program also updated some of the language used in its curriculum. Relationship Remix is a program partnership between the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center, Wolverine Wellness and First Year Experience. FYE Program Manager Danielle Dros wrote in an email to The Daily that the core curriculum of Relationship Remix continues to engage students in conversations about the importance of healthy relationships in all parts of their lives. “As we do every year, we Sudoku Syndication have updated portions of the Relationship Remix workshop with new activities with
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“(The instructors) came to more identity and values,” around and checked up on all of Strause said. us during the group sessions,” Strause said. “They were good instructors. They seemed to be enjoying what they were doing and they were really passionate.” Relationship Remix also added a graduate coordinator position that supports the program throughout the academic year. Students interested in becoming a Relationship Remix facilitator applied for the position in the spring of 2019, according to Dros. Those chosen students underwent an in-person interview that included a facilitation demonstration by applicants. The 20 selected attended a training process the week prior to the start of the fall The 20 paid program semester and began facilitating facilitator positions now Relationship Remix sessions offered by Relationship Remix Sept. 4. Relationship Remix looks last for the duration of the forward to learning how workshop season. http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ “This year, our student students and facilitators will facilitators will be staff, receive the changes that have where before we had student been made for the 2019 season, volunteers,” Dros wrote. “This Dros wrote. “This will help inform means we’ve got a strong core team that can really focus changes for 2020, as the on the program, and we can program is always evolving,” recruit great students earlier, Dros wrote. “We’ve already with additional training heard from some facilitators and support throughout the that they have appreciated having a tighter-knit group of workshop season.” In previous years, colleagues to lean on and that Relationship Remix consisted they have enjoyed the updated of about 80 volunteers. Raye- training for 2019.” This is LSA junior Caroline Leonard said the smaller group allows facilitators Shoopman’s first year as a to become more closely Relationship Remix program acquainted and comfortable facilitator. She said becoming a program facilitator this year working with each other. “Now it’s just 20 people, showed her ways to be a better and so it’s such a small group,” person. “Relationship Remix is the Raye-Leonard said. “It’s so nice, and you know everyone’s perfect example of what U of name and you can talk to them. M is like, just really socially During training, we do a lot of inclusive,” Shoopman said. “I’m team building and continuing always adapting and trying to (education) on different social make sure everyone is seen and issues … which was super heard … The more I do these nice, because you could work things, the more I want to hold with folks on a more intimate myself accountable because I want to be the model for other level.” Strause said he thought people. So it’s cool to feel like the instructors who led his you’re starting with yourself in session were very friendly to the community and people will follow.” the entire workshop.
They added in a lot more LGBTQfriendly language, and the dental dam section is totally new, which is super cool and inclusive.
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Friday, September 6, 2019 — 3A
A E R O S PA C E E N G I N E E R I N G DOCUMENTARY From Page 1A
DANYEL THARAKAN/Daily Aerospace engineering professor Kenneth Powell shares various examples of his recent social science research as part of the AE Chair’s Distinguished Seminar Series in the Francios-Xavier Bagnoud Building Thursday afternoon.
ACLU From Page 1A In an email, University spokeswoman Kim Broekhuizen said the University does not let attorneys conduct crossexamination for accessibility reasons. “It’s important to note, Doe v. Baum calls for a student or their advisor to conduct the cross-examination,” Broekhuizen wrote. “Questioning by personal advisors - often attorneys is not allowed at U-M out of concern that not all students would be able to afford counsel.” However, Kitaba said if the University noticed access to a personal adviser was an issue for students, then there should be more administrative efforts in place to help students obtain representation. “If the school has identified that there is a need for students to have equal representation in these proceedings, then the school should offer appointed reps for students who are unable to hire their own attorney,” Kitaba said. “The alternative to then require that students do their own cross-examination because they can’t afford attorneys is just simply uncalled for and unnecessary.” LSA sophomore Emma Sandberg is a founding member of former student group Jane Roe — the group that had contacted the ACLU of Michigan in February regarding the University’s interim Title IX policy. “I’m glad that the ACLU is stepping forward to make it very clear that the majority of people would feel that this is traumatizing and that this is a violation of civil rights and human rights,” Sandberg said. Sandberg said she feels it was irresponsible for the University to pursue a policy that makes students conduct cross-examinations directly.. “That is something that I consider to be cruel,” Sandberg said. “That is not something that is done in court. It astonishes me that administrators at the University somehow decided to make the policy this way. It’s unimaginable to me that they feel that this is the best solution.” Broekhuizen said moving forward, the University will continue efforts to develop the policy further. “We continue to evaluate the effectiveness of the interim policy through feedback from the student community,” Broekhuizen wrote. “U-M also is working to develop an umbrella policy for students, faculty and staff and separate procedures for students and employees, all of which will undergo vetting by our community.”
FELLOWSHIP From Page 1A “I mean that broadly in the sense of latching on to an idea. I think a lot of us have ideas, and we think ‘oh, somebody should do that.’ What I mean by entrepreneurial spirit is, ‘no really, somebody should do that — I should do that. What would it take to actually do that?’” Marten, who is currently conducting research at a sexual assault clinic housed in Addis Ababa’s Menelik II Hospital, chose to investigate the legal barriers to justice for survivors of sexual violence for her Wallenberg proposal. In an interview with The Daily, she noted how this fellowship aligned closely with her interests because it allowed her to adapt her project in ways she may not have been able to with other scholarships or fellowships. “The policy that I’ve had for myself is just basically to say ‘yes’ to anything that is offered to me,” Marten said. “It’s been such an honor to have that flexibility, and I’ve also been able to really follow my
ROSS From Page 1A Amid growing backlash, Ross defended his fundraiser to the Miami Herald, explaining he hoped to engage with political leaders on job creation and the economy while calling himself “an outspoken champion” of various social issues. Within the University community, opinions on the matter were divided. Some expressed it would be wrong for the University to disavow Ross based on his politics, while others believed Ross’s association with Trump did not align with the University’s values. Scott DeRue, dean of the Ross School of Business, sent an email to the Business School community after the news broke in August, emphasizing the school did not endorse the fundraiser. Yet some community members felt the school’s response was inadequate, including Business alum Kumar Rao, who started an alumni open letter — which has about 600 signatures at time of publication — asking the University remove Ross’s name from buildings campuswide. Last week, another alum created a Change.org petition with the same demand, this time open for anyone to sign. Created by University alum Logan Drummond, the petition has more than 200 signatures as of Wednesday night. Drummond explained he
curiosity. So, when my research strayed a little bit from our original proposal, I felt more at liberty to follow that path than maybe if I had tried to do a Fulbright.” Marten spent the summer of 2018 in Addis Ababa doing Fulbright research in the same field and chose to return to her project after receiving the Wallenberg Fellowship. Dyson said even though Marten’s research project was detailed and planned out well before the fellowship’s application deadline, her proposal had to be tweaked in order to fit specifically with the Wallenberg mission. “The key to this is that people should be applying to multiple scholarships, but they can’t just copy and paste from one opportunity to the other,” Dyson said. “You really have to understand (the scholarship). That was most of the work we did with Carly, it was ‘how do we take an existing Fulbright proposal and make this into a Wallenberg proposal that really understands Wallenberg’s story?’” The Wallenberg Fellowship and accompanying Wallenberg
created this petition because he believes Ross’s support of Trump may impact student well-being on campus. “Particularly for marginalized students at U-M, walking around and seeing the Ross name and knowing its associations with Trump now, it’d make them feel less welcome,” Drummond said. When asked about Rao’s open letter in early August, University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald told The Daily all donors’ political views are their own. In response to Drummond’s petition, Fitzgerald wrote the University’s stance on the issue remains unchanged. “Regarding calls to remove Stephen Ross’s name from the Ross School of Business: We will not do that,” Fitzgerald wrote. “We don’t exclude or include people from our university community based on their political views.” Like Rao, Drummond said he finds the University’s response lacking. “I see this petition as working in conjunction with (the alumni open letter) to increase the pressure,” Drummond said. “I hope to get a snowball rolling to increase the effects of both.” The recent controversy surrounding Ross’s support of Trump continues a series of incidents concerning free speech on campus, a debate playing out on college campuses nationwide. In March, Trump signed an executive order to protect free speech at universities in response to some who
Medal are named after Raoul Wallenberg, a University alum and Swedish diplomat who spent much of his adult life in Budapest working to save the last remaining Hungarian Jews from persecution during World War II. Wallenberg created a system of safe-houses in Budapest and distributed falsified Swedish visas and passports to Jews at risk of being sent to the concentration camps of Eastern Europe. In early 1945, as the war drew to a close, Wallenberg was arrested by Soviet forces and died in Moscow’s Lubyanka Prison two years later. John Godfrey, assistant dean for international education at Rackham Graduate School and chair of the Wallenberg Committee, said Wallenberg’s legacy as a humanitarian and University alum pushed him to establish a fellowship dedicated to serving the public good. “In Europe, he is recognized as being one of the great heroes of the Second World War,” Godfrey said. “This fellowship was established to bring his examples to the attention of our students, and to inspire them, and to encourage them to
embrace his view of life, which was to be adventuresome, to be willing to go out and see the world close up, to experience communities where people live, to not be intimidated by language barriers but to overcome them and to embrace humane values in the best and broadest sense.” Marten, who is working alongside a team of researchers in the clinic, said she hoped her research would both contribute meaningfully to the academic field and help survivors of sexual assault in Ethiopia seek out some form of justice. She noted how the established body of work in her area of study often does not include data from Ethiopia, making it an important place to conduct this research. “We want to be able to contribute to the literature in this field,” Marten said. “There’s a lot of sexual violence literature when you look at the larger international scope, but if you stick to Ethiopia, the literature, especially coming out of medical clinic spaces, is pretty minimal. We want to be able to contribute to that research community.”
