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Monday, September 16, 2019
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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Parting words
Senior tight end Nick Eubanks opened up about how his mother’s passing impacted his upbringing.
» Page 1B
Students, activists voice concerns Climate strike during sit-in at Rep. Dingell’s office demonstrators Sunrise Movement pushes Green New Deal, environmental actions appear in court ahead of trial Protesters charged with trespassing at Fleming called for pretrial hearing LIAT WEINSTEIN Daily Staff Reporter
ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily Leah Skylar, Chair of the Young Democrats of Michigan, speaks during the sit-in at Rep. Debbie Dingell’s Ypsilanti office as part of the Sunrise Movement’s action to demand Dingell support the Green New Deal in Ypsilanti Friday afternoon.
ALEXIS RANKIN Daily Staff Reporter
Students and activists of the Sunrise Movement held a sit-in at the Ypsilanti office of U.S. Rep Debbie Dingell, D-Mich, where they shared stories, sang, chanted and expressed their concerns about the impact of climate change to her staffers present in the office, occupying the space past business hours. Sunrise, a movement of predominantly young people whose goal is to stop climate change and create green jobs, has chapters across the nation and is a champion of the Green New Deal, introduced by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. The Ann Arbor hub of Sunrise has been trying to
convince Dingell to co-sponsor the Green New Deal since February, but has not yet been successful. LSA junior Preston VanAlstine, one of the Ann Arbor Hub coordinators, said Dingell has been opposed to the idea of co-sponsoring the bill, and Sunrise has responded accordingly. “She’s been really resistant, so we’ve been slowly escalating in terms of our actions over the past few months,” VanAlstine said. “This election season alone she’s taken over $10,000 from DTE, which gets twothirds of its energy from coal. So we want her to stop taking money from them as well.” The group of about 30 protesters, which included University of Michigan and
PUBLIC HEALTH
National Sanitation Foundation turns 75 Lawmakers celebrate NSF’s anniversary BARBARA COLLINS Daily Staff Reporter
National Sanitation Foundation International commemorated its 75th anniversary with a celebratory event at its international headquarters in Ann Arbor on Friday afternoon. Eighteen guests spoke at the celebration, including Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.; Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich.; state Rep. Rebekah Warren, D-Ann Arbor; and state Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor. The University of Michigan School of Public Health founded NSF International in 1944 to standardize sanitation and food safety requirements.
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high school students and community members from across Washtenaw County, marched to her office holding signs saying “We Demand a Future” and “Green Jobs for All” where they filled up the lobby of the office while three of her staffers watched and listened to the different stories, demands, songs and chants. Many of those who spoke during the sit-in cited the economic benefits of the Green New Deal as something important to them, connecting it to their own experiences and how they have been impacted by climate change. LSA sophomore Arya Kale, an active member of the Sunrise Movement, spoke about his time volunteering in a soup
kitchen where he met a young girl whose father had lost his job at General Motors Corp. Kale felt an instant connection because GM employed his father as well. “I don’t believe that people of Black or Brown communities should have to suffer without having a job,” Kale said. “I don’t believe that children should not know where their next meal is coming from because their parents don’t have work. And with the Green New Deal, with the federal job guarantee that’s written in it — Representative Dingell, have you read that part? — that’s important, that’s why we need a Green New Deal.”
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Six demonstrators who were charged with trespassing during a sit-in at the Fleming Administration Building following the March Climate Strike appeared in court for their pretrial hearing Friday morning. The hearing was meant to simplify the facts of the case and discuss the evidence presented before Oct. 10, when the official motion is scheduled to take place. According to Ann Arbor attorney Angie Martell, who is representing all demonstrators, two of those charged were out of state at the time of the hearing. On June 17, six demonstrators appeared in court for the first time. They were arraigned and pleaded not guilty to the trespassing charges, which bear a maximum charge of a $250 fine with or without 30 days in jail. During the June hearing, the demonstrators were released on a personal recognizance bond, meaning they did not have to pay bail. They were told they cannot enter the Fleming building; use alcohol, marijuana or other illegal drugs; or leave
Former National Security Advisor discusses current era of diplomacy Talk also hosts European and Eurasian Affairs rep, CEO of US Global Leadership Coalition MADELINE MCLAUGHLIN Daily Staff Reporter
An audience of 150 gathered Friday afternoon in the Annenberg Auditorium of the Ford School of Public Policy for a talk titled “Diplomacy in a New Transatlantic Era.” The event featured a conversation between former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley; former Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried; and President and CEO of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition Liz Schrayer. The speakers examined key diplomatic challenges facing the United States and the crucial role international affairs has in fostering the well-being of citizens within its borders. The discussion was held in conjunction with the launch of the Weiser Diplomacy Center and the Ford School’s Conversations Across Difference Initiative, a series aimed at fostering fruitful conversation across the political divide. The event began with a reflection by University Regent Ron Weiser (R) on the significance
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of the opening of the Weiser Diplomacy center — specifically in the Midwest. “Diplomacy can help change directions, especially for countries that are going in the wrong
direction — sometimes you can bring them back around,” Weiser said. “Most of the diplomatic institutions of higher learning are in the east coast and the west coast, and there wasn’t anything in the
central part of the country … and I feel the central part of the country has a great deal of importance.”
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the state without permission of the court. In light of the upcoming Jewish holidays, Circuit Court Judge Karen Quinlan Valvo, who presided over Friday’s hearing, lifted the ban on alcohol for the demonstrators who are over 21. After the Climate Strike on March 15, during which an estimated 2,500-3,000 students, faculty and community members rallied on the Diag in protest against inaction relating to matters of climate change, demonstrators flooded University President Mark Schlissel’s office in the Fleming building for a sevenand-a-half-hour sit-in. The demonstrators’ chief demand was a one-hour meeting with Schlissel and other members of the administration to discuss the University’s plan to achieve carbon neutrality. A group of demonstrators refused to leave until the University addressed their demands, leading to the arrests of 10 individuals on charges of trespassing — two of whom were minors.
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RESEARCH
Design jam addresses Great Lakes water safety Collaborative teams seek out novel solutions ALICE TRACEY
Daily Staff Reporter
MICHAEL BAGAZINSKI/Daily
Stephen Hadley, former National Security Advisor, speaks about the necessity of diplomacy at the Diplomacy in a New Transatlantic Era discussion at Weill Hall Friday.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 131 ©2019 The Michigan Daily
The Un iversit y of M ich ig a n School of I n for mat ion , i n col laborat ion w it h t he P roblem Solv i ng I n it iat ive at t he Law School a nd t he Col leg e of Eng i neer i ng ’s Center for Socia l ly Eng a g ed Desig n , hosted a Mu lt id iscipl i na r y Desig n Ja m Fr iday a f ter noon , i nv it i ng over 30 st udent pa r t icipa nt s to col laborat ively env ision new idea s for i mprov i ng water sa fet y i n t he Great La kes. The st udent s, ma i n ly f rom t he School of I n for mat ion , were spl it i nto si x tea m s a nd spent t he a f ter noon bra i n stor m i ng, ref i n i ng a nd present i ng t hei r idea s. See WATER SAFETY, Page 2A
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 CLASSIFIEDS................6
MIC.....................3 ARTS...................5 SPORTS.................2B
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TUESDAY: By Design
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Editorial Staff ALEC COHEN/Daily Students from the School of Information work on creating new ideas for water safety improvement at a Multidisciplinary Design Jam in the UMSI Engagement Center Friday afternoon.
WATER SAFETY From Page 1A Th roug hout t he process, t he st udent s i ncor porated feedback f rom st a keholders, i nclud i ng t wo represent at ives f rom t he Great La kes Water Sa fet y Con sor t iu m , Ja m ie Racklyeft and Dan Metcalf. Design Jams were launched in 2017 by a group of organizers from the School of Information, the Law School, the School of Public Health and the Center for Academic Innovation as a way to encourage interdisciplinary dialogue and generate possible solutions to large-scale problems based on the Innovation in Action challenges. According to Scott TenBrink, manager of UMSI’s Citizen Experience Design program and one of the event organizers, Design Jams provide the stakeholders with new ideas and also benefit the participating students who are exposed to interdisciplinary problem-solving. “We’ve worked with the Law School, Engineering, Public Health, and continue to try to reach out and
IS IT BREAK YET?
get more people involved to provide this kind of multidisciplinary experience,” TenBrink said. The Water Safety Design Jam topic was suggested by Jamie Racklyeft, executive director and founder of the Great Lakes Water Safety Consortium, who reached out after hearing about Design Jams through a colleague. Racklyeft founded the Consortium in 2016 after nearly drowning in 2012 due to a riptide in Lake Michigan, at Van’s Beach in Leland. According to Racklyeft, the consortium aims to eventually end drowning in the Great Lakes and focuses on helping people more safely enjoy the water. Currently, there are over 3,500 drownings in the United States annually and there have been more than 800 in the Great Lakes since tracking started in 2010. The Great Lakes Water Consortium also states that drowning is the number one cause of death in children between ages 1 and 4. Racklyeft said he was grateful for the opportunity to hear students’ creative ideas on how to tackle the drowning epidemic. “To have some of the best and
puzzle by sudokusyndication.com
brightest students coming at this from a fresh perspective with the cutting-edge problem-solving skills they have, like design thinking and so on, is really, really exciting,” Racklyeft said. Racklyeft said there are a few basic steps that need to be taken to prevent drownings. People need to be able to swim; they need to have information on water safety, lake conditions and riptides; they need to have access to a lifeguard and safety equipment; and they should be familiar with the mantra “Flip, Float, Follow,” a drowning survival technique. One major challenge, Racklyeft said, is disseminating water safety information and getting swimmers to actually take measures toward improved water safety, so the Consortium is looking for new, innovative strategies. “There’s a lot of fundamentals that we know, but then we know that we need more innovative approaches, especially in how to persuade people,” Racklyeft said. “It’s one thing to inform them about the danger, but it’s another to get them to actually change their behavior towards something a little safer, like putting on a life jacket, like swimming near a lifeguard, like making sure there’s rescue equipment if necessary, or just in general, if it looks like it might be dangerous, trust that little voice.” Racklyeft kicked off the Design Jam by discussing the importance of water safety and sharing his story. According to TenBrink, after Racklyeft shared a video about his experience and the emotional impact of drownings, the room fell silent. TenBrink said Friday’s Design Jam was unique in that it centered around a heavy topic. Even if students don’t have direct experience with drownings, TenBrink said he feels it’s a topic many people can connect to emotionally. “When you think about Great Lakes drowning, maybe you’re not directly connected to that, but it feels like something that would be really great to be part of a solution for,” TenBrink said. Most of the groups focused on ways to better spread water safety information and make safety equipment more accessible. Ideas included a kids’ water safety mascot similar to Smokey the Bear,
who represents fire safety; a safety sign connected to a push message and Amber Alert; a kids cereal box with information; a “Flip, Float, Follow” social media campaign and different methods of supplying safety kits and materials on beaches. The groups built or drew smallscale prototypes of their ideas and pitched them to the stakeholders, then had ten minutes to refine their products. The groups then gave two-minute presentations to the room. The winning idea picked by the stakeholders was a multifaceted approach to encouraging the usage of safety equipment, especially life jackets. Information junior Sai Surbehera, a member of the winning team, pointed out that almost 90 percent of drowning victims in the U.S were not wearing life jackets. His team aimed to make life vests more accessible by providing safety equipment stations on beaches. Surbehera said there are many psychological reasons for not wearing a life vest, including tanning or wanting to look cool. Surbehera’s team tried to confront the problem by conceptualizing a Snapchat filter that would turn a life vest into six-pack abs. According to Surbehera, this also played upon the fact that the vast majority of drowning victims are male. One interesting aspect of the Design Jam, Surbehera said, was working with a group representing a wide range of backgrounds. Most of his group members came from areas with many beachfronts, including New Jersey, Washington state and Michigan, but each member had a different understanding of beach culture. As a result, Surbehera said, the team could better address some of the cultural factors affecting life jacket usage. In announcing the winning team, Racklyeft said the stakeholders found the focus on life jackets compelling, since so few drowning victims are wearing safety equipment. Still, he said he was impressed by all the ideas and plans to incorporate them into the Great Lakes Water Safety Consortium’s future work.
