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Changes to ACT policy draws mixed responses

Update to test allows students to retake single sections instead of entire exam LIAT WEINSTEIN & ALEX HARRING

Multicultural groups at U-M denounce Order of Angell DESIGN BY LIZZY RUEPPEL

UAAO, La Casa, ASA release statements condemning participation in organization ALEX HARRING & PARNIA MAZHAR Daily Staff Reporters

Three prominent multicultural groups — the United Asian American Organizations, La Casa and the Arab Student Association — at the University of Michigan have released statements condemning participation in Order of Angell, an exclusive senior honor society formerly known as Michigamua, due to the organization’s historical exclusivity and past appropriation of Native American culture. The groups announced policies that bar students who accept

membership in the society from holding a leadership position within their cultural organization. Former University President James Angell originally founded Michigamua, now Order of Angell, in 1902 to bring students from different corners of campus together and facilitate “campus synergy.” The current goal of the organization, according to members who spoke with The Daily on Friday afternoon, is to bring a diverse group of up to 25 students with demonstrated leadership on campus together to better the University. The Order’s reputation has been marred by instances of racism in the past, specifically in

regards to its nature of exclusivity and use of Native American rituals. The organization’s meeting space previously exhibited Native American statues and headdresses, and the room itself had a “wigwam-like” interior design. Michigamua also displayed photos of members taking part in Native Americanlike rituals and gave members derogatory nicknames like “Squaw,” which references female reproductive organs. The University banned Michigamua from using the seventh floor of the Michigan Union, its historical meeting space, in 2000 after native artifacts were discovered in the

space and demonstratorsoccupied the area for 37 days. The University reinstated the group as a recognized organization in 2007 after losing the distinction in 2000, and the organization renamed itself as Order of Angell the same year. Historical documents related to the Order are available in the Bentley Historical Library on North Campus. According to itswebsite, the Order “recognizes the hurt” caused by using “co-opted Native American rituals” and noted the group does not partake in any Native American practices currently and “actively condemns” doing See ANGELL, Page 3

Daily Staff Reporters

Officials at the ACT — a college admissions test taken by more than 1.9 million students each year — announced a policy change earlier this month that will allow students to retake single sections of the five-part test rather than having to sit for the entire exam in hopes of improving their score. Typically, the test takes about three hours to complete. In an email to The Michigan Daily, University of Michigan spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald said the University would need more information from ACT officials in order to determine the impact the changes will have on admissions policies. “Clarification from ACT regarding how test information will be shared and viewable by universities is still unclear,” Fitzgerald wrote. “The admissions team will continue to monitor this situation as policies are shared and make changes to the process where appropriate.” The change comes amid concerns over testing-based

Students Ann Arbor residents discuss run race concerns about Gelman Plume in honor of Public meeting considered different locations for monitoring water wells classmate CAMPUS LIFE

ALYSSA MCMURTRY Daily Staff Reporter

University community members to paricipate in event in memory of Atharva Kharkhar SAMANTHA SMALL Daily Staff Reporter

When Atharva Kharkar, former Business sophomore at the University of Michigan, was told he had leukemia last June, he rolled his eyes and said with a smile on his face: “Honestly, life is so dramatic.” In East Lansing five years prior, Alex Powell was preparing to begin his undergraduate career at Michigan State University when he found out he was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer. Though they have both since passed away, both these students legacies’ live on and will be honored by students and staff of both universities during Alex’s Great State Race on November 15. Every year since 2013 on the eve of the Michigan vs. Michigan State football game, Reserve Officer Training Corps students from both colleges gear up to partake in a 64-mile relay race to deliver the ceremonious game ball. From 3 a.m. to 3 p.m., flights will trek through the almost freezing weather, blustering winds and pitch-black sky to honor Alex’s legacy. Though originally set up by Powell’s parents, this year, LSA senior and Army ROTC student Alex Zhang decided to make it more personal and run in honor of Kharkar. See RUN, Page 3

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At Larcom City Hall Monday, about 50 Ann Arbor residents and City Councilmembers attended a public meeting to discuss possible locations for monitoring water wells regarding the Gelman Plume. According to Washtenaw County’s website, the Gelman Plume is the spread of the contaminant 1,4 dioxane throughout the county groundwater that is contaminating residents’ drinking water. 1,4 dioxane

is a carcinogen that, from 1966 to 1986, the company Gelman Sciences used in their manufacturing process, in which they improperly disposed of their waste water. Brian Steglitz, water treatment plant manager for Ann Arbor, opened the event with a quick overview and introductions, sharing the reason behind the meeting. “So why are we here?” Steglitz said. “We are here because we want to make sure that we are doing everything that we can to make sure that the city’s drinking water supply is protected.”