believe conservative views are suppressed. When contacted in early August, LSA senior Maria Muzaurieta wrote on behalf of the University chapter of College Republicans the situation has led to unfair “slander” against Ross. College Republicans did not respond to requests for updated comment by time of publication. “Stephen Ross is a respectable and charitable Republican who has the right to affiliate with and fundraise for our nation’s president, Donald Trump,” Muzaurieta wrote. “We respect the rights of celebrities and businessmen alike to associate with whichever political figures they support and we believe that this extends to Stephen Ross and President Trump.” In response to those who disagree with renaming the Ross School of Business, Drummond emphasized he does not believe the issue is a violation of free speech. He said he sees Ross’s support of Trump as an endorsement of Trump’s rhetoric, which Drummond labeled as hate speech that should not be protected. Drummond questioned whether the University’s donors have too much of an inf luence over University policy. “Doesn’t this limit the free speech of students in a way?” Drummond said. “It makes our well-being lesser than that of wealthy donors.” On behalf of the University’s chapter of College Democrats,
Public Policy junior Camille Mancuso connected the situation to an issue of values instead of free speech. “University building names and donors are a ref lection of the school’s values,” Mancuso wrote in an email to The Daily. “Stephen Ross’s support of Trump ref lects values of racism and white supremacy. These are not the values that we hold as an organization, as individuals or as a school community.” In March 2018, the University’s Board of Regents voted unanimously to rename the former C.C. Little Building and the Winchell House in West Quad following months of advocacy. University administration decided both cases met the “heavy burden” required for building name changes. As a University professor in the late 1800s, Winchell wrote racist academic papers maintaining white people were biologically superior to other groups. While president of the University in the early 1900s, Little was a supporter of the eugenics movement, the anti-immigration movement and later the tobacco industry. Notably, the renamings were reviewed by the President’s Advisory Committee on University History. Conversely, the recent calls to rename the Ross School of Business involve a figure associated with the University who is still actively contributing to the University. In the past, there have also been other debates on free speech related to speakers
“The reasons for actions being taken depends on a couple different things, and one is what — and the word we use in the policy is — proclaiment or claimant, what they want to see happen, and sometimes that’s an investigation and sometimes that’s an adaptable resolution and sometimes that’s no action from the University,” Seney said. LSA freshman Aaron Lev is part of the Michigan Community Scholars Program and attended the event as a requirement for his program. Lev said based on the panel discussion, he does not think there has been much improvement in the handling of sexual assault claims since the movie came out in 2015. “It didn’t seem like that much has really changed since the movie happened,” Lev said. “That was my big takeaway.” Colohan mentioned the tools in place to educate firstyear students about sexual misconduct, including an online course about sexual assault, which students complete prior to arriving on campus, and the mandatory workshops known as Relationship Remix and Change it Up, which are required for first-year students to learn about consent and healthy relationships. LSA freshman Grace Jung, said the panel discussion enlightened her about resources available on campus to report assault, such as SAPAC. “One thing I took away was the amount of research that goes into the policy behind sexual assault with SAPAC and the different organizations,” Jung said. “If something were to happen within my four years here, I hope to see Michigan respond in a supportive way and in a way that leads the victim to the justice they want, need and deserve.” LSA freshman Sukainah Khan had seen the documentary multiple times, and felt the panel discussion did not clarify whether the University effectively addresses assault. “When we were listening to the responses (of panelists), some of it was a little dissatisfying,” Kahn said. “A lot of the answers were good answers, and I know they (the University) do have resources, but they didn’t really address the accessibility to them …Yes, there are measures to take, but whether or not they are being effective … It’s just questions to ask. There’s always
on campus. In 2013, author Alice Walker was uninvited from speaking at the Center for Education of Women’s anniversary event, as her work included criticism of Israel regarding the IsraeliPalestinian conf lict. A letter allegedly from Walker’s agent claimed Walker’s invitation was rescinded after sponsors of the event threatened to withdraw funding, a claim the center has denied. The issue of free speech was at the forefront again in 2017, when many community members protested after the University considered allowing white supremacist Richard Spencer to speak on campus. The University ultimately decided not to host Spencer as the administration decided safety of attendees could not be guaranteed. However, those like Rao and Drummond who wish for the Business School to be renamed may face difficulty in achieving their goals. Despite the University’s firm stance on the issue and waning campus interest in the controversy, Drummond said he plans to continue advocating for the name change. Drummond explained his next steps are to reach out to other University donors for support. “I think putting pressure on U-M through them, I think would be the most effective way besides student voices and petitions,” Drummond said. “Because unfortunately, the financial aspect of an issue inf luences U-M more than moral issues sometimes.”
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Max Mittleman Krystal Hur Miles Stephenson Emily Considine
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of The Daily’s Editorial Board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
MARISA WRIGHT | COLUMN
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Connecting misogyny and mass shooters
hree mass shootings shooters of Columbine High received major School wrote about resenting media attention at women, blaming them for his romantic the end of July and alienation. the beginning of More than just Aug ust. On July an anecdote, this 28, in Gilroy, Calif., phenomenon a terrorist killed was confirmed three people and in an analysis injured 13 others. by Everytown On Aug ust 3, in for Gun Safety, El Paso, Texas, which found that another terrorist “the majority of killed 22 people MARISA mass shootings” and injured 24 WRIGHT between 2009 others. On Aug ust 4, in Dayton, Ohio, a g unman and 2017 were “related to killed nine people and domestic or family violence.” According to experts injured 27 others. Though the first two terrorists were also studying control and fear, motivated by racist ideolog y, domestic violence is “often the connection between a way for male abusers to these mass shooters, and an impose their view of the overwhelming number of ‘traditional’ gender roles mass shooters in general, is … such ‘traditions’ in the United States were rooted misog yny. While sexism involves sex in the idea of men having discrimination in individual control over women.” cases, misog yny is systemic sex discrimination wherein societal structures of power are built to inf lict harm on women due to sexist beliefs and vice versa – sexist beliefs form to justif y systemic injustice. The shooter in Dayton was described as “hateful to women because they didn’t want to date him” and created a kill and rape list for women who rejected him. The El Paso Shannon Watts, the founder terrorist often posted white supremacist content on the of Moms Demand Action for website 8chan, where many Gun Sense in America, said, men are radicalized. And “Most mass shootings are the Gilroy terrorist posted a rooted in domestic violence.” Gun reg ulation is needed recommendation for a neoNazi manifesto — which to end g un violence, and it is is filled with misog ynistic essential for g un reg ulation and racist ideolog y — on to include provisions that Instagram the day of the bar people who exhibit misog ynistic tendencies — shooting. such as domestic violence or It doesn’t stop there. In 2017, a man killed assault — from gaining access 26 people in Sutherland to g uns. While it is true that Springs, Texas. He had been convicted of domestic federal law prohibits people violence and repeatedly convicted of certain cases beat and threatened his of domestic violence from first wife. The shooter at buying or owning g uns, Orlando’s Pulse nightclub in there are many loopholes 2016 beat his wife while she that enable domestic abusers was pregnant. The man who and virulent misog ynists killed 17 students at Marjory to obtain g uns, including weapons. Also, Stoneman Douglas High assault School threatened, abused federal law does not actually and stalked multiple women. remove g uns from such The shooter at a yoga studio abusers because it does not in Tallahassee, Fla., was a lay out a removal procedure, self-described misog ynist so abusers who already have and was arrested multiple g uns continue to own them. Notably, when the times for assaulting young for the women. A man who shot his reauthorization ex-fiancée and two others Violence Against Women Act at a hospital in Chicago passed in the U.S. House of was repeatedly reported Representatives in April, the to authorities for multiple N.R.A. opposed it in the U.S. instances of domestic Senate because the VAWA violence. To add to the ever- has red-f lag provisions that protections for growing list, one of the increase
In the long history of mass shootings, a professed hatred of women is extremely prevalent
victims of domestic violence and abuse. Obviously, the United States is not the only country with rampant misog yny and a patriarchy. Easy access to g uns allows mass shooters and terrorists to carry out their plans, but misog yny, often paired with racism, anti-Semitism, Islamaphobia and xenophobia, is what radicalizes these men in the first place. In the long history of mass shootings, a professed hatred of women is extremely prevalent. With the rise of the internet, recent mass shooters have identified as “incels,”or “involuntary celibates.” Incels form an online subculture on sites like Reddit and 4chan. These men declare generalized hatred toward all women for denying them sex and blame them for their own lack of romantic relationships. Incels also frequently fantasize about violence towards women in order to punish them for rejecting them and celebrate mass shooters with similar ideolog y. The men who call themselves incels revere Elliot Rodger as the original incel-killer. One of Rodger’s followers called for an “Incel Rebellion” on Facebook before killing 10 and wounding 14 in Toronto. Rodger himself posted disturbing messages on Youtube before killing six people in 2014 because he blamed female students at the University of California, Santa Barbara for his isolation. He wrote, “I’ve been forced to endure an existence of loneliness, rejection and unfulfilled desires, all because girls have never been attracted to me. … I will have my revenge against humanity. I will punish all of you for it.” Like Rodger, men who identif y as incels feel entitled to women, their attention and their bodies. They do not view women as human beings who have autonomy over their decisions and bodies independent from men. Instead, they believe women exist to serve their needs, to quench their self-inf licted loneliness with sex, concern and love. And when these men, with their resentment and hatred of women, have access to g uns, it is no wonder there is mass shooting after mass shooting.
Marisa Wright can be reached at marisadw@umich.edu.
CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor and op-eds. Letters should be fewer than 300 words while op-eds should be 550 to 850 words. Send the writer’s full name and University affiliation to tothedaily@michigandaily.com.