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Michigan in Color
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Race and identity abroad ANGELA ZHANG MiC Columnist
This summer, I studied abroad for 3 months in Prague, Czech Republic. I knew I wanted to do this program before I even started my freshman year at the University of Michigan, so this was really exciting for me. Aside from Prague, I also had the opportunity to visit other small cities in the Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Hungary, and Austria. It was a great experience to be able to go to local events, immerse myself in different cultures and meet people abroad who I wouldn’t normally have run into in my hometown in New Jersey or at school in Ann Arbor. That being said, I soon began to realize that as an Asian-American girl in Europe, I was a “rare breed.” That meant that I was getting a lot of stares while just going about my day, minding my own business. This is something I’ve experienced heavily in China as well, but the context in Europe was totally different. In China, people stared at me because I looked Westernized, American (or at least I presume) –– they knew I wasn’t “one of them”. In Prague, people stared at me in a fetishizing, she’s-so-exotic
way. This was very surprising to me given what people told me about the sizeable Vietnamese population in Prague, and the fact that most of Prague’s mini marts, Asian restaurants and nail salons were run by Asian people. So my first thought was, Of course they’ve seen Asians. But I guess it’s different when it’s an Asian who is firstly, American (or doesn’t speak Czech) and secondly, who does not work in their service industry. Often times I would be heard speaking perfect English in a perfect American accent, and still get asked if I was from Asi –– and not be believed when I said I was from the states. Men would fetishize me because they’d “gotten sick of seeing white European girls all the time” and I was “different.” If there was one thing I learned from my time in Europe, it was that Europeans don’t view race in the same way Americans do –– and this makes sense, given how racially homogenous countries like the Czech Republic are. In Europe, the distinction is based more heavily instead on nationality. I noticed that Czech people had clear distinctions on who was Czech and who was Slovakian or Slovenian –– even within the country itself, there seemed
to be a split between Bohemia and Moravia, the two main regions of the Czech Republic. So in a sense, Europeans were seemingly “color-blind” and didn’t realize it could be harmful to ignore race, especially in my experience. The distinction was much more heavily based on ethnicity and nationality, so it was confusing for many Europeans when I told them I was American when I am a person of East Asian descent. While I had some awkward run-ins with this, it gave me a broader sense of how people from other countries view race and identity –– and not all of it was ignorant. Some Vietnamese shop owners would speak to me in Czech and ask me where I was from because they were excited to see another familiar face in the city, and others would ask me about my experiences in America. Overall, studying abroad didn’t “change my life” in the cliché way, but it definitely enriched my life. Though the experience wasn’t perfect, I do have that special place for Central Europe in my heart and have gotten better with leaning into slight discomfort by attempting to learn Czech and pushing myself to take more of an initiative with things I wouldn’t normally think of doing back home.
Boxhead
MiC Assistant Editor
PHOTO COURTESY OF AUTHOR
So many times I’ve looked at the blue of these skies and been reminded of the blue of the ocean. But of course one owes itself to the other. Perhaps it
1 2
MiC Podcast Editor
Sometimes I think about what we actually hold in our heads. What are we thinking about that is
substantial? How are we processing the lives we lead? What do we open up to others for everyone to
peer into? We wear the stains of life on our whole body. There’s nothing to hide.
is the perfect harmony that one expanse sits with us and sustains us on land, while the other remains watchful above. My Ma boli taught me that
if you spit at the sky it will fall back on you. Perhaps this is because the sky rejects the hate we give it, and leaves it to the water to carry it away.
The pitfalls of retail MiC Columnist
ANURIMA KUMAR
Blue HARNOOR SINGH
MONICA KIM
PHOTO COURTESY OF AUTHOR
Monday, September 16, 2019— 3A
3 4
This summer, I worked parttime at Anthropologie and was reminded of all the ways in which the retail industry
can be problematic. Here’s a shortlist of some of the things I encountered:
A white woman once asked me, “Does this store have a petite-size section?” When I told her we didn’t, she put her hands on her hips and said, exasperatedly, “I just don’t
understand why you don’t have a petite-size section when you have a plus-size section. Isn’t that discrimination? I’m a petite woman, I feel discriminated against.”
There were two women in the fitting room who were targeted by a manager as potential thieves in the store (Anthropologie likes to refer to them as “Nick” and “Nicky”). I interacted with them, and another employee,
who didn’t interact with them, asked me what race they were. When I asked, “Why does that matter?” she replied that Black and Hispanic women were more likely to steal.
One woman complained that the new plus-size section was taking up too much space in the store and lowered the clothing
options of the “regular” or “standard” (as Anthropologie likes to call them) clothes.
While I was working at the cash register, I overheard a fellow employee next to me get yelled at by a white customer. My fellow employee and the manager were trying to explain
the change in the return policy, but the customer kept saying they were wrong and she wasn’t being understood; she yelled at them, “You’re talking to me like I’m speaking Chinese!”
Yikes. Big, big yikes. I could write separately about each of these encounters, but piecing them all together reveals just how racist the industry can be (I’m looking at you, H&M and Gucci and Sephora) and how it’s far from inclusive of all body types (Brandy Melville, anyone?). These are all deeply intertwined and compounded by other factors, too — gender identity and socioeconomic status, for example — and just
because things look like they’re starting to improve (like how more stores are including plussize options), doesn’t mean the retail world has suddenly become un-problematic. In fact, far from it. Stores still racially profile and target people of color for stealing (I witnessed that a lot this summer); they still often only carry what we think of as “normal” sizes; and still so many brands are fastfashion, unsustainable for the
environment and dangerous for their workers (on the flip side, more sustainable clothing isn’t accessible to people of low socioeconomic status). Working retail was a way for me to make money this summer, especially since my internship was unpaid. But, it’s not something I would want to go back to — unless there was actual, concrete change in the industry.
Opinion
4A — Monday, September 16, 2019
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FROM THE DAILY
E
Whitmer, expand the ban
arlier this month, Michigan passed a ban on flavored e-cigarettes after a string of illnesses and deaths were linked to vaporizers. The response was announced under emergency rules created by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in part because many of those affected were minors. The ban outlaws the sale of fruity e-cigarette flavors, like mango and cherry, but does not limit the sale of flavors like mint, menthol and tobacco.
The response to this bill has been mixed, with many praising Whitmer for pushing Michigan to be the first state to take action against the epidemic of recreational vape use by minors. Others, like business owners and legal e-cigarette users, believe this is a poor decision that could cause businesses to lose money or lead people to seek out illegal sources of f lavored vaping products, which can be dangerous. The Editorial Board believes this legislation is a small step in the right direction, but it is rushed and insufficient. There is no denying the problem between minors and nicotine. E-cigarette usage has skyrocketed since products like Juul hit the market, and a significant number of those new users have been minors. Even here at the University of Michigan, it probably isn’t hard to find someone who has illegally vaped before. The rhetoric expressed in the media tends to blame these young people for their addiction, citing the vaping craze as a Generation Z phenomenon and diminishing its seriousness. But young people are a vulnerable group, susceptible to the precise marketing of e-cigarette companies, peer pressure and curiosity. Young vape addicts need to be viewed as people with just that — an addiction. A major cause of this epidemic comes from the way these products are marketed and presented to youth. Companies like Juul make their products seem attractive and cool. Juul is already under investigation by the Food and Drug Administration for illegal marketing practices, claiming their products are “safer than cigarettes,” even “totally safe,” and for targeting minors. Juul has even been accused of tailoring their ads to schools and summer camps and admitted to sponsoring a camp in Baltimore when
interrogated by a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee. Whitmer’s plan addresses this, prohibiting the use of words like “clean,” “safe” and “healthy” in the marketing of vaping products. An existing law forbidding vaping billboard ads will be more strongly enforced with the ban as well. As witnessed in the opioid crisis, corporations are skilled at finding loopholes in order to still sell their product. Perhaps Whitmer could employ an extended-liability model, wherein companies like Juul are legally bound to provide reparations to those harmed by their products. Outweighing their monetary benefit with high costs in this way could be enough to discourage them from selling dangerous products. Additionally, adopting European models of marketing traditional cigarettes could help, such as printing images on the packaging that show how nicotine damages the body. Whitmer could look to programs, such as Truth, that are able to reach a wide array of teenagers because they know how to tailor their programming to younger audiences effectively. There also need to be new programs and government Public Service Announcements dedicated to advising against e-cigarette use in minors and helping those already affected. Whitmer’s ban also fails to acknowledge that the f lavor of e-cigarettes will not be enough to discourage teens from vaping. Thousands of young people now have nicotine addictions that will be satisfied one way or another, whether it’s from a mango-f lavored Juul pod or a cigarette. For the 354 possible recent cases of vaping-related lung illness in the U.S., many involve oils purchased from unlicensed vendors. Yesterday, a Wisconsin drug bust showed the true extent
of this hidden market. Police found close to 100,000 vaping cartridges in a small-town condo. Investigators from the Center for Disease Control believe that “home brews” and contaminants such as THC found in black market vape substances are the most likely culprit for the reported health issues, rather than the standard vaping products that have been widely used for years. Whitmer’s ban could do more harm than good by pushing users to look more to illegal marketplaces and do-ityourself solutions that are more likely to cause immediate and lasting health problems. The solution to this epidemic does not stop simply with bans on vaping products. Michigan’s youth need comprehensive rehabilitation plans to quell their addictions, and this policy should be inf luenced by the young people who are being targeted by e-cigarette manufacturers, or by representatives who truly understand them. Whitmer cannot simply ban a product and then leave teenagers to fend off their addiction themselves. It’s also important to ponder Whitmer’s quick action on this issue, when other crises – like that in Flint – have been on-going for years. Whitmer hasn’t reinstated free water bottles for the citizens after former Gov. Rick Snyder cut the program, and she did not meet her lead pipe replacement goal of late July. Whitmer’s attempt at solving the vaping epidemic is good in principle, but only goes so far in combating the issue. In order to truly stop minors from seeking nicotine and THC in harmful ways, Whitmer needs to expand her plan to include rehabilitation, restrictions on marketing and comprehensive, inclusive education programs for youth on the dangers of e-cigarettes. The lives of Michiganders and our youth are at stake.