Ann Arbor resident Mozghan Savabieasfahani, an environmental taxologist, told The Daily she feels Ann Arbor has fallen short in protecting its residents. “The spirit of actual change (is missing),” Savabieasfahani said. “The city of Ann Arbor has miserably failed from protecting us and our water supply is contaminated. We want change and the urgency to clean it up is missing.” Patti McCall, associate geologist and professional wetland scientist at Tetra Tech, broke down the plans for the monitoring well,

which is meant to test water thought to be untouched by 1,4 dioxane. If the contaminant is present, then the monitoring wells will trigger early warning signs, McCall said. McCall said the project is broken down into six phases: data collection, three-dimensional modeling, independent review, sample collection, well location recommendations and public engagement.

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OLIVIA CELL/Daily Michael Hickok, Las Vegas Division Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge, discusses his thoughts on Turkish-American relations at the WCED lecture at Weiser Hall Monday afternoon.

Weiser Center hosts event on Turkey with Ottoman history expert speaker FBI special agent lectures on emergence of nation as a hegemonic state

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JOEL DANILEWITZ and MAGDALENA MIHAYLOVA “Whether in the end (these Hickock said he conceived mistakes that we made in our Editorial Page Editors tothedaily@michigandaily.com of the idea for this lecture two policy, the mistakes that the internal changes) bring us Senior Opinion Editors: Emily Considine, Krystal Hur, Ethan Kessler, Miles Ottomans made, the mistakes that to a better relationship with decades ago. Stephenson, Erin White “The Hegemonic Rise piece the British had made in trying to Washington or whether it makes On Monday evening, the MAX MARCOVITCH and ETHAN SEARS Turkey a more predictable Weiser Center for Emerging comes out of something I did make an economy in Iraq.” Managing Sports Editors sportseditors@michigandaily.com Hickok also contrasted security actor within the region,” Democracies organized a lecture approximately twenty years ago,” Senior Sports Editors: Anna Marcus, Aria Gerson, Ben Katz, Mark Calcagno, Theo Mackie, Tien Le titled “Hegemon Risen: Turkey’s Hickok said. “I was sitting and 1990s Turkey and present-day Yel said. “I think it is something Assistant Sports Editors: Bailey Johnson, Bennett Bramson, Connor Brennan, Emergence as an Independent doing some thinking about some Turkey. He spoke about Turkey’s that has not been decided and I Jacob Kopnick, Jorge Cazares, Rian Ratnavale Authoritarian State” with pieces I had done previously in newfound willingness to invade think that it is very hard right now ARYA NAIDU and VERITY STURM support from the Donia Human Turkey in the context of what was other countries, which has from the Americans’ point of view, Managing Arts Editors arts@michigandaily.com Rights Center, the University of changing in Turkey in that period contributed to Turkey’s rise as a due to the nature of our relation, Senior Arts Editors: Clara Scott, Emma Chang, Cassandra Mansuetti, Sam to see that. We are in a position Michigan Department of History, and I speculated a little on where I hegemon. Della Fera, Trina Pal Arts Beat Editors: John Decker, Sayan Ghosh, Mike Watkins, Ally Owens, “(Turkey’s) previous strategic where it is very hard for us to see the Michigan War Studies Group thought things were going, sitting Stephen Satarino, Izzy Hasslund, Margaret Sheridan planning had been based on what’s going on internally.” and the International Institute. in 2000.” At the end of the lecture, Hickok asserted that very little somebody else invading them,” The audience consisted of about ROSEANNE CHAO and JACK SILBERMAN Managing Design Editors design@michigandaily.com 50 people, both students and of what is happening in Turkish Hickok said. “But they spent much audience members were able to Senior Design Editor: Sherry Chen politics is happening for the first of the 2000s, and more recently ask Hickok questions. professors. In response to a question Michael Hickok, an FBI time. He mentioned a piece he last week, invading other people. ALEXIS RANKIN and ALEC COHEN assistant special agent-in-charge wrote in 2001, where he analyzed They are comfortable doing that regarding whether the change Managing Photo Editors photo@michigandaily.com in the Las Vegas Division with a the political and economic history in a way they would not have been in Turkey’s military strategy is a Senior Photo Editors: Alexandria Pompei, Natalie Stephens, Alice Liu, Allison Engkvist, Danyel Tharakan reflection of the Ottoman legacy, Ph.D. in Ottoman history from in Northern Iraq to get a broader prior to 1998.” Assistant Photo Editors: Miles Macklin, Keemya Esmael, Madeline Hinkley, Hickok further emphasized Hickok said Turkey was almost the University, was the lecture’s understanding of the situation. Ryan McLoughlin the Ottoman keynote speaker. “In taking it back to the that Turkey’s previous view as semi-isolating Fatma Müge Göçek, professor Ottoman times, through the a bridge to get somewhere else legacy and recognizing itself as a ANDREA PÉREZ BALDERRAMA Statement Editor statement@michigandaily.com of sociology and women’s studies, British, through what Saddam and not be somewhere to go has Eurasian power. Deputy Editors: Matthew Harmon, Shannon Ors “(Turkey) is almost turning its began the event by introducing was trying to do, I would suggest