I
What we can learn from early-age feminism
n today’s world, the word “feminism” is further removed from its purpose than ever before. Jessa Crispin’s “Why I am Not a Feminist: A Feminist Manifesto,” accurately dismantles the definition of feminism today and mandates that the reader trace the origins of the feminist movement to identif y at what point in the fight for gender equity we strayed off-course. Crispin writes, “Much of contemporary feminism uses the lang uage of ‘power.’ Girls need to be ‘empowered,’ ‘girl power,’ etc.” And while scrolling past Instagram posts that aestheticize feminist ideals and undoubtedly evoke a facade of female solidarity, the reality is they’re just words. Words do not equate to action. Though liking and sharing stories on social media are excellent ways to educate, support one another and increase awareness, doing so does not inherently make you a feminist. It’s especially important to recognize the social ramifications of being a “feminist” in the modern day. The societal understanding of feminism often wrongly associates it with completely radical ideas, such as women “hating” men or wanting to surpass and put down men. This negative rhetoric does not lend itself to progress. It’s unfortunate, because the feminist movement is a fight for equal rights and equal opportunity. Recently, the feminist agenda has been heavily rooted in singular acts that focus on individual encounters related to sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexist comments and jokes at the expense of women. Of course, these acts demand consequences and should not go unnoticed or be swept under the rug, because this action perpetuates patriarchal ideologies. That being said, it’s equally essential to not allow these issues to become the sole focus of feminism. As the late author Toni Morrison once brilliantly stated, “I tell my students, ‘When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly
trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else.” Feminism is meant to facilitate a space in which women, men and non-binary people alike advocate for women to attain equal opportunity, equal pay and equal rights. Feminism is meant to reframe the way women are viewed in all fields, whether that be the arts, STEM or business, and in doing so, to discourage society from adhering to the gender norms established during the earliest periods of civilization. It’s important to stand up for women around
The feminist movement appears fractured rather than a united front the world, encourage women to pursue higher executive positions and support women in career-related endeavors, which, in its process, will change oppressive rhetoric. Let’s take, for example, the start of the so-called “firstwave feminist movement.” During this time, the feminist fight focused on suffrage. Fast-forward a hundred years and the feminist movement is heavily dominated by opinions and personal narratives, which have their time and place, but do not address the root causes of sexism. The problem with letting personal narratives dictate the conversation is that they are not sufficient on their own to elicit a strong response from the whole community. The ugly truth is that society is most tangibly inf luenced by numbers, data and statistics. The feminist movement appears fractured rather than a united front, as if each woman is pursuing her own agenda rather than looking at this as a societal issue. A few years ago, one of the
biggest feminine care product companies, Always, ran a Super Bowl ad as a part of their “Like A Girl” campaign. This ad featured young boys and girls who were asked what it meant to “run like a girl” or “fight like a girl.” This may seem trivial, however, I consider this a major step forward. It was beyond refreshing to see young girls reclaim what it means to do things “like a girl.” This ad started a dialog ue in which adults and adolescents alike confronted a sexist concept and prompted a selfref lection: When did we start using “like a girl” as an insult? Do I feed into this growing problem? This is what the feminist movement originally set out to do: mitigate gender biases by questioning their validity and reframe their role in society. I am a feminist. However, much like I refuse to be a “single-policy” voter, I refuse to be a “bandwagon” feminist. I refuse to be a feminist only when it is most convenient. I refuse to let feminism become just a women’s problem. It’s 2019, and it’s time we respect the trailblazers of our past and push for feminism to be a community initiative. It’s essential to realize the purpose of the “bra-burning feminists” of our past is not to inspire radical uprisings today. Rather, it is a call to action to confront and resolve gender discrimination. Protesting gender discrimination and injustice to women ranges from addressing day-today microaggressions to tackling restrictive policies. Look around you, support on-campus advocacy and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, attend events produced by femalerun organizations and speak up to stand in solidarity with women. With the 2020 election upon us, prioritize electing policymakers who have women’s health care and the gender pay gap as a part of their agenda. What we need right now is to smash the glass ceiling, not just crack it.
Varna Kodoth can be reached at vkodoth@umich.edu.
YASMEEN DOHAN | COLUMN
I
The threat to our democracy is not Citizens United
n 2010, the United States Supreme Court held in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that it was unconstitutional for the federal government to impose any type of restriction on corporate spending for political communications, provided it is not directly in cooperation with a candidate or campaign. Nine years after the Supreme Court’s ruling, fervent opposition to the landmark decision has yet to subside. In fact, earlier this summer, Democrats in the U.S. Senate presented a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United. Why does the decision of Citizens United remain so controversial today? The most prevalent concern among the American electorate regarding the decision is the fear of corporations holding unfettered power and influence on elections. This would essentially dwarf the voice of the ordinary individual through super PACs or political action committees that have the ability to raise and spend unlimited funds to advocate for or against candidates publicly. However, this claim is naive and unsubstantiated. The true concern Citizens United presents is one regarding other means of corporate influence, particularly lobbying. Despite enormous backlash, the Supreme Court was certainly warranted in its decision. The First Amendment underscores the freedom of assembly, implying that the right to freedom of speech is guaranteed, even when citizens join together. Any attempt to curtail the independent political spending of any organization would violate this fundamental right. Many would agree
that nonprofits like Planned Parenthood should be free to independently spend funds on advertisements. So what should limit other corporations such as Microsoft or Verizon? Anyone skeptical of this argument should also take into account that studies have shown that PAC spending has little effect on vote shares and voter turnout. Additionally, research has signaled the possibility that money isn’t likely to decide election success, especially taking into account other factors such as incumbency and partisanship. In fact, three of the top five most funded super PACs of 2016 were in support of the candidate who did not win the presidential election. After some deep digging, it is evident the relationship between PAC spending and elections is much more complex than initially thought. But before one takes a sigh of relief, a greater problem must be acknowledged: lobbying. Lobbying has long been seen as a disease afflicting American democracy. Public perception of lobbying is the belief that lobbyists intend to dominate policymaking through their persuasion of legislators. But in reality, lobbyists are much more intricately unified with legislators than many believe. It is no secret that legislators are extremely limited in their ability to pay their congressional staffers. As a result, congressional offices experience high turnover rates, with employees quick to accept opportunities to make more money elsewhere. As a result, staffers often have little experience or knowledge, leaving them heavily dependent on lobbyists to assemble the research necessary to develop their policies. As a result, lobbying can more accurately be described
as a legislative subsidy, a term coined by University of Michigan professors Richard Hall and Alan Deardorff. A legislative subsidy can be defined as “a matching grant of costly policy information, political intelligence, and labor to the enterprises of strategically selected legislators.” With 95 of the 100 highestspending lobbying organizations representing business, a large number of business representatives act as legislative subsidies. These business representatives often provide expertise on policy issues that affect them, playing a large role in the overall decision-making process of legislators. Public officials and certain industries, like that of education, remain outshined. Therefore, it is no surprise that companies can exert excessive influence over policymaking with business interests so highly represented. In fact, one study shows that business interests are disproportionately represented compared to the interests of the general public. With Citizens United still sparking discussion about the role of money in politics today, the American public should be aware that restricting independent corporate expenditures is not a solution to political corruption; business interests in lobbying are far more problematic. This issue has yet to be met with a realistic and tangible resolution and may well be just another inherent flaw of our nation’s capitalistic society. But for the sake of true democracy, we should not give up on finding ways to lessen the impact of wealthy special interests. Yasmeen Dohan can be reached at yasmeend@umich.edu.
Arts
5A — Friday, September 6, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
MUSIC NOTEBOOK
TV NOTEBOOK
What I’ve Been Listening To: Rostam’s shining ‘Half-Light’ EMILY YANG
Daily Arts Writer
Sometime in early 2017, when re-shelving scores at the music library (my job at the time) I found a “21st-century songbook,” about the same size and shape as the copies of the “Great American Songbook” that were a few shelves away. It had piano reductions, chords and the fully noted melodies for pop songs from 2000-2011. It was odd to see these songs represented this way. Like many other people my age, I experienced these songs as sound first, and I didn’t have to seek them out — I heard them on tinny school bus speakers, on phone speakers, in the background at grocery stores. They seemed too ubiquitous to be boiled down into notes on a page. Is it even possible to reduce most music in the 21st century to notation? Increasingly, the role of the producer isn’t to realize a composition or even to create something from nothing, but to act like a sort of sonic beachcomber, collecting bits and pieces of sound from everywhere, layering and warping them like a collage artist. With the dissolution of rigid genre boundaries comes a heady, ceiling-less world of sonic possibility. The producer and singer-songwriter Rostam Batmanglij (who performs and records under his first name) is a producer who leaves the seams from this process audible, and the result is disarming and totally unique. His 2017 album “Half-Light” has this oddly half-finished quality to it, like all the screws haven’t been tightened and the levels haven’t been quite adjusted all the way. Most of these songs are about a minute too long but it doesn’t bother me a bit, because the soundworld of this album is so wonderfully luminous that
I feel like I could live in it. Orchestral strings, burbling digital synthesizers and Middle Eastern instruments drift through a sonic landscape that seems to hover over the main current of musical history. He sings quietly but forcefully, and is equally capable of a fluttery falsetto as he is of a no-holdsbarred yell (“Rudy” has both in quick succession). There are gestures of outright anachronism, like the Baroque accompaniment figures in “Sumer” and “Don’t Let It Get To You” that could have been shaken from the pages of an introductory music theory text, and almost bizarrely futuristic moments, like the almost unintelligibly distorted spoken word bit at the end of “When.” The album consistently defies expectations, even within songs. The
expression of one particular identity, but it’s equally irresponsible to ignore it in favor of the “universal” (which always ends up skewing normative despite our best efforts). The queerness of his music is probably more apparent sonically than lyrically. The album simply does not sound like very much else that exists, thoroughly repurposing anything it inherits. The lyrics are vague, suggestions rather than statements. There’s a lot in this album about liminality paired with vastness, suggesting the morning and the ocean. He alludes to desires that sometimes lack a referent, the simple desire for something unnameable. On “Rudy”: “Rudy said ‘what do you want that nobody else has thought about?’ / Rudy said ‘I want it now / But I don’t
Most of these songs are about a minute too long but it doesn’t bother me a bit, because the soundworld of this album is so wonderfully luminous that I feel like I could live in it
songs dissolve into anarchic tangles of sound or just stop entirely before resuming. Several writers and interviewers have pointed out the specific queer energy of Rostam’s music — he has said that he wants to make music that everyone can relate to, and of course his songwriting is generally vague enough that it could let in a multiplicity of meanings. Certainly, it’s irresponsible to read someone’s work as if it’s only an
know how to say it / Anyway I thought it was.’” On “Don’t Let It Get To You”: “I want to, even when it don’t make sense, even when it don’t make sense / Actually I want to more when you don’t make sense.” The album seems to suggest a better world that doesn’t quite exist yet, one that we can catch snatches of in moments of tenderness — on the title track, he sings “somewhere, in the half-light, I could feel it coming true.”