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I
Facing ethics in a CS career
t’s recruiting season, and that means North Campus at the University of Michigan is being flooded with companies desperate for computer science talent. This past week, Microsoft, Palantir and Uber had events on North Campus, and this week’s engineering career fair will host more than 300 companies, most of them recruiting computer science students. It’s a good time to be studying CS, which is part of why it’s now the second largest undergraduate major at the University, only behind a Bachelor’s degree from the Ross School of Business. With all the resources and diplomas going to these students, what does a University of Michigan CS education prepare them for? Increasingly, it seems, life at a big tech company. Facebook, Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Apple were five of the top eight employers of engineering graduates from the University in 2018. The University is promoting this fact, highlighting these companies in an annual report on engineering grad employment — but is it really something we should be proud of? Tech companies are increasingly doing work that should raise ethical concerns. Palantir builds tools that help ICE detain and deport migrants; Amazon sells facial recognition software to police departments and creates neighborhood dragnets with Ring; Facebook continually violates user privacy and stokes extremism; and Google (until recently) provided AI for the Pentagon’s drone program. As the digital revolution continues, issues like these will only grow more common and more serious. Yet, ethics are rarely found in the University’s CS curriculum, and concern for these issues seems to be rare among the student body. It’s time computer science students consider the morality and ethics of where they work and what they work on. A CS degree from the University provides a wealth of opportunities. Too often, though, it seems students’ career decisions are based solely on factors such as prestige, salary and benefits — with little thought or preparation for the moral quandaries presented by their work. CS students often view a job in big tech as an indication that they’ve
“made it.” It proves to people that they’re smart. When comparing companies, students trade stories about free lunches, comped-parties and massive bonuses while neglecting discussions of what they worked on, it’s impact or the workplace culture. This environment is part of what leads to three-hour lines at Facebook and Google’s career fair tables and the prioritization of perks over impact when it comes to work. The technology we create is what should matter, not paternalistic “benefits” and false “prestige.” CS students should respect and appreciate all types of work — the current situation only helps big tech and hurts the rest of us.
The culture of apathy among CS students must come to an end The University bears responsibility as well. It promotes big tech companies and gives little attention to other options for employment such as non-profits and startups. This puts the onus on students to find other opportunities, making it even harder to avoid the pull of big tech. As a CS student myself, I often struggled with the feeling that my only options were jobs in big tech or the financial industry. Additionally, because the CS curriculum largely avoids any discussion of ethics or the societal impact of CS work, issues such as data privacy and algorithmic bias are rarely, or never, addressed in the classroom. Neither are case studies about major ethical failures and dilemmas in the field. Students should have to confront and discuss the societal impact of the systems they create, not just build projects in a vacuum. For students aware of the responsibilities that come with their power as computer scientists, working in big tech may even be the right choice. With the potential to
affect millions or billions of people with their code and the shortage of CS talent, there is little precedent for the power that computer scientists have today. Because of this, collective action by computer scientists can have a substantial impact on the places they work, and by extension, the world. In the past year we’ve seen Google employees instigate changes to sexual harassment policies, end the company’s Pentagon contract and halt the development of a censored search engine for China. Enlightened students could work from the inside on many of the hard problems facing these companies, encouraging reform and helping navigate tech to a more sustainable place. Sending engineers to big tech with little awareness of the implications of their work ignores the realities of today’s world and misses an opportunity for meaningful change. The culture of apathy among CS students must come to an end. The technology we create and companies we work for have too much of an impact for us to ignore our moral and ethical responsibilities. These responsibilities should be an integral part of a CS education. Individual classes should discuss ethical considerations and case studies related to their topic, and instead of a humanities requirement often serving as a blow-off class, the University should institute a dedicated technology and society requirement. These changes would be a valuable and overdue update to the CS curriculum and follow in the footsteps of other universities. Additionally, the University should do more to promote opportunities outside of big tech. The startup career fair is a good start, but we need more emphasis and options. As a University and as individuals, we have a responsibility to consider our impact on the world. It’s time to live up to the stated objectives of our CS program and prepare graduates to “recognize the implications of their work” and “contribute substantively, as leaders, to science, technology, and society.” Chand Rajendra-Nicolucci can be reached at chandrn@umich.edu.
SAMANTHA SZUHAJ | COLUMN
N
Finding common ground
o one likes it — disagreement. It’s uncomfortable. It manages to creep its way into many a conversation, ranging from a new show on television your friend thinks is great (but you find genuinely terrible) to a political issue. It can be the elephant in the room at Thanksgiving dinner or in a group project. There is something inherent in human nature to avoid tension at almost all costs, to smooth over the potential discomfort and just agree or refuse to acknowledge something. This past summer, I found myself in a conversation about disagreement. I had just attended a political event, and my friend had struck up a conversation while we were there with a person who had entirely different ideas on the issue addressed at the event. She said, while they disagreed, they were able to openly talk about their perspectives on the given issue and find common ground. This is not the norm, as I am keenly aware. Disagreement seems to be entirely present in society today: from pundits on Sunday morning talk shows undercutting one another regarding the state of our nation to the most recent spat between Democrats and Republicans on the Hill. There are endless channels through which division flows, and while not all forms of disagreement are intrinsically bad, I cannot argue all are healthy either. I believe, sometimes, individuals get so wrapped up in their own views they refuse to acknowledge that not everyone feels the same way. Coming to college gave me exposure to perspectives and viewpoints outside of my personal realm of familiarity. I had never been confronted with the possibility that so many people felt the same, particularly with regard to
political or social issues, but that so many also felt differently and that there were platforms to discuss these differences so openly. In the past, I had ducked these contentious conversations about politics with family members and others, knowing we may disagree. I never had so many venues to voice how I felt about different issues, and I know I am not alone in this.
I need to be comfortable knowing disagreement is a part of life How can we as college students and beyond move past the fear of creating division and work towards productive conversation? How can we turn disagreement and the constant back-and-forth so prevalent in the media, politics and popular culture into something constructive? I know I am strongly opinionated and often tense up when I hear arguments I don’t agree with or when I know a disagreement could arise between friends, family members, classmates or even strangers. I struggle knowing there is continuous disagreement over the little, and, often times, larger issues. However, I know as I grow into my own beliefs as a college student and adult, I need to be comfortable knowing disagreement is a fact of life, avoidable or not, and invite conversation instead of shying away from it. As my friend reflected on her discussion with the individual
at the political event, something stuck with me. She said, up until recently, if she had been faced with the same conversation, she would have failed to even try to see their perspective and, instead, would have stuck to her own ideological agenda. I, in all honesty, probably would have done something similar. I challenge myself and others, in an age when we quiver at the thought of contention or fight to prove each other wrong, to find common ground. I am not saying all contrary opinions are a good thing or a similarity can always be found, as there is no place for bigotry, hatred or discrimination in any place or conversation. What I am saying is we need to recognize that with the prevalence of disagreement comes the responsibility of making it constructive and finding a middle ground instead of remaining in a place of sociopolitical stagnation. We owe it to ourselves, our communities, our campus and our country to take a step back and recognize the power of listening first and talking second. Disagreement is everywhere, but the humanizing moments are those in which individuals of differing perspectives can recognize, while they may not see eye to eye, there is space for conversation and some form of agreement. As we begin the new school year, let us work toward collaborating, understanding and creating spaces in which disagreement can be constructive. Let us welcome conversation instead of pointing fingers. Let us find common ground, which is the only way disagreement can turn from potentially being spiteful to being productive. It is time to move past contention and work toward making substantive socio-political change. Samantha Szuhaj can be reached at szuhajs@umich.edu.
Arts
5A — Monday, September 16, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
TV NOTEBOOK
CONCERT REVIEW
Exploring the enigma that The Jonas Brothers bring makes up Dennis Rodman back the pure glory of ’07 SAYAN GHOSH Daily Arts Writer
In the 70-year history of the NBA, in a league with personalities and mystiques that tend to outshine the sport itself, Dennis Rodman manages, to this day, to be the player whose legend remains a tier above the rest. So much has been written, conjectured and analyzed about the Hall of Famer. The new “30 for 30 Rodman: For Better or Worse,” narrated by Jamie Foxx, provides a valuable and sympathetic look at how he became the man behind the myth. Rodman’s tumultuous childhood is presented as the main contributing factor to all the endless controversies that followed in later decades. In a way, his childhood was a prolonged one. Shy and introverted to the extreme, with few interests and friends even in high school, his consistent conflicts with his family led to extended periods of homelessness. Like many “30 for 30”’s focusing on a single personality, Rodman is there to narrate it all in the image that is more recognizable today. Despite all the flash and outlandishness people know him for his inherent shyness is on display in these interviews. Deion Sanders, as portrayed in his own “30 for 30” earlier in the year, is as cocky and self-assured as ever in his interviews for the film, but when watching “For Better or Worse,” it is very easy to see how Rodman is still the soft-spoken teenager who got his late start at Southeastern Oklahoma State. The film also features interviews with various figures from throughout Rodman’s life, each profoundly impacted by the man in extremely different ways. Foxx mentions at the beginning
that reducing Rodman’s life story to a tragedy is a massive oversimplification, but hearing from his mother, former coaches, friends, teammates and others makes it hard to overlook the very tragic aspects of his life. Sure, words like ‘lunatic’ and ‘crazy’ are thrown around, but one gets the impression that these people felt a mixture of pity, respect and admiration all at once. Isaiah Thomas, the legendary point guard of the “Bad Boy” Pistons with whom Rodman felt the closest, tears up at a point when describing the sensitive nature of Rodman, and how he could not accept the fact that the NBA is a business where teams don’t always stay together, retire together, as families. Even Michael Jordan himself, one of the most sociopathically competitive athletes to ever live, speaks about Rodman in a measured, understanding manner, recognizing the troubled soul lashed out due to a deep-seated anger and abandonment issues. However, none of these platitudes condone the other realities of Rodman’s life the film presents, those in which he abandoned his own children from multiple mothers. Alexis Rodman, his first child, makes the point that she could never understand how her own father could treat her the way he did, considering her relationship with her own children. The documentary suggests it all plays into the tragic cycle of abandonment that Rodman himself both experienced as a kid and contributed to as a father. Despite the legendary career he had and the impact he has had on the league ever since, it is clear that there is a sadness that underpins it all, and one can hope that he and the people around him find peace.