changed and that this change Sudoku Syndication back on the Ottoman tradition and Hickok’s background in Ottoman to you that the themes are very http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ in perspective has led Turkey http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ Sudoku Syndication SILAS LEE and EMILY STILLMAN history and work with the FBI. similar,” Hickok said. “The to recognize itself as a regional Ottoman history,” Hickok said. “If Managing Copy Editors copydesk@michigandaily.com anything, (Turkey) is integrating power. Senior Copy Editors: Dominick Sokotoff, Olivia Sedlacek, Reece Meyhoefer “Now Turkey no longer with the West.” CASEY TIN and HASSAAN ALI WATTOO Finally, Hickok was asked how sees itself as this thing Managing Online Editors webteam@michigandaily.com that people use to get to powers like the Moscow, Tehran Senior Web Developers: Jonathon Liu, Abha Panda, Ryan Siu, David Talbot, Samantha Cohen somewhere else,” Hickok and Baghdad reacted to Turkey’s assertion as an independent said. “It is, in itself, an ELI SIDER MEDIUM HARDindependent security actor power as compared to the United Managing Video Editor video@michigandaily.com Senior Video Editors: Ryan O’Connor, Joseph Sim States. within the area.” “So it’s been a different dynamic In an interview with NA’KIA CHANNEY and CARLY RYAN Michigan in Color Editors michiganincolor@michigandaily.com The Daily after the event, because the Russians, the Iraqis Senior Michigan in Color Editors: Lorna Brown, Samuel So, Ana Maria LSA sophomore Alp Yel, have had a different relationship Sanchez-Castillo, Efe Osagie, Danyel Tharakan executive board member with Turkey than Washington,” Assistant Michigan in Color Editors: Harnoor Singh, Nada Eldawy, Maya of the Turkish Student Hickok said. “So for Iraq, to see Mokh Association, said he believes Turkey as an independent security CATHERINE NOUHAN Turkey can indeed become actor is less of a concern than the Managing Podcast Editor a significant regional power internal issues within Iraq right MADALASA CHAUDHARI and HANNAH MESKIN Managing Social Media Editors now. So they can’t do anything in the future. Senior Social Media Editor: Allie Phillips “If Turkey plays its about Turkey’s interference in moves right it can become Northern Iraq and so are more or a regional power,” Hickok less set with kind of negotiating it said. “Turkey has to strike out.” MOLLY WU Creative Director LSA senior Selin Levi said after a balance between its own RYAN KELLY ZELJKO KOSPIC goals and political ties with the lecture she thinks Turkey is Sales Manager Special Projects Manager indeed becoming an unpredictable its allies and neighbors.” ROBERT WAGMAN ANITA MICHAUD To conclude the lecture, hegemonic power. Marketing Consulting Manager Brand Manager “Turkey’s rise to a hegemonic Hickok said he believed that though there are changes power has made the future coming in the future in uncertain,” Levi said. “With The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during regards to Turkey’s internal its military action in Syria, it is the fall and winter terms by students at the University OF Michigan. One copy is becoming increasingly hard to politics, the relationship © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. HAVE CIDERHOPE AND DONUTS puzzle by sudokusyndication.com between Turkey and predict what sort of actor it will Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for September-April are $250 and year long subscriptions are $275. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription the United States is still become in the future.” rate. 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ACT From Page 1 According to the ACT website, students can take the test up to twelve times, though the majority of students take it no more than twice. The test comes with a price tag of $68, or $52 without the writing section, though there are fee waivers available. There is no set price for the individual sections yet, but ACT officials expect it to be cheaper than the price to retake the test in full, the New York Times reported. For some, like Nursing sophomore Zoe Gierlinger, who received extra time to take the ACT, the decision is a step in the right direction toward a more equitable testing process, especially for those who receive extra time to complete the test due to medical necessity. “For someone like me who received extra time on the ACT, it would most likely be easier to focus with the sections divided,” Gierlinger said. “Otherwise, you test for six straight hours and ultimately it becomes harder to keep focus, although the extra time is necessary. Dividing the sections would help improve concentration and allow students to perform at their potential.” LSA junior Jason Fernando co-founded Excel Tutoring, a standardized test preparation company, in 2017 to bridge the gap between those who receive extensive test preparation and those who do not. Fernando echoed Gierlinger’s point, adding he thinks the new policy will allow lower-income college applicants to achieve higher scores on the standardized exams. “I think this will allow for a less of a barrier for students who don’t have the means to take the [full] test over and over again,” Fernando said. “For lowerincome students, a cheaper test that is not as high-stakes can be more advantageous for them, and let them knock down barriers that they hadn’t before.” The score has received mixed feedback from colleges. A Georgetown University official noted the school would not accept individual superscore results.