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis DOWN 1 Start of a kid’s show-offy cry 2 Painfully wished one had 3 Changes, as a law 4 Luxury handbag brand 5 Give somewhat 6 Start to cycle? 7 Backless sofa 8 Period of work 9 “Sandman” or “Joltin’ Joe” 10 Long sandwich 11 Seafood sandwich 12 Headed the right way 13 Fallen for 19 Long-nosed fish 21 Joe’s 2008 election counterpart 25 Lingerie item, briefly 26 Blissful settings 31 Like dried mud 32 Govt. IDs 33 Time of one’s life?
Maybe ‘Archer’ should get a psychotherapist SOPHIA YOON Daily Arts Writer
For the past year, one of my good friends has been begging me to watch a show called “Archer,” claiming that its dark humor and witty running jokes would suit my tastes perfectly. I resisted, using school as an excuse, until the University of Michigan’s long summer break rolled around and I had no reason not to tackle the 10 season (and counting) series. From the pilot, I was mistakenly led to believe that this was a brainless — albeit humorous — adult cartoon about a spy agency, but the show quickly showed its stripes. The protagonist, Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin, “Bob’s Burgers”) is an obvious jerk, treats others as lesser and can never stay focused on the mission at hand. As the episodes go by, the audience is given more reasons to despise his existence as a deeply flawed character, and at times, I found myself wondering how the show could go on with such high ratings with a character that has minimal redeeming qualities. Then, I noticed something interesting. This ‘something’ was the flashbacks to Archer’s childhood. The flashbacks revealed how his mother, Malory Archer, (Jessica Walter, “Arrested Development”) raised him, although she was mostly absent and extremely harsh when she was present. All this time, I’ve been judging Archer’s character based off the actions in his adulthood, but these flashbacks made me realize that like any of us, Archer was a product of his childhood. Earlier on in the series, we find out that Archer was shipped off to boarding school, and in “Job Offer,” (Season One, Episode Nine) we learn that at some point in his childhood, his mother moved without telling his school. Archer tries to get home by himself, and he eventually ends up in a police station. In present day, Malory defends herself, saying “He couldn’t pick up a phone book?” Terrible right? It gets worse. “Jeu Monegasque” (Season Two, Episode 11), flashes back to a Halloween night in Archer’s childhood, when he loses a game of cards to Malory and later vomits all the
alcohol she made him drink, even though he was a child. She scolds him for losing the card game, then for not handling his alcohol, and in the present, he carries with him a severe gambling and alcohol addiction. This episode reveals one of the most obvious reasons why Archer has these addictions, and it makes me wonder whether we as an audience can blame him for them. If we look at him as an adult, then yes, he’s maybe one of the biggest jerks on network television. But if we factor in the crucial context of his childhood misery, then we can see that he’s essentially a child in a man’s body. He’s stunted, and can we blame him?
Like any of us, Archer was a product of his childhood
In Kohlberg’s stages of moral development, the preconventional stage consists of children behaving in ways they see fit to avoid punishment. As time goes on, people start to develop their own moral compass and become fully-formed humans. Archer is constantly trying to cover up his mistakes to avoid the wrath of his mother, which is an action we can all resonate with from our own childhoods. There are few instances where Archer acts upon what’s right simply because he thinks it is, so it’s clear that he’s stunted in one way or another. So, the final question: Should we determine people as good or bad based on their actions, or is it important to recognize the context from which these actions developed? In a world where cancel culture can pull up old tweets from a decade ago and take down a career in an instant, isn’t it important to realize that everyone comes from their own blocked out pains and traumas that cause them to act in ways that are socially frowned upon? Archer says yes, but right now, the world begs to differ.
BOOK REVIEW
Release Date: Friday, September 6, 2019
ACROSS 1 Source of seasonal color 5 Like bubble baths 10 Golfer at Royal Troon, often 14 “I’m buying!” 15 “America” soloist in “West Side Story” 16 It parallels a radius 17 Hot spot 18 Philanthropic football player? 20 Varieties 22 “Diana” singer 23 Stooge Howard 24 Football player who’s PR-savvy? 27 Head for the hills 28 Spots 29 Groovy cousin 30 Usher 32 No different from, with “the” 35 “One more thing ... ” 36 Football player with a line? 40 Work out ahead of time 41 Appropriate 42 Targets 45 Fjord kin 46 Book jacket info 49 Goal feature 50 Football player with management skills? 54 Hubbub 55 Fictional hunchbacked helper 56 Like many windows 57 Football player at the beach? 61 It’s abuzz with activity 62 Cover for an ear 63 Ending with poly64 Chills 65 “At Last” singer James 66 Monopoly stack 67 Friend of Mary Poppins
FXX
34 Harsh 36 Hit one that was caught on the warning track, say 37 Acknowledgment of being sunk? 38 Parisian friend 39 Hold tight 40 Pizazz 43 Barely more than not at all 44 Pulled
46 “No fighting, now” 47 “The nerve!” 48 Weird to the max 51 Drunkard 52 Ticked off 53 Indian title of respect 58 Reggae relative 59 Wine choice 60 No and J
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
By Bruce Haight ©2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
09/06/19
09/06/19
‘The Wall’ is almost significant JOHN DECKER
Daily Book Review Editor
There is a 10,000-kilometer-long concrete wall surrounding the entirety of the United Kingdom. The world has been shredded by The Change, a climatic disaster that has caused oceans worldwide to swell. The remains of the UK are governed by groomed politicians who are showered in special privileges. In waves, “Others” come desperately to the Wall’s edge to be turned away or killed. “The Wall” is just as ominous and politically drenched — if not more so — as its title suggests. Longlisted for this year’s Booker Prize, John Lanchester’s fifth novel unabashedly turns up the use of metaphor to craft his dystopian world. It’s clear from the starting gun that he’s out to deliver a message on immigration and the dangers of environmental ignorance. A weaklyveiled future United Kingdom established in the first pages, the story surrounds Kavanagh — or Chewy, as his company calls him — who has been recruited for his mandatory two-year service as a Defender on the Wall. Lanchester bolts into a second-person opening here: “It’s cold on the Wall. That’s the first thing that everyone tells you…” which seems to suggest that the previous Booker winner is out to produce more than just a regurgitated, sloppy dystopian piece, but rather something evocative, brave and literarily fresh. Readers are introduced to Kavanagh as he is introduced to the ill-omened, danger-nipped blankness of the Wall. Although this secondperson foray is washed away after a few pages, the effect remains. Effortlessly and quickly, Lanchester achieves the intrigue of young adult fiction while developing a style capable of moving a reader with prose. Unfortunately, only the former facet is maintained. Spending twelve hour shifts each
day on the Wall facing the sea, Kavanagh falls in love with a woman in his company. He trains and encounters Others. He visits his distant and guilt-ridden parents on his time off. And then the worst happens: Following an attack on the Wall in which Others are unintentionally allowed through, Kavanagh and his and associates are forced to leave their protected home country. They are forced out to sea to become Others. To his credit, Lanchester crafts a fantastic pushing-your-bedtime-to-read novel. “The Wall” never sees a dull passage — even in sections describing Kavanagh merely watching the sea from his post, Lanchester creates an aura of oncoming danger (even when there is none) that makes the work impossible to quit. But while
The Wall John Lanchester W.W. Norton & Company Jan. 17, 2019 these moments of unyielding suspense make “The Wall” as fun as YA Fiction, the remainder of the novel unfortunately mismanages this style. Lanchester does not allow his story to breach the wall of this Suzanne Collins-like brevity and three-quarters character development. As in fellow Booker longlister, “My Sister, the Serial Killer,” Lanchester’s writing never jumps above average. But it’s also clear that in developing a dystopian landscape Lanchester has set out to do more than merely write something literarily impressive. From its inception, the environment of “The Wall” is metaphorically-charged enough that its clear what Lanchester wants to say. A
message sympathetic to both immigration and climate activists boils beneath the book’s surface. But does Lanchester succeed in cultivating it? The short answer is no. In her poem on the experience of a refugee and immigrant, poet Warsan Shire ends her work with a sharp tone: “I’ll see you on the other side.” It is a suggestion that stings with the reality of a displaced person — how easily it can happen to anyone. Do not neglect me, Shire seems to warn. It could be you. To an extent, “The Wall,” with a relative success, reflects this approach to imagining immigration. Very quickly, characters in “The Wall” go from those keeping migrants out to desperate migrants themselves. Lanchester repeats this mantra of “what I once had” throughout the novel. From the start, Kavanagh has nearly everything he could want; he manages to complain listlessly about the cold air outside. By the end of the novel, he is left speechless at the mere sight of an oil lamp. Longterm transitions like this do a sufficient job of entering the story into the political conversation, and dare to force empathy for migrants a country would dare to keep out. Though beyond this one trend, Lanchester never manages to deliver the blow that other science fiction novels (say, “The Handmaid’s Tale” or “Cat’s Cradle”) achieve. This is primarily due to a lack of strong characterization for Kavanagh. Prepared to shoot desperate refugees on sight, the main character in “The Wall” never has much thought about the society he protects. This indifference is not the stinging type that acts as a magnet to force readers to acknowledge the scenario themselves. Readers simply don’t care. Without this acknowledgement and without many humanizing glimpses of The Others outside of the Wall, it is too easy to forget about the political implications established from the start.