KAITLYN FOX Daily Arts Writer
Walking into the Van Andel Arena, I felt exactly as I did when I saw the Jonas Brothers open for Miley Cyrus 12 years ago. While the crowd was transformed from grade-school girls to college students, the rest felt oddly familiar: 2009 tour T-shirts, eair-piercing screams, even some tears. The Jonas Brothers have become a symbol for the golden years of my youth, and the band has played into the nostalgia by revisiting the music that now serves as an artifact of our childhoods. As the lights dimmed in the small arena, the screens on stage displayed a video of three young boys representing the young Kevin, Joe and Nick. The short imagined the boys wandering around a carnival scene, and after it ended the brother-band floated onto the stage while performing the song “Rollercoaster” off their new album, Happiness Begins. The story of the three boys played a large role in the show, with short clips inserted in between songs. They included motifs from previous albums and resolved with a meeting between the boys and their older selves — the current Jonas Brothers. The band primarily dedicated the first half of the show to their newer music, including popular songs like “Cool” and “Only Human.” Sprinkled throughout their repertoire of new music were some throwbacks as well, including their 2007 hit “S.O.S..”
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While the majority of the show was played from the main stage, the band migrated to the back of the arena where they performed more of their older work, including a seven-song medley of some of their most popular songs. The show was made a unique experience with two song requests taken from fans and performances of two tunes from the Disney Channel movie “Camp Rock.” Among the other iconic songs were their love anthem “When You Look Me In The Eyes” and the classic singalong “Burnin’ Up.” The show itself was very fast-paced, with the Brothers jumping into one song after the next without much pause, keeping the energy high from start to finish. During a brief break, Kevin thanked the crowd for “giving us the time to figure it out” before the brothers performed the most sentimental song of the night: “Comeback.” The trio also gave a toast to the crowd, thanking their dedicated fans for supporting them back when they were just starting their careers and even thanked their fans’ parents for taking their kids to their earlier shows. Unlike most reunions where bands try to rebrand themselves in a totally new way, the Jonas Brothers have embraced their past and transformed it into something relevant for both themselves and their fans today. While the band has gone from a group of teenage heartthrobs to a group of men with wives and kids, they still hold a special place in their fans’ hearts. The brothers are learning and growing alongside their fan base, and it’s this kind of relationship that makes the Jonas Brothers so successful in the music world today.
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Salman Rushdie has had, in no particular order, more than a life’s share of excitement, success and peril. His fourth novel, “The Satanic Verses,” enraptured both pop culture and world politics with its controversial 1989 release (leading to, among other things, assassination attempts against Rushdie himself ). He’s published nineteen books — fourteen since the controversy — for which he’s been awarded a Booker and PEN Pinter Prize. This excludes, of course, his most recent “Quichotte,” which is currently shortlisted for the 2019 Booker, and still a potential prize winner. But nothing about his well-completed biography is inhibiting Rushdie. “The road ahead is shorter than the road behind,” Rushdie said to an audience in Rackham Auditorium Thursday night. Yet this means little — he’s more concentrated on his writing than ever before, hoping to put his work to use more by diagnosing and accepting its purpose and potential. The event, put on by Literati Bookstore, facilitated a talk covering subjects from writing methodology to age to immigration. In conversation with “PBS Books” host Rich Fahle in front of an audience laden with new copies of the 400-page “Quichotte,” Rushdie made clear that degree of thought and intention injected into both his novels and philosophy. He spoke easily and quickly in response to even controversial political topics, though his responses never felt halfhearted or incomplete. Rushdie’s humor landed happily — each bit of drollery said with script-placed perfection — over the audience. Rushdie spoke of the intrigue of a spy novelist in his new book, the details pulled from his first-hand experience with spies after “The Satanic Verses” controversy. And he spoke to the ups and downs of the writing process, which included hours of binge-watching reality television. Done as research for his realitytelevision-induced main character, Rushdie made it no question that he finds such cultural
norms absurd. In moments like these Rushdie excelled on stage. Recurring in the conversation was the theme of a road in Rushdie’s work, particularly “Quichotte.” Compared to his prior novel, which was placed entirely in New York City, the Booker Shortlister falls over a much larger space, with characters traveling during much of the story. In writing his earlier novels, Rushdie remembered telling himself, “Next time, you need to leave town.” It was too restricting, being contained to one space. And so he did. Hoping to capture the greatness of many novels that mechanize movement — “The Hobbit,” say, or “Lolita” — Rushdie incorporated the road throughout “Quichotte” as his main character traversed the country with his (imaginary) son in search of love. The road is “an ancient form of pilgrimage,” Rushdie explained, a physical change that can mirror the internal twists a character experiences. Nearing the end of the discussion, the talk turned distinctly political. “Quichotte” has been described as a “gutting satire of America right now,” and Rushdie owned up to such clamor without hesitation. We are in a transitional moment, he explained. One where things — technologically, politically — are changing at a more rapid pace than ever before. Much of today’s politics are unrecognizable from a past perspective. In crafting “Quichotte,” Rushdie said he hoped to mold a comedy with something of a darker side that can simultaneously critique and make sense of the chaos of present-day America. With these hopes he aimed to incorporate subtle themes of race and immigration into his reworking of “Don Quixote.” “In times of tyranny, literature becomes particularly important,” Rushdie said, looking thoughtfully to the crowd at Rackham. Even when the state pushes information that may not be true, the significance of art remains, he explained — it is the artist who gets to set the narrative straight. “We get to tell the story to the future.” It seemed, throughout his talk, that if there is an author of competence this responsibility should be delegated to, Rushdie may be it.
Arts
6A — Monday, September 16, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ALBUM REVIEW
LITERATURE COLUMN
(Sandy) Alex G’s Grimm-est tale yet Diptych of value JIM WILSON
Daily Arts Writer
Pitch shifting has been around for decades. It’s the process of raising or lowering a vocal pitch signal by a set interval. Essentially, it makes the original signal sound higher or lower in pitch, depending on how the artist implements it. Chuck Berry adopted vocal pitch shifting during his late career to make his voice sound younger. Kanye West has used it prominently when sampling to create his trademark “chipmunk soul� beats. Grindcore and death metal bands use it to drop their vocals deeper below the human register and raise them to be higher than a screaming banshee. A$AP Rocky uses it extensively on the introductions to many of his tracks. It’s a wildly dynamic effect that has uses across genres, but for some reason, few musicians within the singer-songwriter sphere have implemented it. That is, until (Sandy) Alex G started making waves. Alex G, who started as a bedroom musician recording tracks on his laptop with a shabby, decades old microphone, has become a veritable indie star, and he did it using vocal pitch shifting. He doesn’t overdo it, though. He only uses it when he thinks he needs it. Sometimes it’s for an entire song, sometimes it’s only on the verses and sometimes it’s just sprinkled in randomly. Alex G has gotten some pretty prominent placements because of it, too. He was the one playing guitar all over Frank Ocean’s Blonde and Endless. He’s worked with Oneohtrix Point Never, reimagining “Babylon� in a dazzling, yet somber, way. In fact, Alex G’s cover of “Babylon� has even more plays than the original. He has the ability to create haunting, magical moments using only his voice, and that’s a special
thing to have. His newest release House of Sugar is most similar to a cute but slightly creepy old fairy tale. It’s both captivating and a little repelling at the same time. Beginning with “Walk Away,� each song takes listeners to another realm, one where time stands still as Alex G’s vocals and guitar wash over everything. “Walk Away� is like the gentlest vice grip, with plush pillows taking the place of clamps. The song is stifling, but in a comforting way. The use of downward pitch shifting on the lines, “(S)omeday I’m gonna walk away from you / Not today, not today / Not today, not today / Not today, not today,� is unsettling and claustrophobic, but in a way, it feels nostalgic, like a memory that can suddenly speak to you, subtly reminding you of an old misstep. “Walk Away� is the introductory track to an album dealing with addiction and dependence, and it’s a damn good one at that. It beautifully sets listeners up for songs like “Hope,� a tear-inducing remembrance of a friend who died from an overdose on fentanyl, and “Taking,� a choric aside about a woman discovering and caressing her potentially strung-out lover. Despite thematic similarities, Alex G continues to surprise sonically. “Bad Man� is similar to a country ballad, and on “Sugar,� he unleashes a droning, robtronic wall of sound, making it clear that Oneohtrix Point Never’s influence has rubbed off on him. The most striking thing about House of Sugar is its ability to strike a balance between the strange and the familiar. Alex G seamlessly incorporates altered and multitracked vocals with electronic keys and acoustic guitar. He’s so good at arranging his songs that the electronic flare doesn’t seem that odd next to the more standard acoustic guitar. It just makes sense. That weirdness is what makes Alex G who he is,
EMILY YANG
Daily Literature Columnist
House of Sugar (Sandy) Alex G Domino Recording Company
and he’s never ashamed to let his goofiness shine. Luckily, this doesn’t detract from his music and its message. Instead, it adds accessibility, cutting the weight off some of the heavier tracks. House of Sugar is like a childhood fairy tale that slowly begins to reveal itself as you get older. At first, it seems sweet and innocent, but as you give it more time and thought, it begins to reveal its more sinister colors. In this case, it unveils the ravages of dependence and addiction in a truly sad way. But using pitch shifting and glittering instrumentals, the album appears saccharine and a bit silly. It is truly the culmination of Alex G’s career up to this point, perfectly capturing his essence as a musician and human being. House of Sugar is an album that deserves repeat listens, if not for its lyrical content, then for the sonic acrobatics it so often pulls. (Sandy) Alex G has already proven that he can do the whole singer-songwriter thing. But it’s the moments on House of Sugar when he lets his freak fly that make the album special. Moments like when he busts out the Springsteen impression on “SugarHouse Live� or his mock-country accent on “Bad Man� are what make it hard not to fall in love with the man and the music.