RUN From Page 1 According to Akshata Kharkar, Atharva’s sister, every morning Atharva would wake up at 5 a.m. to finish all his work by 8 a.m, and simply continue on with his day. As an accomplished filmmaker, photographer and drawer, it seemed there was nothing he couldn’t do. “If he had a goal in mind, he would accomplish it — no matter what,” Akshata Kharkar said. And this tenacity did not go unnoticed. “So many people from U-M are telling me that they knew him — he was really compassionate, he would as much as he could, try to get to know someone,” Kharkar said. “He had the best memory … he would always remember their name and know exactly where he met them, what they did; he was just really good at talking. He would start up a conversation with anyone, like we went to Florida one year and homeboy just talked to this person sitting next to him for the whole f light. He had no idea who they were, they just started up a conversation and went for it for a couple hours.” For Zhang, it was that effortless, personable quality that drew him to Atharva in the first place. At a networking event for the Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity, Zhang and Atharva immediately clicked. They bonded over apertures, or as Zhang says “technical nerd stuff.” But, because he was stationed in El Paso this summer, Zhang didn’t hear about Kharkar’s diagnosis until after his passing. This feels like the right way for him to help, he said, as he couldn’t be there for him before. “I can’t pretend I was too close with him,” Zhang said.

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According to the Common Data Set, 74 percent of the Fall 2017 incoming freshman class at U-M submitted an ACT score when applying. The University reports the 25th percentile to 75th percentile of the incoming class’s performance on the test. The Fall 2017 class’s range was a 30-33 out of a total of 36 points — placing the class in the 93rd to 98th percentile nationally. In 2016, the state of Michigan switched from offering one free ACT test to a free SAT for all students in the state. Before the switch, the state had used the ACT as its free college assessment exam since 2007. A 2018 study from the National Bureau of Economics Research found that while half of SAT-takers retake the exam after their first try, these retake rates are significantly lower among students from low-income backgrounds. The study found that race impacts retake rates, as well— students classified as underrepresented minorities are nine percentage points less likely to retake the SAT than white students. The College Board — the organization that administers the SAT and Advanced Placement tests — cited the study as evidence that students who retake their exams often receive higher scores than those who choose to take it only once. Joshua Goodman, one of the authors of the study and a professor of economics at Brandeis University, said while the data from his study is specific to the SAT, it can be generalized to the ACT because of the similarities between the two tests. “These are two entities that are competing over students,” Goodman said. “And they are competing by offering the test as many times a year as they can, trying to make it as easy to take as possible. And I think this move was partly because the ACT was sort of trying to figure out how they can make their test more appealing by making students think they can get higher scores the easiest way.” Goodman said higherincome students often have more information about how retaking the tests will improve their scores, making the ACT’s change possibly detrimental to