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Friday, September 6, 2019 —6A
GENDER & MEDIA COLUMN
MUSIC REVIEW
Clara Scott: Women and their ponytails CLARA SCOTT
Daily Gender & Media Columnist
Like many young girls between the ages of four and nine, as a child I desperately wanted to be a princess. I wrote books about a magical kingdom called Abdominium (original name, I know) where I would be queen, with a beautiful knight to save me from the boredom of the Michigan suburbs I called home. I convinced myself not only that fairies were real, but also that I could talk to squirrels, and briefly, control the weather. If you couldn’t tell by now, I was a weird kid. Although my obsession with my madeup dream world only lasted until around fourth grade, a fixation on the idea of the princess remained. My mom had stopped buying me Barbies and I realized that the production value on the Pegasus movie series wasn’t high enough to warrant my viewership. But still, I wanted long dresses. I wanted a prince and a castle and a canopy over a big four-poster bed. I wasn’t ever going to be a real princess — that was silly, I was older now, entering middle school like a real girl — but I could at least look like one. And so I began growing my hair.
It’s reminded me of what it’s like to feel so incredibly feminine
My mother relished in the prospect of a baby Rapunzel, plunking me in a chair every morning to pull and brush my golden locks into braids and pigtails and everything in between. She was and still is extremely skilled with complicated hairstyles, and I trust her to blow my hair out when it’s really important. But from her, I learned the art and importance of good hair. It continued to grow, I continued my life as a princess in spirit,
and secretly read “The Princess Diaries” in bed even though it was uncool. I grew out of my flashlight reading, but not out of my ponytail. At least not for a while. As I was thrust into the world of allgirls middle school and high school sports, I became the designated hair braider of each sports team locker room and free moment we found in the halls. I was proud of my skills, and wore my hair in ballet buns and braids and even dyed it pink for a moment. Then, as all women do once and a while, I had an existential crisis. I chopped off the hair I had prized for so many years to a shoulder-length bob, tried to put it in a ponytail and cried. But the loss of my high pony wasn’t completely a bad thing. I could do new things with my hair. And something more important had occurred. I wasn’t a princess anymore; I was just a girl. Although trivial to the naked eye, my hair and everything I learned from it may have started in a way to get close to princess-dom, but became a way for me to bond with other women. It still is, honestly. If you traverse The Daily newsroom on any given day, there is often one victim of my braiding sitting at the Arts desk. This is something I kept from my childhood obsession, something that’s served me well at sleepovers and parties until the present day. Hair, though purely aesthetic, means a lot to women. When you understand that, you start to realize how much bravery it takes to put your hair in someone else’s hand: Every choice ripples out further than just your head, affecting your self-image and confidence simultaneously. Now, after six years of hair that has barely brushed my clavicle, I have decided to grow it again. It’s reminded me of what it’s like to feel so incredibly feminine, and it’s reminded me of how I found feminity beyond my appearance during my shorthaired years. Away from the princesses and into the rock and art scenes I discovered later, my life as a feminine woman became something completely unrelated to my hair. By separating the remnants of a girlish ideal from my identity as an adult, I found another way of being myself, embracing style and writing and music as the things that make up who I am. Yes, I still love hair. But it’s not everything. I’ve climbed down from the tower, only to cut off the ladder and build a new path.
EPIC RECORDS
Tres bounces on ‘Black Moses’ JIM WILSON
Daily Arts Writer
Adorned with his signature red watch cap, Channel Tres has nowhere to go but up. For the last year or so, the producer has been popping up in some surprising places, trying to make a name for himself. Aside from his own Detroit techno-inspired dance music, he can be found remixing songs from a wide array of genres, most recently tinkering with Toro y Moi’s “Who I Am” and Mark Ronson and Lykke Li’s “Late Night Feelings.” Both are great remixes and assist in building his fanbase, but they fail to f launt Tres’s weirder, more exploratory side. With his most recent release, Black Moses, Tres has an opportunity to bring his eccentricities to the dance mainstream, and maybe even beyond. On Black Moses, Tres is heavily inf luenced by Detroit techno overlord Moodymann. Even his vocal delivery and monologues are reminiscent of the inf luential and hermetic producer. His voice is low and monotonous, giving his often visceral subject matter a subdued feel. However, where Moodymann’s samples are often soulful and familiar, calling back to Detroit’s Motown era, Channel Tres’s are futuristic and inventive. On standout track “Brilliant N****,”
Tres creates a musical mosaic, f luid and vibrant in its sound choices. The drums are bouncy and danceable and the bassline is juicy, but the song’s shining moments occur when the f lute sample manifests itself. It feels like the f lutes carry the listener through the song, like a cartoon character being led by the scent of a fresh-baked pie. It brings the perfect amount of f lair to the song and acts as an accent to lines like, “The drugs is in the groove, you know / I’m the shit that got you comatose.” Equally danceable but less f lashy is the penultimate track “Sexy Black Timberlake.” Icy, warbling synths and sputtering bass serve
Black Moses Channel Tres GODMODE
as the perfect vehicle to deliver braggadocious exclamations like, “Oh, cause bitches goin’ crazy / Bitches act crazy / Better watch your old lady / Tryna get in my house.” Closing song “Raw Power” is more of the same. It’s a fun song in which Tres claims that he has raw, unrefined power at his shows, just like when Iggy Pop first burst
onto the Ann Arbor scene, but it drags a little. There just isn’t enough variation or excitement in the beat or delivery to justify the length of the song. The strangest song on the album is also the song that best showcases Channel Tres’s potential. The titular track is Tres at his most experimental, and a guest verse from rap idiosyncrat JPEGMAFIA cements that claim. Starting with a demented bassline that could’ve came straight from Kenny Beats’s arsenal, Tres sprinkles in short bursts of vocal chops to fill in the gaps. He and JPEGMAFIA go on to spit their game and talk their shit, and in doing so, they created one of the most inventive and unique rap songs of the year. At a mere five songs, Black Moses is over almost as soon as it begins, forcing listeners to restart the EP at least one time (in my case, after my first listen, I replayed the tape four more times). Its brief length pulls listeners in and traps them inside the hypnotizing productions, leaving them practically begging for more. If Black Moses is a sign of things to come, Channel Tres is about to be in a favorable position. These songs go hard and can be played in nearly any circumstance that calls for letting loose and dancing like a fool, and for an artist trying to put their name on the map, this can only be a good thing.
For whom does Bruce Springsteen sing? ‘Blinded’ offers few answers JULIANNA MORANO Daily Arts Writer
“A Pakistani into Springsteen. Now that’s got potential,” sneered the editor of Javed Khan’s (Viveik Kalra, “Next of Kin”) high school newspaper in 1987 Luton, England. Javed had just submitted an article in homage to the American rock legend — or myth, depending on where you stand — Bruce Springsteen. But I wonder if that is how Warner Bros. responded when “Blinded by the Light,” the story of the empowerment of a working class, British-Pakistani teenager via Bruce Springsteen’s music, was first pitched. And I wonder if the filmmakers would have taken issue with that reductive stance. Still, I wonder if that’s always what it takes — exotic, absurd shock value — to persuade the establishment that an anti-canonical story deserves a platform. No matter the extent of your own cynicism regarding the future of representation in Western media, “Blinded by the Light” still registers as a product of this regime, so it fails to reinvigorate a genre, merely propping up a new story with the old tricks. Javed can’t find a girlfriend. His parents are conservative and keep usurping his independence, his youthful pleasure-seeking. His high school cafeteria is divided into cliques he calls “tribes,” and he voices-over his uncertainty about where to sit. Sound familiar? Sound like every other high school comedy-drama? By and large, that’s “Blinded by the Light”: endearing but unsophisticated, youthful but unpracticed. Still worse, the film distills parts of Javed’s unique experience into something existing tropes can contain: for instance, it localizes skinheads’ racist, xenophobic violence into the high school bullying trope, which helps conceal the already well-guarded systemic dimension of this violence. A similar film that more successfully broke the mold of high school storytelling is George Tillman Jr.’s (“The Longest Ride”) adaption of Angie Thomas’s book “The Hate U Give,” which not only sought out a new cast of characters, but changed the terms of the high school narrative itself. Starr (Amandla Stenberg, “Everything, Everything”) and her brother
bicker over breakfast before their father briefs them on how to behave when a cop stops them. Starr has a white, wealthy boyfriend, but their racially-motivated expectations about each other shape the relationship. None of the social complexities are drowned in the ordinary parts of Starr’s adolescence. All the same, perhaps “Blinded by the Light” stands out in the way it connects a working-class musician from New Jersey with a working-class British-Pakistani teenager in a raw, comforting, empowering way. Given my experience, I can’t fully appreciate what Springsteen’s music can do, so neither am I in a position to discredit it. But a throwaway line in “Blinded by the Light” stood out to me: “You do know Ronald Reagan listens to him, right?” Javed’s activist girlfriend Eliza (Nell Williams, “London
Blinded by the Light The State Theatre Warner Bros. Pictures Tuesdays at 8 Town”) asks him. While the line is delivered in jest, I couldn’t help but wonder if people of privilege in America hear the same thing — if the skinheads, amid their Thatcherite resurgence in the time of the film, would hear what Javed hears — when Springsteen sings. Nor could I help thinking of poet and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib’s perspective on Springsteen. In “A Night in Bruce Springsteen’s America,” Abdurraqib regales his experience of a Springsteen concert in New Jersey, days after visiting the place where Michael Brown was killed. “I have been thinking a lot about the question of who gets to revel in their present with an eye still on their future,” the author reflects. Applying this framework to the mythology of Springsteen, Adburraqib adds, “What I understand about The River now that I didn’t before I saw it in New Jersey is that this is an album about coming to terms with the fact that you are going to eventually die, written by someone who seemed to have an
understanding of the fact that he was going to live for a long time. It is an album of a specific type of optimism — one not afforded to everyone who listens to it.” In the world that this film imagines, Javed cashes in on this optimism, repeatedly. It gets him out of his parents’ house, across the Atlantic and, in the end, to his dream school, on the path to his dream career. But I am doubtful it could sustain him forever, and I can instead see it bankrupting him, somewhere outside of the film’s frame. Perhaps within a decade, even, as the War on Terror and Islamophobia began to take a more regional hold, especially in Springsteen’s homeland. I recalled Abdurraqib’s assessment in almost every instance of Javed’s fiery speeches about Springsteen’s universal messages, but especially when he invoked Springsteen in his pursuit of a girlfriend. I was once told by a boy, whose Bruce fandom easily rivals Javed’s, that Springsteen’s music made him think of me. Before “Blinded by the Light,” I wasn’t sure if I liked that. After seeing it, I’m still uneasy about his association. Our relationship was inappropriate and exploitative in multiple respects, and I paid for it. But now I wonder, how much of it had to do with what he learned from his idol? I don’t think I could match the woman Bruce Springsteen promised him he would find because I was not a figment of a man’s imagination. I was — am — a real person of my own. No romanticized ideal will ever change that. But I don’t know if I will ever fit into Springsteen’s purview that way. When Javed went off on the American Dream sales pitch in an attempt to convince his conservative father to let him travel to Springsteen’s home state of New Jersey, the people around me in the Ann Arbor theater laughed. If Springsteen danced across the graveyard of the American Dream, its ghost still found its way into his lyrics and ideology. No matter who you are, that ghost — promising reward for hard work regardless of identity, when identity continues to be leveraged against people no matter what work they do — will greet you as soon as Springsteen opens his mouth to rasp the first verse of “Born to Run.” I shook my head and tried to listen to the rest of a sanguine speech I’d heard many times before.