FILM REVIEW
‘Tall Girl’ is simple, but very sweet SAMANTHA NELSON Daily Arts Writer
From an early age, we’ve been conditioned to see height not just as a genetic marker, but as a quality of identity. Growing up, we tracked our maturation with pencil marks on closet walls, in middle school we lined up in height order and beamed with pride upon reaching five feet and now as adults we still gossip over physical stature. Impossible to miss, height is naturally a feature considered in our first impressions of one another. While the intention behind Netf lix’s latest release, “Tall Girl,� is more to offer a lighthearted romantic comedy than to make a commentary on society’s fixation with height, the film is deeper than it appears, provoking audiences to recall the value in embracing their own skin and standing tall. Jodi (Ava Michelle, “The Bold and the Beautiful�) is six foot one inch, a trait no one ever lets her forget. Despite support from her family and quirky best friend Dunkleman (Griffin Gluck, “Why Him?�), who is openly head over heels for Jodi, her insecurities weigh heavy. For Jodi, height is a curse, a bewitchment that singles her out and, even worse, makes the prospect of finding a dateable guy nearly impossible. Her luck seems to change however, when an uber tall, dreamboat foreign exchange student named Stig materializes out of the blue. Stig appears to be everything that
Jodi has been longing for and more, but whether he is actually what she needs is another question entirely. As the title suggests, the film’s plot is relatively simplistic, illustrating the trials and tribulations of a girl struggling to fit in. However, through a balance of B-grade jokes and silly supporting characters, the film holds audience attention. Given that there aren’t many exciting twists and turns, both Dunkleman and Jodi’s sister Harper (Sabrina Carpenter, “Horns�), a slightly air-headed pageant girl, help pump the life blood to the movie. The two characters function as Jodi’s support network in different ways, and each has an eccentricity that skirts the line between entertaining and annoying. Despite its lack of mystery, “Tall Girl� does pull viewers in through the shared experience of being an “other.� Jodi’s tall stature is an obvious characteristic that sets her apart from the bunch. But other characters in the film are “weird� in less evident ways. Dunkleman for instance, carries around a crate of books instead of using a backpack. And Harper is the latest of late bloomer, still struggling to close the yearbook and move on from her pageant days. The point that director Nzingha Stewart aims to make is that we all have elements, on a varying spectrum of visibility, that make us outliers. As cheesy and overemphasized as this message is, for some odd reason, we don’t mind hearing it just one more time. “Tall Girl� embodies the phrase “‘what
C O M M E M O R AT I N G
Tall Girl Netflix Wonderland Sound and Vision
you see is what you get.’� There are no major shockers, and no defining moments, but there is development. Though not necessarily innovative or fresh, Jodi’s story is representative of the journey of self-acceptance that each and every person goes through. We might not all have been the “tall girl� in high school, but that doesn’t mean we don’t all have our own awkward oddities that we’ve had to learn to grow into. The ultimate goal of “Tall Girl� is not to leave viewers wide-eyed and mindblown, but rather to crack a few smiles and warm a few hearts.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2019 University of Michigan Law School, 1225 Jeffries Hall 4:10–5:30 p.m.
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One Edith Wharton’s second novel, “The House Of Mirth,� depicts a world that I knew almost nothing about before picking it up — the New York “fashionable� society of the late 19th century, a world that mirrors the European aristocracy in its social aesthetic but is made up of industrialists, real-estate magnates (like Wharton’s parents), Wall Street speculators. That every rich person in America is nouveau riche when compared to the European aristocracy means that participation in high society has more to do with taste, refinement, manners and other immaterial, vague qualities. It’s interesting that this is the social formation that accompanied a period of intense income inequality — in the Gilded Age, the very rich are mostly concerned with being better at being rich than their friends and acquaintances. Awaiting women in this world is a system of rigid control structured around marriage, and Wharton’s novel is a depiction of the viciousness of this system. Her protagonist, Lily Bart, was born into “fashion� but, being an orphan, doesn’t have the means to stay there without marrying a rich man. She is nearly thirty and is reaching the point where her youthful beauty is just beginning to fade — she starts to notice circles around her mouth and wrinkles on her forehead — but her problem is really more psychological. Having been raised in an environment saturated with opulence, she is hesitant to leave it, even as she finds its trappings intolerable. The beginning of the novel has her faced with the prospect of marrying Percy Gryce, a man so dull she nearly can’t stand spending several afternoons with him at a country house. She vacillates between feeling incapable of marrying Gryce and feeling like she needs to charm him, win him over, so she can at least avoid falling into the “dinginess� that surrounds her charmed circle. She is of two minds, on the one hand needing to stay in the presence of money at any cost to her mental life, and on the other hand fully aware of how ill-suited she is mentally for life among the leisure class. This aspect of the plot rests on what amount to vague judgements about social aesthetics — it’s possible that Wharton’s intended audience would have a good awareness of what Lily means in her subtle judgements of the habits of the wealthy. For a reader in the 21st century, what comes across most readily is the mutability of Lily’s judgements, her propensity to change her mind not just about her own role in this “social tapestry,� but about the entire nature of the thing itself. Lily’s simultaneous attraction and repulsion, not just from single men or situations, but to the entire situation of her life, expands the novel of manners into something resembling a psychodrama. Wharton is also very deliberate in creating a character who is entirely dependent on the money of these people to maintain her lifestyle, which is the only one she has ever known. Over and over again, Lily comes close to repudiating her cruel, petty friends before remembering that she also lives in terror of having to make a life for herself outside of this context. Usually she repudiates for just long enough to miss important chances — she spends an afternoon in the country with Lawrence Selden, a charming lawyer just outside the circle of “fashion,� and when she returns to the house finds that Percy Gryce has gotten upset and left. Money saturates the social system Wharton depicts — there’s a gift economy for “tips� on Wall Street, newly rich families try to display their wealth to each other in banquets and parties. Every act of consumption is conspicuous. This doesn’t mean that restrictive social codes no longer exist, though, it just means that they are overlaid with an intensely marketized logic. Money mixes with everything else. Lily falls into a debt in the first half of the book to an investor, Gus Trenor, which quickly turns into an implied sexual debt that Lily flees from in horror. Later, she receives a marriage offer from Simon Rosedale, a man she finds repellant, who says “I’m just giving you a plain business account of the consequences. You’re not very fond of me — yet — but you’re fond of luxury, and style, and amusement, and not having to worry about cash.� As time goes on Lily becomes more and more desperate, she finds this proposal more and more appealing, even as she shrinks from it. The cruelty of “The House Of Mirth� lies in its reduction of everything to value — every bit of social behavior, every signifying piece of clothing or jewelry has a vector that ties it to money. Wharton’s novel reveals, as Lily says, “the cords at the back of the social tapestry,� the identical image of society with all the material workings visible. Two There’s something about the structure of indecision that makes caricatures of the objects under consideration. Writing indecision, then, often requires stating the patently ridiculous. The titular character of Adelle Waldman’s 2013 novel “The Love Affairs Of Nathaniel P� is performing a kind of lower-stakes version of Lily Bart’s social weighing; instead of two distinct, relatively fixed systems, Nate is evaluating a string of women for compatibility, never quite being able to settle on what he actually wants from them. He is instead afloat in a sea of atomized social and sexual characteristics that never quite settle into preferences or opinions. Essentially, he is of two minds as well — one desiring company and one seeing himself as akin to Mailer and Roth, the mid-century writers who were able to view their sexual gratification as akin to the fulfilment of their intellectual wills, independent of romantic involvement. He has inherited a lot of misogyny from his ambient encounters with masculinity, represented by his friend Jason who frequently regales Nate about his softer side. Nate frequently finds himself judging women on Jason’s metric of one to 10 before stopping himself. But he does have a genuine tender streak that occasionally and unpredictably finds its way to the surface. This pendulousness makes his behavior in relationships strange and erratic. He is not a jerk; he is in fact sensitive when he wants to be, but is still capable of being unfeeling and even cruel. He entertains moments of “embarrassing tenderness� and refers to the feeling of having a girlfriend as having an “an alien presence� in his bed with him. He is unable to face these contradictions, because it seems like his mind is only capable of entertaining one set of feelings at a time. Nate’s emotions are always described with fluid words — affection comes over him in “a wave,� resentment “flows� through him. Nothing can be pinned down or reversed in a wave, it has to be followed. Nate is at the mercy of his emotions, wherever they may lead him. The novel occasionally feels like it simplifies everything in life to writing and sex, but in that I feel like it represents how a sizable contingent of people in the contemporary era of overwork and individualism think. As much as his social life is tied up in his work, he sees work as completely distinct from the rest of his life, and is prone to seeing anything else as a distraction. Nate has a hard time having a dignified relationship with anyone because he sees, essentially, a dignified relationship as compromising his working ideal. This does not stop him from pursuing relationships, though. He is unable to fully settle on this ideal, unable to fully commit to it. Maybe this tug-of-war settles on a synthesis in the way that Nate tends to value women. No one in this book seems particularly intellectually rigorous, instead drawing from a hodgepodge of reference points to make ad-hoc arguments over drinks for the fun of it. Similarly, Nate judges women based on a bewildering array of overlapping social cues and codes, some of which have to do with writing and some of which have to do with simple attractiveness. He judges women the way a bad book reviewer judges a book, succinctly and based on surface characteristics — he’s giving a recommendation, more or less.
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Eubanks strives to live by his mother’s parting message Max Marcovitch Managing Sports Editor Nick Eubanks felt chills when he heard the play-call. He knew it was one designed to free him over the middle, a play Michigan had practiced repeatedly in the lead-up to its Nov. 17, 2018 bout with Indiana. He lined up on the right side of the line, put his hand on the ground, heard the cadence and started flying as if carried by the wings of an angel. He released up the field, darting up the seam through the Hoosiers’ defense. As Zach Gentry broke to the corner and the safety chased, Eubanks knew the rest was inevitable. It was a moment born of unspeakable tragedy and unthinkable resilience, and finally it was all his. His, and nobody else’s. Gone, if only for an instant, was the burdensome past. The end zone beckoned. Eubanks caught a dart from Shea Patterson at the opposing 20. There was nothing but green grass in front, but his head jolted right, left and right again to be sure. It was the first touchdown of his career. Then he crossed the goal line,
as the band played “The Victors” and the roar of 110,000plus washed over. He didn’t hear much, but he felt plenty. He felt his head drop, the wave of emotion crashing down. He felt those chills crawl back up his spine. He felt his nine siblings, sprawled out across the country, with him. At his brother in-law’s house over 1,000 miles away, Nick’s father, Clayton, leapt from the couch and screamed. Nick felt that, too. Mostly, though, he felt his mom. “I just had my head down,” Eubanks recalled last Tuesday afternoon, “and was just thinking, like, ‘After all I went through, especially battling injuries, battling doubts, battling myself.’ I had rough days in practice, messing up in practice, not being counted on. I just thought about all them times. It just hit me.” Then he looked up, pointed two fingers at the sky and addressed his mom with two words. “Thank you.” *** Cassandra Eubanks’ dream car was a Chevy Suburban. Nick hoped from a young age that she’d live to see him buy it for
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her. As she was losing strength in the late 2000s, Nick slowly entering adolescence, he began to understand that dream wouldn’t come to fruition. Cassandra had been battling cervical cancer for nearly a decade, though Nick and his nine siblings didn’t know the
That’s the only thing she kept telling me. ‘It’s going to be alright.’ extent until the bitter end. She fought it hard and meticulously, doing chemotherapy and radiation unbeknownst to her children. At first, the effort was to great effect. The cancer regressed; the Eubanks’ thought she was in the clear. “And then it came back,” Clayton said over the phone last
week. “And, what? They say it comes back with a vengeance? It did.” With the cancer spreading and Cassandra’s health declining, the doctors recommended amputating her leg. The doctors felt it was the most effective way to rid her of the tumor. Amid tribulations and consternation, the family agreed it was the best course of action. Clayton was headed to work when a doctor called to explain the recommendation. Harried by the news, he got a ticket for speeding through a school district on his way to the hospital. “I always kept faith knowing that she would pull through, because she fought it all her life and ‘I’ll beat it,’ ” Nick recalled. “It got to a point where she was losing her strength and stuff like that, and basically that was it for her.” Cassandra, 51, died of post-surgical complications on Sept. 11, 2011. To this day, Clayton regrets the decision to attempt the surgery. “I wish I’d never have did that, but she left it on me,” Clayton said. “... Because it was all for nothing, and I was kind of just mad, really. Like I said, it was all for nothing.” Nick, 14 at the time, internal-
ized the emotions from that trauma. He was a reticent kid already, and the tragedy stayed clouded in an adolescent haze of confusion. “He’s a shy person, man. He’s not talkative,” Clayton said. “He was sorta like me with that; he kept a lot of that inside. I know (my kids) cried and stuff, but he didn’t express a lot. And I tried to do my best talking with him and stuff, make him understand what their mother would want from them.” Cassandra left her second-youngest son with a parting message, one Nick holds dear to his heart. “Before she passed away, I think two days before, I was in the room with her, and she was just like, ‘It’s going to be alright.’ ” Eubanks said. “That’s the only thing she kept telling me. ‘It’s going to be alright.’ And then, from that point on, through every adversity I’ve faced — being here, being hurt freshman and sophomore year — I just had that message in the back of my head. “It’s going to be alright. It’s going to be alright.”