lower-income students during the college application process. “It seems like higher-income students already understand that part of the college admissions game, which is why they are retaking these exams so frequently,” Goodman said. “But then low-income students may not quite realize that. So if that’s the case, if there’s a disparity in the quality of information students have about the value of retakes, then making retakes easier to do may actually exacerbate gaps in college enrollment.” Hartt, who has already taken the ACT, said he feels this change is coming too abruptly. He said there are already students in his graduating class who have taken the test more than once who may have preferred to only retake a section. Hartt also said he felt this change has the potential to allow students to cherry-pick their sections into what he called an “artificially higher” composite score. “I’m almost certain that for the universities that I’ll be applying to will make it so that you can’t superscore the ACT, so everything will pretty much be the same as it was,” Hartt said. “But I would say from a standpoint of having already taken it, it just makes me a little bit upset that I worked really hard and went through all the processes to get the score that I got, and that students now will be able to get artificially higher scores because they’re retaking one section at a time.” Additionally, Hartt said this change in layout is catering to shortening attention spans students are experiencing, which he believes is not a good idea. Hartt said even though the change has made him less anxious about preparing for the exam, he still views the policy in a negative light. “I am against the new development because I don’t think that it follows what the ACT originally was set to do,” Hartt said. “I think it was originally created to measure intellect, and I think that having the sections in a certain order and having to take the sections one after the next makes the test more difficult and really tests an individual’s intellect and their ability to continue focusing on things for a long period of time.”

“But I felt like I was touched enough in those limited interactions and I felt like I should do this in his honor.” However, due to a torn hamstring Zhang is not able to run in Alex’s Great State Race. Instead, he will be marching from East Lansing to Ann Arbor with 35 pounds on his back, a task commonly known as rucking. Though he’s walking, Zhang assures this journey is not easy. “Giving up comes across my mind a little bit, but then you remember the bigger picture and why you’re there for and that’s motivation enough to just keep going,” Zhang said. “The pain that you feel reminds you that you’re alive — in this case, it’s a privilege to feel pain.” Business sophomore Sriram Papolu, who considered Atharva one of his closest friends and mentors, wanted to emphasize that “Atharva means more than the running.” “He had all this — but its unfinished,” Papolu said. “So, in our time here, as long as we get a chance, we owe it to people like him to finish. Like we have to do this because we only have limited time, we have to grow and get better because somebody else didn’t get the chance to.” This sentiment was echoed by Akshata Kharkar, who hopes the ambition and compassion that Atharva possessed is not only remembered, but used as a guide on how to live a successful and full life. “I hope that people think about their actions and what they do now,” Kharkar said. “Because my brother lived such a great life, in a way that he did things that made him better and made decisions that made his life better. He put himself on a path that a lot of people can be on and I hope that people understand that

and believe it themselves.” After his diagnosis, Powell received treatment from MSU’s Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities, with collaborative support from U-M’s Services for Students with Disabilities and Michigan Medicine, effectively helping him remain in East Lansing and begin his freshman year. Similarly to Powell, throughout his treatment, Atharva was frequently visited by SSD workers in the hospital. All proceeds from the event will go toward these organizations in order to support higher education for students with disabilities. The proceeds will also allow students dealing with chronic and terminal illnesses to remain enrolled in school and get both the financial and mental support they need. Jill Rice, coordinator of services for deaf and hard of hearing students at SSD, said though the service has been operating for almost 40 years, many students don’t even know it exists. “I think this is partly stigma,” Rice said. “People don’t want to say ‘oh, I have a disability.” They think, “I’m at the University of Michigan, I don’t want to be less than my peers.” But we are there to help, even for temporary disabilities … we want to support our students.” In addition to his walk, Zhang has started a GoFundMe for Atharva, with all proceeds going to the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center. In total, Zhang hopes this race — or walk — can bring awareness to these sometimes invisible illnesses. “It’s a really great way to bring together and support and honor the fallen ones and do what we can do to prevent this from happening in the future,” Zhang said.