FOOTBALL
SATURDAY
September 7, 2019
2019 Schedule
The Michigan football team won its first game of the season last week, beating Middle Tennesee State, 40-21. Now it faces its first real test, as Army comes to Ann Arbor at noon on Saturday, bringing a tripleoption and a starting lineup that returns most of its starters from an 11-win campaign in 2018. The Wolverines are three-score favorites on the Vegas line, but must avoid a stumble before Big Ten play starts in two weeks with a road trip to Wisconsin. In particular, that test will come for a young defense against Army’s triple-option attack.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Shaun Nua, Michigan’s DL coach, has plenty of experience against Army. How Jim Harbaugh grapples with the intersection of football and family, through the lens of his father, Jack. The Daily breaks down Army’s tape from its opening week victory over Rice.
How Rice defensive coordinator Brian Smith held Army to 14 points last weekend.
Middle Tennessee State (Aug. 31): We’ve been trying to think of something for 15 minutes but haven’t gotten 2 it.
Penn State (Oct. 19): WE ARE ... incapable of thinking of a joke that we can actually print.
Army (Sept. 7): Please God, let Army only lose to football teams.
Notre Dame (Oct. 26): Have any of their players found a real girlfriend yet?
Wisconsin (Sept. 21): Wisconsin’s biggest turnover was the Upper Peninsula.
Maryland (Nov. 2): Played at Capital One Field, otherwise known as Michigan Stadium East.
Rutgers (Sept. 28): If they made Steve Pikiell the football coach it couldn’t possibly be a downgrade.
Michigan State (Nov. 16): The Michigan Daily has beaten The State News 14 years in a row.
Iowa (Oct. 5): Apparently the World’s Largest Truck Stop is in Iowa. It’s also known as Iowa City.
Indiana (Nov. 23): Our joke for them last year was about debating who their coach was but we still can’t remember.
Illinois (Oct. 12): It’s as if Lovie Smith got relegated from the Bears and the city of Chicago.
Ohio State (Nov. 30): The™ Game
STAFF PICKS The Daily football writers pick against the spread for the weekend’s best games.
Ethan Sears
Max Marcovitch
Theo Mackie
Jack Silberman,
Aria Gerson
Managing Design Editor
No. 12 Texas A&M at No. 1 Clemson (-17)
Clemson
Clemson
Clemson
Clemson
Clemson
New Mexico State at No. 2 Alabama (-55)
New Mexico State
Alabama
Alabama
Alabama
New Mexico State
Cincinnati at No. 5 Ohio State (-16)
Ohio State
Ohio State
Cincinnati
Ohio State
Ohio State
No. 6 LSU (-6.5) at No. 9 Texas
Texas
LSU
Texas
LSU
Texas
Army at No. 7 Michigan (-22)
Michigan
Michigan
Army
Army
Michigan
Tulane at No. 10 Auburn (-17.5)
Auburn
Auburn
Auburn
Auburn
Auburn
Northern Illinois at No. 13 Utah (-21.5)
Utah
Utah
Northern Illinois
Utah
Utah
California at No. 14 Washington (-13.5)
Washington
Washington
California
Washington
Washington
Buffalo at No. 15 Penn State (-30)
Buffalo
Penn State
Penn State
Buffalo
Penn State
Nevada at No. 16 Oregon (-24.5)
Nevada
Nevada
Nevada
Nevada
Oregon
Central Michigan at No. 17 Wisconsin (-35)
Central Michigan
Central Michigan
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Central Michigan
#18 Central Florida (-10.5) at Florida Atlantic
Central Florida
Central Florida
Central Florida
Central Florida
Central Florida
WMU at No. 19 Michigan State (-16)
Western Michigan
Western Michigan
Michigan State
Michigan State
Western Michigan
Rutgers at No. 20 Iowa (-20)
Iowa
Rutgers
Iowa
Iowa
Rutgers
No. 21 Syracuse at Maryland (-2)
Syracuse
Maryland
Maryland
Syracuse
Maryland
2B
No. 23 Stanford at USC (-1)
Stanford
Stanford
USC
Stanford
Stanford
Marshall at No. 24 Boise State (-12)
Boise State
Boise State
Marshall
Boise State
Boise State
No. 25 Nebraska (-4) at Colorado
Colorado
Colorado
Colorado
Nebraska
Colorado
Minnesota (-3) at Fresno State
Minnesota
Minnesota
Fresno State
Fresno State
Minnesota
Vanderbilt at Purdue (-7)
Purdue
Purdue
Vanderbilt
Purdue
Purdue
Illinois (-22) at UConn
Illinois
UConn
Illinois
Illinois
Illinois
San Diego State at UCLA (-7.5)
UCLA
UCLA
San Diego State
UCLA
San Diego State
West Virginia at Missouri (-13.5)
West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia
South Florida at Georgia Tech (-8)
Georgia Tech
South Florida
South Florida
Georgia Tech
South Florida
BYU at Tennessee (-4)
BYU
BYU
BYU
BYU
Tennessee
Overall
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
N/A
FootballSaturday, September 7, 2019
As Wolverines prepare for Army, defensive line
coach Shaun Nua brings rivalry experience ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Editor
Shaun Nua remembers the last time he beat Army. That December day in Philadelphia four years ago, Nua was on the sidelines, coaching defensive line at Navy — the Black Knights’ fiercest rival. The Midshipmen finished with eight tackles for loss and three sacks in rivalry win number four for Nua, now Michigan’s defensive line coach. Together, those four victories were Nua’s favorite rivalry moments. But Army won the next two years — Nua’s last two. His final taste of the rivalry was a heartbreaking, 14-13 loss in 2017 when, with snow swirling all around, Navy’s kicker missed a field goal on the last play. Nua left the next year for Arizona State, but it would only be two years before he got another shot at the Black Knights, albeit with the Wolverines. With him, Nua brings years of experience teaching players how to defend the triple option — the unique offense that is Army’s calling card. Addressing reporters Wednesday, Nua was careful to point out that he’s far from the only one on Michigan’s staff who has experience with the triple option. Offensive line coach Ed Warinner spent 12 years with the Black Knights, including two years as their offensive coordinator in 199899. Defensive coordinator Don Brown has seen it plenty of times, including in 2017, when he coached the Wolverines to an easy win over Air Force. A few defensive players still remain who started that game — safety Josh Metellus, viper Khaleke Hudson and defensive back Lavert Hill — with several others playing at some point. All the experience, from the staff down to the backfield, only helps. “We’ve definitely been working on Army since the spring,” said junior safety Brad Hawkins, who also saw the field during the 2017 game. “Definitely started doing it more during camp as well, but we’re definitely gonna be prepared
for Army. … (It’s) gonna give us a challenge. But if we play Michigan defense, we run to the ball, we tackle well, we should be perfectly fine.” When asked his main key, Nua preferred to keep it simple. “Don’t let them run the ball,” he said. That’s a near impossibility for a team with an offense that’s designed to always run the ball. But there are ways to keep a team like that contained: hold them to short yardage and force them into third- and fourth-and-longs. Against the triple option, you must prepare to play four downs instead of three. Nua pointed out that the Black Knights went for it on fourth-and-1 from their own 25 against Rice — a notion so ridiculous for any other team that it elicited laughs from the reporters in attendance. But without the threat of a downfield shot, Nua and the players alike noted that if they stay disciplined, they should be just fine. After all, this has been one of the most elite defenses in the country for the past four years, and that goes the same against any type of offense. “It’s a unique offense, it’s something that we don’t see every day,” Nua said. “It’s such a spread offensive world that you see the triple option, it’s just different, but other than that, it’s still football. You still gotta get 11 guys to do their assignment and get to the ball as hard as they can.” In an era when most Power Five teams do everything they can to avoid scheduling service academies due to their unique style and discipline, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh likes to play them just for the fun of it. But with experienced players and coaches and Nua’s requisite distaste for an old rival, it’s a challenge the Wolverines believe they are well equipped to handle. “I never liked Army, but the motivation’s still the same,” Nua said. “You want to give our players and Michigan the best chance to win, not because I hate Army because I was at Navy, that’s a personal thing, but you want to win every game the same way.”
FootballSaturday, September 7, 2019
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Defensive line coach Shaun Nua has experience facing Army’s triple-option from his time coaching at Navy.