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That’s when Nick turned to football, which doubled as both a coping mechanism and a tribute. It was always Cassandra’s dream for Nick to make it big in football, even while, at the time, his focus largely centered around basketball. Nick dove into football head-on. There were no guarantees, but his large frame and athletic gift made the transition a smooth one. He was a late-bloomer in recruiting, but as is often the case, word spread quickly once schools took notice. Alabama, Auburn and Florida all took interest. All Eubanks really wanted, though, was a sense of belonging and trust. At Michigan, he found both, and he knew it right away. To the public, the commitment mere days before National Signing Day came as a shock. As he was leaving Ann Arbor, Nick called Clayton to break the news that he was committing. “That was kinda quick,” Clayton said. “Yeah, man,” Nick replied. “It felt right at home.” Morsels of Cassandra’s ethos constantly linger with Nick, both physical and metaphysical. Often they emerge in times of distress — a need to summon strength when his own is put to the test. Sometimes he’ll talk to her when he’s all alone, repeating things she used to say to him or do for him. Anything to push forward. After he broke his forearm against Purdue early in the 2017 season, ending a potential breakout season in September, Eubanks’ frustration quickly morphed into dread. He’d caught two passes, including a 41-yard catch down the seam, in the season-opener against Florida. That existent dread soon turned to self-reflection, then angst. He started asking himself if he still wanted to play. Recalling that time, perhaps the most trying in his career, Eubanks conveys sincerity in his desire to quit. He spoke to friends and family about the possibility. He spoke with Tarik Black and Jake Butt, both of whom are close confidants and understand his background, about his concerns. “I kinda thought, ‘This is
something I don’t want to do anymore,’ ” Eubanks recalled. “I kind of had a thought of myself, like, ‘This is not you talking. This is not the Nick you were before she left.’ I kinda got myself back with that. “ ‘You don’t quit,’ that’s something she told me. You don’t just sit down. There’s obstacles in life that’s gonna beat you down to the point you don’t want to do it anymore or you think you can’t do it anymore. I just always had that message saying, ‘You got this, man.’ ” As Eubanks speaks, his voice remains steadfast, cracking occasionally to collect his emotions. This is not a tale he tells liberally. He makes clear that he does not intend to engender sympathy or pity. He has never told his coaches, Jim Harbaugh included, about his mother and he doesn’t know what they do or don’t know. He and Harbaugh often sit together upstairs in Schembechler Hall, exchanging small talk over dinner. Harbaugh will ask about school or life. Sometimes he’ll tell Eubanks stories of previous tight ends he’s coached. Eubanks says it’s helped him grow as a player. Though Nick has never told Harbaugh directly, Clayton tipped him off to the family’s background early on — those conversations, in that context, doubling as a check-in. Harbaugh often swaps texts with Clayton, spanning from checkins on his son to well-wishes for the team. The two have struck up an unusual kinship, “to the point where they’re becoming best friends,” Nick said. The loss of Cassandra struck Clayton in a uniquely crushing way, and it’s evident in the way he speaks. He often refers to his children as “good kids” and that he did “the best that I could.” Cassandra, by all accounts, was the family’s unifier. When she passed, the book lost its spine. “Nick, he’s a strong kid, man,” Clayton said. “They loved their mom. And she loved them. She loved them to death; they knew it. And they wanted to finish what they started, and I admire that. That kid came a long way. And I did the best that I could with him. I had to be Mom and Dad. We came through it together, really.”
But then, just as you seem to understand Clayton Eubanks, a flashbulb memory comes firing from the recesses of his past. He recounts, in excruciating detail, getting called into the office in 10th grade; being told his mother had passed away; running home, not waiting for a ride; walking up to the house, and being told cancer had taken her. Suddenly, the scale of his grief takes on new meaning. Suddenly, the ripple effects shower down — and the tragedies hold new weight. It was all for nothing… like I said, it was all for nothing. The totality of those losses, and the succession of the two, cannot possibly be quantified in Clayton’s or Nick’s lives. How does a father possibly handle raising his kids under the exact same pain he experienced? How can he look Nick in the eyes, and sincerely tell him it was going to be alright? That is, of course, not something Nick — at age 14 or 22 — can properly contextualize. Neither he, nor Clayton, can properly put into words the impact those experiences had on his upbringing, nor the rest of his siblings. “It kinda sent me spiraling, really,” Clayton said. “I got out of control for a minute. Once I got past that, I met his mom. And eventually, we started having kids. Kids are nice.” Eubanks chooses not to dwell on those complexities. He’s focused, for the time being, on making the most of his last season at Michigan, continually improving. To start the year, he’s shown hints of being an integral part of the new offense. Flashing a smile, he says he’s even hoping to get his dad up for a game from Florida, circling the Ohio State game as a distinct possibility. “I carry her spirit with me,” he said, “just having a good spirit. Just having her in my ear, in my corner, being that person that’s here with me, even though she’s not.” Then he flashes the inside of his left forearm, pointing to a tattoo bearing her name. He often looks down when he’s going through something. Maybe it’s after a rough practice. Perhaps another injury arises. The understanding is clear. “She’s here with me.”
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Nick Eubanks looks at the tattoo on his left forearm bearing his mother, Cassandra’s, name, when going through adversity.
Wolverines add depth with grad transfers Jacob Hayhurst, Shane Switzer BAILEY JOHNSON Daily Sports Writer
When Josh Norris decided to leave for the NHL, Michigan coach Mel Pearson knew he was facing an uphill battle to find a replacement. The recruiting cycle in hockey runs far in advance of when players actually show up on campus. Typically, players commit while still in high school, then go play at least two years of junior hockey before enrolling. When a player like Norris, who was drafted in the first round of the 2017 NHL Draft, makes his decision to leave in May, finding a replacement is challenging. “A lot of time your recruiting is so far ahead in college hockey now, that there’s not going to be a player out there if Norris finally tells you he’s leaving, bang, you can just find a guy,” Pearson said Wednesday. “It’s usually very picked over by that point. Then you start looking like, ‘Well, OK, maybe there’s a (graduate) transfer who has decided later on (to leave).’ ” As soon as Pearson knew Norris was leaning toward leaving Michigan, he and his coaching staff started checking the transfer portal on a daily basis. Graduate transfers have only recently become prominent in college hockey, and Pearson credits the portal with making transferring more accessible on both sides. “This year, (the transfer portal) really ramped up,” Pearson said. “This past winter and spring it really took off. ... That really became a big deal. Obviously, we see a lot of grad transfers in college hockey now, more than we did the year before. There were a few the first year, and then this year it just seems like it’s taken off.” In April, when Pearson knew Norris might be leaving, the
transfer portal was the first place he checked to find a new addition. And 600 miles away, a prominent player had just entered his name in the portal — Jacob Hayhurst, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s leading scorer from the 2018-19 season. After three years at RPI, Hayhurst decided his best chance at playing for a national title laid elsewhere. Michigan was one of the first teams to reach out to Hayhurst, and his decision to join the Wolverines came shortly after. “At RPI things weren’t going as planned, and we continuously didn’t put a team on the ice that had the best opportunity to win,” Hayhurst said. “I think here at Michigan, each and every year, they create a team that has an opportunity to win a national championship, and I want to be a part of one, so that’s why I’m here. “When they called, I answered right away and could not have been happier.” Pearson often says that they can’t replace Norris with just one player. But when looking for a player to fill the gap, Hayhurst was at the top of Pearson’s list because of his combination of offensive output, speed and game experience. “When you’re unsure if you’re gonna lose a kid like Josh Norris, right away you’re just trying to see if there’s someone there that can come in,” Pearson said. “It’s less of a hit than maybe bringing in a young freshman who’s got a lot to learn still. You bring in a guy like Hayhurst, a senior, or a guy who’s played three years and has one year left and can come into your program, it’s more seamless. He can just come in and sort of hit it running.” In addition to losing Norris up front, Michigan lost three experienced blueliners in Quinn Hughes, Joseph Cecconi and
When they called, I answered right away.
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Michigan coach Mel Pearson recruited Jacob Hayhurst and Shane Switzer to the Wolverines as graduate transfers ahead of the upcoming season.
Nick Boka. Pearson once again turned to the transfer portal in hopes of filling the void. There he found former Boston University defenseman Shane Switzer. After four years at BU, Switzer was looking for a school with more ice time available than he had with the Terriers. “His name came up to us through the former coach there, David Quinn,” Pearson said. “We know David really well and he’s with the New York Rangers now. He had Switzer (at BU) so we had some conversations. He really liked Shane and it just — new coaches went into BU and it just wasn’t a good fit for Shane at that point. Brought in some really high-profile players, and he just sort of got squeezed out there. He’s a Michigan kid, was going to graduate early, a year early, so it’s just a good fit.” Both Switzer and Hayhurst have seemingly settled in seamlessly with the Wolverines. After the team’s first practice, Pearson praised both for their on-ice abilities. And off the ice,
the two new additions were quick to voice appreciation for their new teammates’ efforts in helping them get settled. “It’s really easy, honestly,” Switzer said. “It’s a tightknit group in there, but they welcomed me with open arms and my roommates have been really helpful with the transition.” Added Hayhurst: “It’s been great. The guys have been really helpful, caring, respectful and kind of showing me the ropes and everything, because it’s obviously different here than RPI, being at such a bigger school. Especially my roommates, they’ve really helped me out in getting prepared for classes and set up in that aspect.” Replacing Norris and a veteran core on the blueline isn’t easy, but with Hayhurst’s offensive track record and Switzer’s ability as a defenseman, the two graduate transfers have the potential to fill in just fine.