ANGELL From Page 1 so. The website also mentioned the Order educates new members about the history of the group. Current members are committed to promoting diversity both on campus and within the organization, according to the website. In an email to The Daily, University spokeswoman Kim Broekhuizen said the Order is currently a sponsored student organization and is in good standing with the Center for Campus Involvement. Broekhuizen noted the Order is sponsored by the School of Information and is entitled to benefits — including falling under the University’s tax exempt status, using the “University of Michigan” in its name and being eligible for funding from the University — that accompany its SSO status. Additionally, Broekhuizen said SSOs are required to abide by a code of conduct set by the University. “The Center for Campus Involvement regularly works with all sponsored student organizations to ensure the leaders of these groups fully understand and respect both students’ and student organizations’ right to freely associate,” Broekhuizen wrote. Multicultural groups release statements opposing the Order Two multicultural organizations on campus released statements last month condemning participation in the Order and requiring leaders in their organizations to forfeit their positions upon accepting membership in the Order. A third organization released a statement aligning with this position directly to The Daily. The executive board of the United Asian American Organizations, an umbrella organization for Asian and Pacific Islander American groups, published a statement last month calling for dismantling rather than modifying the Order, due to its “indigenous appropriation, elitism and secrecy.” In addition to announcing the new policy requiring those who accept membership in the Order to forfeit any leadership position held within UAAO, the board apologized for board members who held membership in the Order in previous years. “UAAO does not stand for the exclusionary practices of this organization, James Angell, and the manifestations of what the Order of Angell has done within this campus,” the statementreads. “This group has used indigenous and Native culture under the name of honor and has not advocated for the indigenous struggles within our student community.” According to the statement, UAAO’s constitution has been updated to reflect its stance. The statement noted UAAO’s advocacy does not exist to “decorate historically racist groups” and their resources would be better used toward assisting the indigenous community and other marginalized groups directly. UAAO co-chair Dim Mang, LSA senior, clarified in a message to The Daily that the statement applies only to UAAO and not to its 20 member organizations, as UAAO does not hold jurisdiction over them. Following the publishing of the UAAO’s statement, La Casa, anorganization with the goal of supporting the Latinx community on campus, published a statement aligning itself with UAAO’s position. The group wrote that it is against the Order both in its historical and current iterations. “For over 50 years, students and student organizations extended every opportunity for the organization to change and modify practices that appropriate culture and damage the campus climate for students of color and other communities,” the statement reads. “At each point, Order of Angell (formerly known as Michigamua) have failed to honor those agreements and demonstrate the needed transparency to ensure that their current practices are not equally problematic and damaging.” Mang and LSA sophomore

Tuesday, October 29, 2019 — 3 Julianna Collado, La Casa external director, issued the following joint comment to The Daily when contacted about providing further comment. “Both La Casa and UAAO decline to comment further on their public statements criticizing the Order of Angell for the following reasons,” the statement reads. “La Casa has no additional comments concerning organizations that historically and currently appropriate and bastardize Native culture. La Casa continues to strive to holistically support the Latinx community and remains aligned with our allies. Our principles and actions remain grounded in the legacy of previous activism on our campus. “The United Asian American Organizations declines to comment due to the Michigan Daily’s history of misrepresenting our statements. Especially with a delicate matter such as this, we believe that we must decline in order to prevent any possible harm towards our community. La Casa and UAAO stand together on this issue and will continue to work in tandem with each other and other communities against this historically racist organization.” According to a new statement from the executive board of the Arab Student Association sent to The Daily, the ASA will also be following the UAAO’s position and taking a “formal stance” on membership in the Order. After releasing the statement to The Daily, the ASA posted it to its Facebook page Monday evening. “We refuse the sentiment that, through the mere participation of our community members, the Order of Angell can evolve into a platform for diversity,” the statement reads. “An honest platform for diversity, inclusion, and transparency cannot be built on a foundation of the oppression of the Native community. We will not be complicit in the tokenization of leaders in our community and others, and oppose all secret societies who have attempted to do so.” All three statements noted the groups’ positions apply both to the Order and all other “secret societies” at the University. The statements of the multicultural organizations follow the lead of the Black Student Union, which asked a student to step down from organization leadership in 2011 because of ties to the Order. According to the thenBSU spokeswoman Samantha Martin, holding membership in the Order violates the BSU constitution, meaning any member — not just one holding a leadership position — will no longer claim membership if they accept a spot in the Order. The Black Student Union did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Current Order members respond In an interview with The Daily, four members of the Order — LSA seniors Roland Amarteifio, Vidur Prasad, Kevin Ashwood and Public Policy senior Hannah Davenport— responded to the statements. They did not speak on behalf of all current 22 members of the Order. Davenport said the group is different in many ways from when it was founded, including its composition. She said the current group is more than half female and approximately 50 percent people of color. There are few details about the current selection process available to the public, but Davenport said the Order looks to bring in students from many different areas of campus. Davenport described the Order as being a place where leaders from various corners of campus can collaborate, though they are aware the approximately 25 members selected each year do not represent all students at the University. “In terms of Michigan, it’s actually one of the most diverse spaces I’ve ever been in,” Davenport said. “I think that moving forward, we’re only trying to continue that and trying to make sure that different corners of campus are represented and different voices are heard. It kind of is like a symbolic ‘table’ that people get to sit at, and getting as many different people to that table I