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3B
Jack Harbaugh sat on his couch in Wisconsin, his youngest son three days removed from the end of spring practice over 300 miles away, when he felt a fist. Other than some discomfort while taking a walk, he didn’t have any symptoms — no sweating, no nausea, no pain in his arm. Just that fist. A pop right above his heart, cinching him tight, like someone grabbing and not letting go. He looked at his wife, Jackie, who had been with him watching North Carolina and Villanova in the national title game. “We gotta go,” Jack told her, and from there, it was a straight shot to Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital Ozaukee in Mequon, Wisconsin. Years prior, John Harbaugh recalled, Jack had been on some medication but didn’t like it and never went back. At age 76, Jack didn’t have a doctor; he was on no medicine whatsoever. If he woke up with pain, he shook it off. “I mean, I was one of those guys,” he said this summer. “... You just don’t — you just don’t.” Upon arrival at the hospital, things moved fast. The doctors performed tests, then woke Jack up at 4 a.m. to tell him he had a heart attack. He needed four
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bypasses. They were going to do catheterization in the morning. Jack thinks Jackie called the kids after that was done. Three years later, Jim Harbaugh doesn’t want to speak at length about that moment. The lines of mortality had already been converging when the call came — two months after Jack’s heart attack, Jim signed an addendum to his own contract to include a life insurance policy. He says now that the heart attack didn’t change his relationship with his father, that the only shift in his own perspective since then is rooted in his dad’s actions. Jim pivots to discussing how watching his dad work himself back into shape at the crux of his late 70s changed his perspective, but he doesn’t get profound or philosophical. As Jim talks, a chair sits outside his office. Jack resides there for a portion of each work day, within shouting distance of his son, holding a job title as special advisor to the Michigan football program. Jack has no office or designated workspace in Schembechler Hall. The chair, perched right outside Jim’s door, is all he needs. In 2004, Jim’s first year as a college head coach, Jack took a
FootballSaturday, September 7, 2019
leave of absence from his job as an associate athletic director at Marquette and drove three days to join his son’s staff at the University of San Diego, as a running backs coach. They both lived in Coronado, about 25 minutes south of campus. In the mornings, Jim would swing by, pick up his dad and they’d drive to work. Their conversations often centered on football — the day-today happenings of the team — and Jim picked his dad’s brain on every aspect of running a program. As the day went on, they’d stand side by side on the field during practice, sit next to each other in meetings. When they drove home, Jack became Jim’s sounding board, a voice on his staff he could trust completely. Their conversations ascended the politics inherent in coaching. Jack could relate to every challenge, including that of raising a family with the demands placed on a football coach. If they disagreed on something, it was OK. “It was life-changing to have that year with him,” Jim Harbaugh told The Daily. Whatever rushed into Jim’s brain at the moment he got that call, he and both his siblings, John and Joani, dropped what they were
doing and came to Wisconsin the day before Jack’s surgery. The heart attack, relatively speaking, was minor. The word minor in relation to a heart attack, though, belies the point, which John Harbaugh makes without obscurity or obfuscation. “They said that if he hadn’t gone in there,” John said, “he wouldn’t have made it through the night.” Jack had 90 percent blockage in two of his three main arteries. Surgery was set for Thursday. Once they got there, Jim and John stayed through the night, playing chess at the foot of their father’s hospital bed, arguing over some trivial game like nothing had changed. The family tried to keep things lighthearted. After Jack’s surgery, Jim took pictures, though his father had little interest in seeing them. Jack wanted to be out of the hospital by Monday, four days later, because the doctor told him the record was five. “I didn’t make it. I got out in about six,” Jack said. “But it’s just — that’s the way I think. ‘Well, tell me what I have to do.’ Coachable.” Jim Harbaugh says he’s tried to hire his dad every single year at every single head coaching job
he’s had. After that first year, 2004, Jack politely declined, driving back to Milwaukee with Jackie. His answer stayed the same as the years passed, first due to his duties at Marquette and then because he had retired. He was happy to visit or offer advice, and did so with regularity. Besides the 2009 Sun Bowl, when he briefly joined Jim’s
Stanford staff to coach running backs because of a departure, he never took a job on the payroll. In the wake of his heart attack, though, Jack opened up to the
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idea. Tom Crean, Joani’s husband, had moved from Marquette to coach Indiana basketball by then. Moving to Ann Arbor would put him closer to all three of his kids. “I remember making that argument,” Jim Harbaugh said. “And maybe resonating.” Players Jack had coached in the ‘70s, and his colleagues on Bo Schembechler’s staff, still lived in the area. He could live next door to his grandkids and see them every day. Making the decision, Jack thought about the sacrifices he made while his own kids grew up. Famously, Jim Harbaugh grew up going to Michigan football practices when his dad coached defensive backs. Less famously, Jack brought his kids to practices at other stops along the road. Almost never talked about is that during those practices, Jack was doing his job, not being a dad. At Iowa, he made time with his kids by occasionally bringing them on Friday night recruiting trips to Cedar Rapids. In the car, he’d ask the questions parents ask their elementary school-aged kids — who’s your best friend, how’s school. He’d turn the radio off and listen as they told him about the lives he sometimes felt he was missing. Those are the moments he values now, but that time with his kids, he freely admits, was often scant. This, he decided, was a chance to make up for it. In July 2016, he moved to Ann Arbor, quietly taking a job as senior advisor to the head coach. “I look back on my years of coaching, it goes 46 years and there were days I would leave at 6 in the morning, come home at 11 at night,” Jack Harbaugh said. “The head coach of our family was Jackie. And now I got a little time on my hands to make up for those times that I wasn’t around, maybe around my kids. I’m getting a second chance, and I’m not gonna, hopefully, screw it up.” Jim doesn’t see his father as an absentee parent. He remembers Jack stopping whatever he was doing to help him with math homework or throw a ball around with his sister. “I just want to be exactly like him,” Jim said. “... The kind of dad that takes you to ballgames, plays catch with you, believes in you.” Jackie always made sure they lived close enough to wherever Jack was coaching that he could make it home for dinner, even if just for an hour. During the offseason — recruiting being less than the allencompassing job it is now — he could spend more time with the family. When Jim and John played Ann
Arbor rec baseball, Jack coached. He took the job seriously, going on a recruiting spree and picking off talent from around town.
Years later, John rattles off half the roster from memory — a lefthanded pitcher from Ypsilanti, a catcher who couldn’t start on a different team, a third baseman who no one else wanted. “We were like a magnet for all the misfits,” John said. “We won.” A local baseball team made up of castoffs winning its league brings with it an element of clichéd romanticism, but there’s something to it. Jim pitched, usually the three-inning maximum “and usually it was nine pitches,” John
said. Unlike the kids’ Pop Warner football games, which usually fell on work days for Jack, this was time the family could spend
it anyway. She woke up at 5 a.m. to drive them to practice and sat behind the net, away from the other parents who complained
ing home with him,” Jack said. Jim eventually made a career for himself as an NFL quarterback and later a coach. His schedule
together. One year, Jim and John wanted to try out for a hockey team and were told they couldn’t because football season was still going on. Jackie says she told the person in charge that her kids were 12 and they would never be told to give up something they wanted to try. Football, she wants to make clear, was never a preordained fate. At the end of that Pop Warner season, she says, a host of players including her sons tried out for the hockey team and made
about their kids’ playing time. Jack managed to get to the games on occasion and the team won its league with Jim as a first-line forward. Still, football practices were formative. Anyone who has spent time around the family agrees to that. There’s a reason they were written about ad nauseam when Jim took the Michigan job in 2015. Jim and the rest of the coaching staff’s kids played around on a side field while the team practiced and their fathers coached. Jack drove his kids home for dinner and they’d recap the day, Jim and John enamored by their interactions with star players. Even before that, Jim’s first memories are going to one of his dad’s practices. “About five years old,” Jim said, “And car rides home from practice.” When fall weekends came in Ann Arbor, Jack would stay at the team hotel and Jackie would bring Jim and John to the stadium. They both had jobs on game days — Jim moved plugs from one electrical outlet to the other. But while Jim was on the sideline, Jack sat in the press box. They didn’t interact during games. “In fact, I don’t even remember driv-
aligned with Jack’s, though it was just as busy. The family lived in separate places surrounded by separate teams, but they had the offseasons, and when Jim played for the Colts, it was only a 3-hour drive to Western Kentucky, where Jack coached, short enough that he could come on staff as an unpaid recruiting assistant for the cash-strapped program. Jim had no office at Western Kentucky’s football building, the same as Jack at Michigan now. He’d spend three or four weeks during the winter on the road recruiting Florida. For one or two of those weeks, Jack estimates, they’d go out together, waking up at 7 a.m. and driving across the Route 4 corridor — Orlando to Tampa Bay, and all the talent-rich high schools in between. They’d go until 11 or so, then get up the next day and do it again, building the nucleus of Jack’s program together. Jack put in 14-hour days running Western Kentucky until leaving for an administrative job at Marquette after the 2002 season. It’s impossible to know the effect coaching for over 40 years had on his health, but it’s easy enough to infer that it wasn’t good. When
he told Jim after the 2004 season that he wouldn’t return to his San Diego staff, he put it in terms of letting the bird fly away from the nest. He says now that the game had passed him by. Still, though, he watches practice tape of both Michigan and the Ravens and offers both sons advice. When asked to posit why, Jackie calls to her husband, sitting nearby playing euchre on an iPad, to get a direct answer. He falls back on that cliché: that he’s just trying to catch up to a game that outran him. She laughs. “Well that’s not a true answer.” “... I think that he really does it because he loves the game,” Jackie said. “And he is learning by doing it. And if he has suggestions — he always says he never gives suggestions unless he’s asked — but I’ve known him to give suggestions when he sees something.” The specifics of those conversations, though, remain private between father and son. Jack says he tries to be a fly on the wall when sitting in Michigan’s football meetings, and every player interviewed for this story backed up that description. His presence in Schembechler Hall is fairly quiet. Jack is around for support, sitting in his chair and willing to talk with anyone. Players catch him sometimes in Jim’s office, deep in conversation, and know he holds some influence, but as far as they’re concerned, he’s something like a friend. “Guys just come in and out and are able to talk to somebody about what’s going on in their lives,” Noah Furbush, a linebacker from 2015-18, said. “You see that a lot with Jack.” Once Jim took the job at Michigan, Jack spent a lot of time around the program, even before he moved. He’s always been a presence in his sons’ football lives — at Stanford, Jack was known to find an empty office to go over practice tape when he came through town. Michigan’s players noticed little change when his job became formal and he started living in Ann Arbor, spending days in a chair by Jim’s office. The Jim Harbaugh of 2015 looked more like an overgrown child than someone considering mortality. He’s commonly caricatured as someone focused solely on football, oblivious to the rest of the world and tuned in only to competition, and at no time in his life was that image more prominent.