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September 16, 2019 — 3B
Wolverines draw Nebraska-Omaha Beall solid as Michigan fells WSU LILY FRIEDMAN Daily Sports Writer
Eight minutes in, disaster struck for the Wolverines. They’d fight. They’d keep their composure. But they’d never recover. In that pivotal eighth minute of the Michigan men’s soccer team’s match at University of Nebraska-Omaha Friday, Maverick forward Aaron Uribe hit a header over senior goalkeeper Andrew Verdi. The shot set the Wolverines back a goal early, gave Omaha momentum and furthered a tense environment for Michigan in their first road game of the season. The Wolverines dominated the Maverick throughout the rest of the match — in possession, in shots on goal, in corner kicks and in general flow of play. But that control didn’t translate to goals, and the Wolverines (2-2-1) drew Omaha (0-3-2), 1-1, in a gritty battle that ended with two overtime periods. “We need to do a little bit on game management and giving
our team a chance to win and not have to chase the game so early,” said Michigan coach Chaka Daley. “It’s not good to be down.” From the first whistle, the Wolverines led Omaha in shots on goal — ultimately taking 25 to the Maverick’s nine. The gap between shots on goal and the score indicates issues closing out opportunities in the final third of the field. “I don’t think we were at our best,” Daley said. “We had some good stuff from time to time throughout the game, but we carried possession to a ridiculous amount and carried chances, so I was a little disappointed one wouldn’t sneak in for us.” But only one did. In the 74th minute, senior forward Jack Hallahan beat a defender on the right wing and served a cross in the penalty box to sophomore forward Derick Broche, who
headed the ball into the net. The game-tying goal came in the midst of a chippy game, with yellow cards plauging each roster — including four for the Wolverines. In the 72nd minute, an Maverick player fouled a Wolverine, and multiple other players stepped to his defense. To ease tensions, the referee issued yellow cards to players on both teams. But Daley insists the physicality of the game was typical. In fact, he says, it showed Michigan’s frustration with their plethora of missed chances. “It was just both teams competing,” Daley said. “The guys were just looking after each other. With the amount of possession we had, it was definitely unfortunate, but we’ll get back to the drawing board, get some recovery and get ready for Tuesday.”
We’ll get back to the drawing board, get some recovery.
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Michigan coach Chaka Daley insisted the physicality of Friday’s draw with Nebraska-Omaha was typical.
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Junior goaltender Hillary Beall anchored the Michigan women’s soccer team in its 2-1 win over Washington State.
ABBY SNYDER
Daily Sports Writer
Being a goalkeeper is one of the most high-pressure jobs in sports. Nothing between the player and the net –just a pair of gloves between the player and a soccer ball hurtling forward, often at upwards of 50 miles an hour. An intimidating task, to say the least. Not so for Hillary Beall on Friday. The junior goaltender was steady as a rock between the posts Friday, anchoring the Michigan women’s soccer team on its way to a 2-1 defeat of No. 13 Washington State. The win over the Cougars marks the Wolverines’ first against a ranked opponent this season, an encouraging sign as the team heads into Big Ten play Thursday. “Hillary really just came up big for us,” Michigan coach Jennifer Klein said. “She’s been solid all throughout the season, and she’s been coming up with some big saves. “I think it all comes down to her training and her experience as a goalkeeper, and she’s done a great job for us more than anything.”
The Wolverines got off to a quick start, scoring twice in the first four minutes. The first goal came off the foot of junior midfielder Sarah Stratigakis, who lifted the ball over the head of Washington State goalkeeper Ella Dederick in the second minute to put Michigan on the board. The Wolverines were quick to strike again. In the 4th minute, sophomore midfielder Meredith Haakenson found the goal on a cross from junior midfielder Nicki Hernandez, faking left to beat Dederick before putting the ball in the net, extending Michigan’s lead to 2-0. “We just had great energy to start the game,” Klein said. “Really, it was just being prepared for their directness and how they move the ball.” The match was fairly evenlypaced throughout. Though the Wolverines finished the game on top, the Cougars had more shots, notching 12 on the match
to Michigan’s eight. Washington State continued to threaten late into the game, finally beating Beall in the 71st minute on a header just past her outstretched fingertips to get on the board. The Wolverines held steady, though, with Beall lights out in the net for the rest of the night. She recorded 12 saves on the match, a career best for the junior, a native of Laguna Beach, Calif. The hours-long trip to Pullman, Wash. for the game – and the three-hour time difference from Ann Arbor – proved to be no problem for Michigan, which benefited greatly from its training leading up to the game. “I thought we did a great job of finishing the game strong and finding a way to get a result on the road against a very dangerous and difficult opponent,” Klein said. “I thought the team did a great job handling the travel. I don’t think it really affected us.” It certainly didn’t affect Beall.
I thought we did a great job of finishing the game.
Spieker makes statement
Sophomore goaltender Anna Spieker leads Wolverines past third-ranked Huskies, 3-2, in Friday night upset JACK KINGSLEY Daily Sports Writer
KATELYN MULACHY/Daily
Sophomore goaltender Anna Spieker stayed collected under the pressure of UConn’s corner penalties.
MEGAN CHAPELLE Daily Sports Writer
Anna Spieker has mastered staying collected under pressure. As the clock began to count down in regulation on Friday, the sophomore goalkeeper saved a shot from No. 3 Connecticut’s senior forward Seva Boker. During the block a Michigan defender fouled resulting in a corner penalty — putting Spieker and the Wolverines’ defense to the test. A series of consecutive corner penalties ensued as the No. 11 Michigan women’s field hockey team attempted to fend off the Huskies at the start of the fourth quarter (2-1). “We talk about it a lot before the game,” Spieker said. “We have a specific kind of defensive structure going into the corner, so we study them. We know exactly who’s going to shoot. We anticipate what they’re going to do.” Connecticut took its shot, and the Wolverines blocked it. Yet, this block came strings attached, tying it to another corner penalty for the Huskies.
“It’s always a stressful situation,” said Spieker. “But, I have full confidence in our corner defense.” Connecticut again aimed for the goal and again fell short. Spieker, calm and collected, saved the shot. Though, in mirroring the first corner penalty’s play, the Wolverines allowed the Huskies another consecutive corner penalty. “Anna’s an experienced player, and she’s smart and poised,” said Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz. “We have enormous confidence in her being back there. We trust her.” Despite this faith in Spieker, tensions in the stadium built with each corner penalty, as the probability of an impending goal increased. For the third time, Connecticut readied itself to score, as the Wolverines again prepared their defense. The Huskies’ senior back Antonia
Tiedtke carefully took her third shot. Spieker, living up to the trust placed in her, saved it. Connecticut collected the rebound quickly and impulsively took another shot at Spieker — missing wide. “I am confident, but I do get nervous and jittery,” Spieker said. “I just try to flush it out and be confident in what I can do.” This calm and collected attitude under pressure coupled with careful preparation gives Spieker her mastery over corner penalties, a game-winning skill for Michigan on Friday night. The Wolverines prevented the Huskies from scoring a goal that would have ultimately tied the game. Michigan won 3-2. “I thought Anna played quite well today,” Pankratz said. “Our team’s defense was solid and organized. “I just couldn’t be more proud of our team and how hard we’ve played defensively.”
Anna Spieker and the No. 11 Michigan defense were in a tough spot. With 13 minutes remaining and a one-goal lead on Friday, the sophomore goalkeeper faced three consecutive penalty corner attempts from No. 3 Connecticut (4-1). Spieker stayed focused, making two more saves to preserve the Wolverines’ lead, en route to a 3-2 victory over the Huskies. “Anna’s an experienced player,” said Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz. “We have enormous confidence in her being back there.” Added Spieker: “It’s always a stressful situation going into it but I have full confidence in our corner defense that we’re going to do well.” The Wolverines (3-2) opened the scoring five minutes into the second quarter. After a shot by sophomore midfielder Sofia Southam was saved, Michigan was awarded a penalty corner. Southam received the pass off of the corner and took a shot, which was deflected in by senior midfielder/forward Fay Keijer for her first goal of the
season. The Wolverines tacked on another goal with 1:30 left in the half on junior midfielder Kayla Reed’s second goal of the season. Halfway through the third quarter, Connecticut cut the lead to 2-1 with a top-shelf goal out of Spieker’s reach, giving the Huskies some momentum. They got another prime scoring chance with time expiring in the third. A high shot forced Spieker to make an impressive save, deflecting the shot and kicking it out from in front of the net. After keeping Connecticut scoreless on the three consecutive corners, the Wolverines regained momentum and played well defensively, leading to more scoring opportunities. With just under five minutes left in the game, freshman forward Sarah Pyrtek took a one-timer off of a rebound and potted a much needed insurance goal, giving Michigan a 3-1 lead. With a two-goal lead, the Wolverines played a more defensive-minded game. The Huskies had difficulty breaking through for a while, but in the last minute a cross got past Spieker, allowing an unmarked Connecticut player to score an
easy goal. “Unfortunate goal,” Spieker said. “We should’ve been there defensively probably a little better. That goal needs to be marked.” Despite the goal, Michigan continued its strong defensive play when the Huskies threatened as time expired, giving them no space to get a shot off. The win gave the Wolverines their best win of the young 2019 season and a confidence booster going forward. “I’m very excited about the win,” Pankratz said. “UConn is an excellent team and I just couldn’t be more proud of our team and how hard we’ve played defensively. “Even though we’ve had a couple of losses early we just keep instilling that it’s a process and we’re trying to get better every day. We’re just trying to instill confidence in all of the players. I thought they played with that today beautifully.” With Spieker and the rest of the Michigan’s defense playing at this caliber, the team looks poised to take the confidence that it gained from this game into the fast-approaching Big Ten season.
I just try to flush (nerves) out and be confident.
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz said she has “enormous confidence” in goaltender Anna Spieker after Friday’s win.