think is a pretty big priority.” The Order has been criticized for its previous selection process, which barred men of color until the 1940s and women until 2000. Members rejected the branding of the Order as a secret society — which it was listed as in the statements — though they understand why they could be viewed as such. Amartedifio noted the website lists all members and the goals of the Order, and said if anything, they strive to be the opposite: open to and interested in hearing from other students. “When I went through the process of being tapped, and then becoming a part of the organization, there was a large focus on really acknowledging the history and not trying to hide it at all,” Amarteifio said. “We don’t try to minimize or not address the fact that this has had this history, but we also don’t believe that that history is a representation of who the organization is now or the current members.” In their statement about participation in the Order, UAAO said it “condemn(s) all the leaders in the 2019 roster and past alumni, some of whom were on our Board or in our member organizations.” Ashwood said the Order understands the frustration of the multicultural organizations, but explains the difficulty for those condemned. He speculates that these students feel a loss of community on campus after being barred from groups they were a part of throughout college. “If we’re set out to be multicultural organizations and to be the voice of those people on campus … we should be that voice for them and be that support system for them,” Ashwood said. “And so, that’s what we would hope would come out of this, is understanding that being a part of (Order of Angell) makes them no less Latinx or no less Asian American and needing of a support system for that.” Representing minorities on campus is sometimes a blind side of the University, according to Ashwood. He says that being able to be a voice for these students through the Order is an honor for him and a way to make positive change for these communities. Creating this campus synergy may not be seen through specific initiatives, Davenport said. She did not highlight specific initiatives the Order has been pursuing, explaining that humility was one of the group’s pillars. “As far as specific programming, one of our tenants is really supposed to be humility,” Davenport said. “So with the initiatives we do, we try not to stamp Order of Angell on it, because the goal there is more to quietly serve, not in a way that is really bringing attention to the organization.” Davenport said a main goal of the Order is to promote campus synergy, which is described on the website as an avenue “to facilitate organizational interaction between student groups and their leaders that may not have existed before; and to enable them to make positive change in the best interest of Michigan, without recognition, either collectively or through their respective organizations.” Members of the Order noted they have reached out to La Casa and the UAAO “very recently” and are hoping to start a dialogue. The question the multicultural groups posed — why the Order is a modified version of Michigamua rather than a completely new organization with no connection to the past — is the same question current order members are asking themselves, Davenport said. “The present is connected to the past and the present is connected to the future, and we’re in the position where we get to define the future,” Davenport said. “That’s a question that we’re asking and that we really are wrestling with, because that does lie on us.” Disclaimer: Maya Goldman, Editor-in-Chief of The Michigan Daily, is a member of Order of Angell and played no role in the editing process of this piece.