Read more at MichiganDaily.com 5B
Five thoughts from Army’s tape MAX MARCOVITCH Managing Sports Editor
This one’s been circled on the calendar for months. Maybe more of a tepid oval, actually. It’s not the same anticipation as an Ohio State or Notre Dame game, but one Army at born more of curiosity. Michigan Don Brown Matchup: and his Michigan 0-0 Big Ten, defense 1-0 overall; have been Army 1-0 preparing for Army’s When: Saturday, 12 notorious P.M. ET tripleoption look Where: The for months Big House now. The TV: FOX Black Knights will come into Michigan Stadium on Saturday an experienced group, coming off an 11-win season and a season-opening 14-7 win over Rice. After reviewing the tape, though, Michigan might be able to identify a few unexpected weak spots. Here are five thoughts from Army’s win last weekend, and how the Wolverines might approach the matchup with that in mind. Is Army who we thought they were? Not to channel an inner Dennis Green, but there were a few uncharacteristic elements in Army’s performance last week. This is a team that returned a majority of its starters from an 11-win group in 2018. The Black Knights will likely be favored in every game this year except the Michigan game. Their quarterback, Kelvin Hopkins Jr., comes back after a 2018 in which
he posted 1000-plus yards rushing and passing for the first time in school history. There were plenty of preseason grumblings about the treachery this game might pose. But Army left plenty to be desired in an uninspiring performance on both sides of the ball. Their normally-potent triple-option attack was largely held at bay, totaling 231 yards on 56 carries (4.1 yards per carry) against a defense that finished 112th in the nation (of 130) in 2018. That was nearly 100 yards shy of last year’s season average. Defensive coaches frequently preach discipline when defending triple option. Don’t overcommit. Fill your gap. Stay patient. By and large, Rice did a good job with that. Startlingly well, in fact. For the Black Knights, much of that stemmed from their difficulty to secure blocking on the edge. This was no one-off occurrence, either. If Army’s offensive line has trouble squaring up Rice’s edge guys, Khaleke Hudson, Josh Uche, Josh Ross and co. will surely make things far more difficult. For Army, and the triple-option writ large, it’s less about the chunk plays (though they obviously help). More vital is securing forward movement on every play, reaching a manageable down and distance and chewing up clock. When first and second down don’t go according to plan, well, third down rarely follows suit, either. Because when its offense comes up against an obvious passing down… ...that doesn’t usually
More vital is securing forward movement.
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The Michigan defense must stay disciplined in order to stop Army’s triple-option offense from staying on the field for long periods.
portend success. Big game for the interior defensive line and linebackers Defensive line coach Shaun Nua said on Wednesday that defensive linemen Donovan Jeter and Michael Dwumfour were both “ready to go”. That’s important news regardless, but especially so given the
strain Army is going to try to put on the Wolverines’ interior. Despite its week one struggles, this is still an offense that can give you fits. And especially given the high frequency of snaps the Black Knights will run, having a full breadth of defensive linemen available will be crucial.
This is still an (Army) offense that can give you fits.
For all the negatives, If any player asserts Army still put some himself among the group good stuff on tape. Given Saturday, that could open Michigan’s questions an avenue for more playing on the interior of the time in run downs going defensive line, getting forward. pushed around should be Defense struggled at the primary worry coming times into the weekend. Far from the most Expect the full rotation prolific attack, Rice to see time — Dwumfour, had plenty of success Jeter, senior Carlo Kemp, gouging Army’s defense, freshman Chris Hinton particularly on the ground. and junior Ben Mason. Perhaps this might be For in-game updates the week for freshman Follow @theo_mackie, @aria_gerson, Mazi Smith to see @Max_Marcovitch and the field as well, if @ethan_sears on Twitter during only to spell the Saturday’s game. aforementioned.
Much of the conversation around this game centers around the other side of the ball, that’s the natural tendency when a triple-option side comes to town. But it’s hard to see the Wolverines’ offense being bothered much by the group it’s facing. Army’s best defense this week might be its offense — and whether it can control enough clock to keep Shea Patterson and co. off the field. They will have tricks up
their sleeves One of Army’s biggest plays of the game last week came on some trickeration — a reverse to wide receiver Christian Hayes for 35 yards on third and nine. This is a pretty simple counter off a normal speed option look, and yet, the Rice defender overpursues, leaving the back end wide open. If they had it in the bag for Rice, there’s surely more where that came from this weekend.
Lock it in. Don’t let things stay close late The real weapon of the triple option comes through the repetition. When it works, the excess of possession not only allows for infinite counters off the standard looks — as seen in some of the trickeration — but also an immeasurable impact on the opposing team’s stamina and wherewithal. It’s like a boxer that jabs and jabs and jabs, goes
11 rounds and wins by decision. The opponent leaves helpless. The worst thing the Wolverines could do this week is let Army hang around until the fourth quarter. That could spell doom for a depleted defense. Last week, the two deadlocked at 7-7 in the fourth quarter, the Black Knights turned in a vintage 18-play, 96-yard drive that took up 9:21. This is the kind of push they were getting on that drive. It ended in this 17-yard
touchdown pass, and that was that. Frankly, if Michigan has its ‘A’ game, this shouldn’t be much of a game. But if it falls short of that, letting Army poke, prod and hang around, there’s a nightmare scenario which features a similar ending. There’s a reason Michigan’s staff has been preparing for this unique challenge for several months. Saturday, we’ll find out how ready they are.
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The Michigan defense must stay ready for trick plays, as Army’s extensive use of the triple-option can easily set up a defense to expect the same thing every time, clearing the lane for trickeration.
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How to defend Army’s triple-option THEO MACKIE Daily Sports Editor
Brian Smith remembers the first time he saw Army on the schedule. The reaction, naturally, was dread. Now the defensive coordinator at Rice, which lost 14-7 to the Black Knights last week, that’s what happens when he thinks about preparing his defense to face the triple option. His second reaction was more calculated. Smith didn’t need to dig too far into the recesses of his memory to recall the last time he faced a triple-option offense. It was only two years ago and the results — 13 points allowed on 3.4 yards per carry — were exactly what he hoped to replicate last Friday. So Smith took to his notes. If that sounds familiar, that’s because it should. Smith was Michigan’s defensive backs coach in 2017, when the Wolverines beat Air Force, 29-13, holding the Falcons to 232 yards of offense. “That was kind of my starting point for everything,” Smith said of his notes from that game. Smith counts himself among Don Brown’s disciples. He played and coached under the Wolverines’ defensive coordinator at University of Massachusetts before nine years in the NFL — a stint that ended when Brown pulled him back to the college ranks. Many of his schemes stem from what he learned in all those stops under Brown. But defending the triple option, he says, is a uniform philosophy. It’s an exercise in discipline and assignments, in preparation and endurance. “I’ll tell you one thing, any time you see one of the (service) academies on the schedule, you sure don’t get excited, facing the triple option, just being honest with you,” Smith told The Daily this week. “Because it’s so different. And as a player, having played against the offense a few times, I wouldn’t consider it fun to have to go against guys that are trying
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Michigan’s defensive line must stay disciplined in its rush lanes against Army’s triple-option offensive attack, which is headed by coach Jeff Monken.
to cut block you every snap.” For Rice, the task was made easier by opening their season with Army, giving them double the time to prepare. Michigan didn’t have that luxury — Jim Harbaugh and his staff started working on their preparations during spring practices to compensate. “I think the biggest thing you really need to focus on is getting your scout team ready, just from a coaching standpoint to be able to get a good look from the scout team,” Smith said. “Because they’re going to be doing things that they’re not used to doing. “And if you can try to simulate as best as you can what it’s going to look like during the week, it helps the guys be more confident going into the game.” Once game time arrives, the task shifts from preparation to discipline, something that can be especially challenging against such a unique look. “It’s such a spread offensive world now that
You sure don’t get excited facing the triple option.
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you see the triple option, it’s just different,” said Michigan defensive line coach Shaun Nua. The basic principle of the option is the same as the spread offense: get talented players in space with room to work. That’s where the similarities end. If the offense takes the first read — a handoff to the running back — the defense’s responsibilities are no different than in any other scheme. But if the quarterback keeps the ball, assignments take over. One player, usually a linebacker, is responsible for the quarterback on a given play. Another is the “pitch player,” responsible for the third option. A mistake from either of those players can spell disaster. “Say your quarterback player does something undisciplined and say he goes for the dive, he tries to go and tackle the (third option), then you’ve got no quarterback player,” Smith said. “Same with the pitch player, if he goes and tries to tackle the quarterback, then you have no pitch player.” The importance of that discipline only magnifies as the game progresses. Army’s run percentage stands above 85 percent each of the past
three years. That wears down a defense, compromising its focus as the repetition can numb defensive players’ minds. Last week, Smith saw that firsthand, with his defense undoing three quarters of good work by allowing a 18-play, 96-yard touchdown drive deep in the fourth quarter. “They keep doing the same thing over and over again to try to lull you to sleep,” Smith said. “And the DBs, they’re supposed to read their keys every play. And they may try to get a jump on the run game because they’ve been seeing the same thing over and over again. So instead of reading the keys, they stop reading their keys and start just playing runfirst. And now, next thing you know, you give up a big play because one guy doesn’t do his assignment.” Still, Smith trusts Brown better than anyone to prepare his defense to overcome these hurdles. He remembers playing in the 1998 FCS national championship game, when Brown coached UMass past Georgia Southern, led by Paul Johnson, who Smith calls the “godfather” of the modern triple-option offense. Johnson’s highest-profile job
came as head coach of Georgia Tech from 2008-18, but his coaching tree permeates nearly every triple-option team in Division I. Among that coaching tree? Army coach Jeff Monken.
BY THE NUMBERS Michigan vs. Army
2.4
Yards per carry by Middle Tennessee against Michigan
4.1
Rushing yards by the Black Knights against Rice
4/15
Middle Tennessee on third downs against Michigan
8
Passing attempts by Army against Rice