SportsMonday
4B — September 16, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Six straight sets Michigan sweeps Navy on Friday, Eastern Michigan on Sunday in show of dominance as Big Ten play gets closer TEDDY GUTKIN Daily Sports Writer
After losing two of its last three games, the No. 24 Michigan volleyball team (6-2) looked to right the ship on Friday against Navy (4-4), a feat it would accomplish after battling through three close sets. From the outset, things didn’t look good for the Wolverines. Michigan was down 11-8 early against the Midshipmen in the first set. Looking to get his team back on track, Michigan coach Mark Rosen called a timeout. Coming out of the huddle, the Wolverines outscored Navy, 17-11, en route to a 25-22 victory in the first set. They would go on to win the next two sets 25-22 and 25-21 to earn a 3-0 sweep. Despite earning a sweep, Rosen believes that the win left much room for improvement. “I don’t think we played to the level of our ability, so for me, it’s hard to look and say we pulled these out,” Rosen said. I think it never should’ve been that close. For me, I think we can execute better and represent better.” While the team looked far more disciplined and effective after Rosen’s timeout, he insists that he had little to say in the huddle. Instead, he used the break simply as a chance to let his squad regroup. Clearly, the strategy worked. “(I was) just giving them a chance to regroup and take a step back and juts take that time to re-gather themselves,” Rosen said. “I thought that they responded well.” In the second set, the Wolverines came out swinging, quickly jumping out to an 8-3 lead — highlighted by an ace from freshman middle blocker May Pertofsky — and forcing a Midshipmen timeout. Errors, though, proved to be a problem, with the Wolverines committing three in the set to
allow Navy to tie the score at 11. Overcoming these mistakes, the Wolverines netted three straight kills to push the lead to 14-11. They then held off a late push from the Midshipmen after a block from senior outside hitter Sydney Wetterstrom and a Navy service error, taking the second set, 25-22. Despite the team’s errors, Michigan found a steady anchor on offense in senior setter Mackenzi Welsh, who totaled 10 assists in the set and 35 total on the night. Rosen credited her for helping the team’s offense stabilize itself late in the set. “She’s somebody who’s really experienced,” he said. “There’s a reason she’s our floor captain.” With a chance to sweep, Michigan eventually clinched a 25-21 victory thanks to six kills
from sophomore outside hitter Paige Jones. The final blow came on a spike from freshman middle blocker Jess Robinson, who had 11 kills on the night, including four in the final set. “She doesn’t really bounce balls straight down very often,” Rosen said, “but she hits so hard and so high and with really good range that she just gets a lot of kills.” One thing is certain: Friday’s win didn’t come without problems, as Rosen will be the first to tell you. “I thought today we were very up and down,” he said. “We certainly are striving to be a more steady team than that, but right now that’s all I can go of is what I see and that’s where we were and we’ve gotta work on that.”
Daily Sports Writer
After an underwhelming start to a season in which she figured to be the Michigan volleyball team’s top offensive weapon, Paige Jones put a dent in any notion of a sophomore slump on Friday night. In her best performance of the young season, the sophomore outside hitter posted 12 kills on 29 swings to propel the 24th-ranked Wolverines to a sweep of Navy (4-4). Despite a lackluster .152 hitting percentage — a 43-point dropoff from last season’s clip — Michigan (6-2) continued to rely on Jones to carry a large portion of the offense through its first seven matches. She entered Friday with more attack attempts than any other Wolverine except senior outside hitter Sydney Wetterstrom. Coming off an appearance on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2018, little stood in Jones’ way of becoming one of the conference’s best pin hitters. That is, aside from herself. Through Michigan’s first six matches of the season, Jones committed a team-high 29 errors and recorded a hitting percentage above .250 only once. Talent has never been a question with Jones — the Ohio high school state record holder for kills in a single match and season — but errors have cost her a chance at dominance. While it’s already tough for an outside hitter to produce when they’re at the top of every opposing scouting report, selfinflicted errors are costly. Freshmen in particular often find themselves prone to mistakes, and Jones was no different a season ago when she averaged over 1.5 attack errors per set. This season’s figure was hovering around a similar mark before she
Daily Sports Writer
The Wolverines were on the ropes. Midway through the second set, Michigan volleyball coach Mark Rosen called a timeout. His team trailed by a point after scoring only one of the previous seven. Eastern Michigan was rolling. But Rosen rallied his team, and the Wolverines (6-2) took the next three points. They never looked back en route to a 25-22, 25-18, 25-19 victory. Despite dominating just moments before, the Eagles (3-5) completely fell apart after Rosen’s timeout and never led again. “(Before the timeout,) we were just making a lot of errors,”
Rosen said. “… We just want to make sure we can play our game and don’t give them free points, and I thought they did a really good job after that, and then the game flipped.” The first set was a largely back-and-forth affair early on, with neither team leading by more than one through the first 13 points. The Eagles managed to grind out a 12-8 lead, their largest of the match, but Michigan battled back to even the score at 17. From there, crucial kills — especially from sophomore outside hitter Paige Jones — propelled the Wolverines to their first set win. “They’re a very different tempo than we are,” Rosen said. “… it just took them awhile to get used to the rhythm, and once they did, our block got a lot
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
The Michigan volleyball team won both its matches over the weekend, sweeping Navy on Friday and Eastern Michigan on Sunday to move to 6-2 on the season.
Jones breakout lifts Wolverines DANIEL DASH
BRENDAN ROOSE
made just two errors on Friday while posting a season-best .345 hitting percentage. Wolverines’ coach Mark Rosen subbed her out in favor of sophomore Abbey Malinowski after just six points, citing Jones’ diversion from the game plan. Jones didn’t sit on the bench for long, and she made her presence felt upon returning. She tallied a team-best four kills on seven errorless swings even after stumbling out of the gate. “When (Jones) went back in, she really dialed it in,” Rosen said. “That’s a great skill. We’re not always going to have our best night on any given night but the ability to in-match alter where you’re at and get it under control, Paige has done that numerous times. Give her a breather, (then) she comes back in and does a really nice job.” Two of her four kills came at key moments late in the frame, breaking a tie at 18 and giving Michigan a three-point lead at 22-19. Her timely front row execution wasn’t the only place she left her mark, though, as her serve kept Navy out of system for most of the match. Jones is the team’s only starter with a jump serve — a technique used to add power and height to the move by using a leaping approach to strike the ball. Her 12-to-14 ace-to-error ratio is a big step forward from her 39-to-70 mark as a freshman and, so far, has made the difference in some tight sets. “I’m trying right now to just tell myself to go out and have fun and play,” Jones said on Sunday after recording 15 kills in a sweep of Eastern Michigan. “When I think about stuff too much is when I struggle a little bit, but my teammates definitely help me and help me feel more comfortable on the court to be able to go out and play volleyball and have fun.” Emerging when her team
When (Jones) went back in, she really dialed in.
‘M’ wins with mid-game adjustments
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Sophomore outside hitter Paige Jones busted out of a slump on Friday night, helping Michigan to two sweeps on the weekend.
needs her most is something Jones is working to embrace now that she has a year of experience under her belt. She was the team’s lone freshman in the starting lineup last season — an opportunity that allowed her to learn on the fly as the season progressed. But for Jones, such experience brings the added pressure of knowing nothing is new anymore. “She has really high expectations for herself,” Rosen said. “She’s a perfectionist, as most of our players are. She puts a lot of pressure on herself, has a lot of expectations and sometimes needs to be able to take a step back. My advice I have for her is to just play the game. … As she gets more comfortable doing that, we’re going to see some really great things from her.” Jones put forth her seasonbest performance in kills-per-set, attack efficiency and blocking in Friday’s sweep. Now, it becomes a matter of making such a performance the status quo. “She can be really, really good,” Rosen said. “… I think she can do that on a regular basis and certainly that’s our expectation, but we’ve got to get her there.”
better and then our defense got a lot better after that.” Using these defensive adjustments, the Wolverines maintained their rhythm early in the second set, opening with two consecutive kills from freshman opposite hitter May Pertofsky. Jones and senior outside hitter Sydney Wetterstrom anchored Michigan’s offensive attack, notching four kills each in the second set. Wetterstrom would finish the match with 11 kills, including a textbook spike to clinch the second set for the Wolverines. Jones finished with a team-leading 15 kills, a sensational number in a match that finished in just three sets. “I’m trying right now to tell myself to just go out there and have fun and play,” Jones said. “When I think about stuff too much is when I struggle a little bit, but my teammates definitely help me feel more comfortable on the court to be able to go out and play volleyball and have fun.” Michigan dominated the third set, jumping to an early 8-3 lead and riding that momentum through the end of the match. The offense largely ran through senior setter Mackenzi Welsh, who tallied 15 assists in the third set and a whopping 42 for the whole match. “Mack is doing a great job being floor captain,” Jones said. “She’s the one that really makes sure that when we go into the huddle, we all make eye contact.” The production didn’t stop there. Junior libero Natalie Smith added a team-leading 12 digs, and Jones and Welsh added 11 and 10 digs, respectively. “Our passing, our first contact was really good tonight, and that’s something we’ve been spending a lot of time working on,” Rosen said. “Overall, I think we did a really good job.”
JACOB KOPNICK Daily Sports Writer
Deep into the third set, freshman defensive specialist Amber Beals lofted the ball in the air and smacked it to the opposing side of the court. The ball ricocheted off the defender’s arm, notching the fourth service ace of the day for the Wolverines. But it wasn’t just more aggressive serving that allowed the No. 24 Michigan volleyball team (6-2) to overtake Eastern Michigan (3-5) in three straight sets on Sunday — adjustments in all aspects of the game, particularly weak serves, revealed a constantly adapting Wolverine team. It showed a group who knows its strengths and weaknesses and knows how to adjust. The first set of the day was a tit-for-tat slugfest that put Michigan on its heels. With several lead changes and errors, the Wolverines found their way out of the first frame with a three-point win. A few serves found the net instead of the f loor and certain passes ran errant while Michigan attempted to establish itself.
In part, the Eagles’ unique system — characterized by running high balls to the outside, tricking blockers into earlier, slower attempts at the ball — attributed to the Wolverines’ early struggles. But after that first set, having seen the opposing system, the more talented Michigan team took the lead and never looked back. Serving became an asset rather than a liability. The blocking became crisp and dominant. Other players saw the f loor and made immediate contributions. While not all serves landed as aces, many were superbly placed, often forcing the setter to run all over the f loor and play out of system. “Aces are good, but we look at aces as a nice thing, but more, it’s what’s happening on all the balls,” said Michigan coach Mark Rosen. “Is the setter
standing at the net where she wants to stand, running her offense where she wants to run it from? Or is she on the run and moving off the net? If our serving is tough enough where we’ve got their setter on the run, then hey, that’s not as good as an ace, but it’s awfully close.” Making proper adjustments is a running theme for the Wolverines this year, with Sunday’s win cementing that idea. Earlier in the match, senior outside hitter Sydney Wetterstrom struggled. The offensive workhorse’s typical ferocity was missing, often whiffing on routine spike plays. So Rosen pulled his starter out of the rotation to let Wetterstrom see the game from a different perspective. After the needed mental break, she went back in and dominated — finishing the day with 11 kills. A testament to the team’s depth and mindset, the case of Wetterstrom is a frequent occurrence for Michigan this year. “Sometimes you just need a break,” Rosen said. “And we have the depth to be able to do that, so I thought across the board today, people who went in, they were ready to go in, and the level stayed high.” Now, the team is looking to reconcile this idea with its record. After dropping two games to unranked opponents Missouri and Dayton at the Dayton Invitational, the Wolverines will look to shake early errors and focus on their advantages. While anyone can look at a straight-set win and see a dominant performance, Michigan’s strength comes in acknowledging the early challenges — then adjusting to roll over the competition.
People who went in, they were ready to go in.