Opinion

4 — Tuesday, October 29, 2019

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

ALICE LIN | COLUMN

The Democratic debates are getting us nowhere

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ALANNA BERGER | COLUMN

American police are not equipped for mental illness

he July 18, 2016 shooting of Charles Kinsey is just one of many police shootings of unarmed Black men that has garnered media attention. Kinsey, a caretaker for individuals with disabilities, was allegedly accidentally hit by the officer’s bullets. The intended target was Arnaldo Rios Soto, a man with severe autism who had wandered away from the group home where Kinsey was employed. As Soto sat motionless on the ground while clutching a toy firetruck, which the officer allegedly mistook for a firearm, Kinsey tried to explain the situation and pleaded with the officers not to shoot. In this instance, Kinsey survived his injuries, and the North Miami officer who shot him was ultimately acquitted of attempted manslaughter charges. Beyond the connection to racial biases in the police force, this example highlights another problem plaguing law enforcement: the treatment of individuals with mental illnesses. There is no shortage of stories involving those with mental illnesses or other disabilities experiencing violence at the hands of police officers, and they often have more tragic outcomes than Kinsey’s experience. Take, for example, the 2017 fatal police shooting of a deaf man in Oklahoma, the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old man with schizophrenia and the brutal beating and tasing of a diabetic man experiencing altered mental status due to hypoglycemia. In fact, mental illness was involved in 25 percent of police shootings in 2017. Even more sobering, mentally ill individuals are 16 times more likely to die from a police encounter than the general population. Based on these facts and the multitude of tragic deaths at the hands of police violence, it is clear that American police officers require further training on how to handle cases involving those with mental illnesses. The main problem contributing to the elevated levels of police violence toward individuals experiencing mental health crises is that law enforcement is often the first line of defense called to manage them. The mentally ill or those experiencing medical emergencies impacting their mental state are often perceived as threatening to those around them. The purpose of law enforcement is not to be a frontline in providing medical care, such as for mental health. However, when family members or loved ones of someone experiencing an acute mental health crisis call 911 in search of support,

police officers often show up, rather than emergency medical technicians. In some states, such as Oklahoma, police officers are legally required to transport the mentally ill to the hospital for involuntary commitment. Oklahoma police officers even receive payment from the state mental health budget specifically for performing these transports. Even in states where the police are not legally required to transport involuntary commits to the hospital, it is often easier to have law enforcement do so. The involvement of police in mental health emergencies concerning involuntary commitment is often a matter of law or practicality. However, it often perpetuates the notion that the mentally ill are a dangerous population. In the vast majority of scenarios, people with mental illnesses are not a danger to others. They are simply in need of serious medical attention that can often be difficult to obtain. Yet, training for police officers seldom focuses on the correct management of mental health emergencies. Instead, the majority of training is centered on how to manage individuals who actually are dangerous, creating a disconnect for police officers between what they have learned and what they actually experience.

Employing law enforcement to handle mental health emergencies is failing. Seth Stoughton, a University of South Carolina law professor and former police officer, says that “do whatever you need to do to get home at the end of your shift” is the most important rule taught to training officers. Such a line of thinking clearly emphasizes the worst case scenario in all situations. Thus, police officers are trained to seem intimidating to those they are interacting with. These behaviors can include speaking with a loud, booming voice, moving closer to whom they are speaking with, keeping their hand on their weapon and maintaining a wide stance. To an individual of sound mind, such behaviors are unnerving and signal the necessity of compliance. However, to an

individual experiencing an acute mental health emergency, interacting with police officers behaving in this manner is downright terrifying. As opposed to obeying officers’ commands, a mentally ill individual may begin to behave unpredictably. For example, they may lunge at the officer or otherwise try to escape the situation. When this happens, the officer may then resort to violence, such as tasing or shooting. Therefore, police training does not adequately prepare the officers to handle the complexities of mental health emergencies. Treatment of mental illness is often overwhelmingly complicated. There is no one universal approach on how to best handle an individual in mental crisis. That being said, it is clear that the current method of employing law enforcement to handle mental health emergencies is failing. In order to provide better treatment for the mental ill in medical crisis, some police departments have begun to implement Crisis Intervention Team programs. These programs are community-based and create connections between law enforcement, mental health care providers, hospital-based emergency services and mentally ill individuals. CIT programs look to educate officers on how to best handle mental illness without the use of lethal force or the arrest of the individual. The trainings aim to increase empathy and techniques on how to best de-escalate a situation. Police officers receiving training also listen to recordings to simulate auditory hallucinations sometimes experienced by schizophrenic patients and take multiple daily “pills” made of candy to demonstrate the difficulties in maintaining a treatment regimen. Mental illness is extremely common in the United States. With nearly half of all adults diagnosed with a mental illness at some point in their lives, it is increasingly likely that police officers will come into contact with a mentally ill individual throughout their daily work. Currently, police encounters with the mentally ill all too often employ the use of lethal force. In order to best provide for the nation’s mentally ill population, police departments and communities must come together to create an environment to provide assistance to those in crisis. Alanna Berger can be reached at balanna@umich.edu.

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s I was watching the fourth Democratic debate, the realization struck me halfway through that I was bored. Since the summer, I’ve been following the televised discourses religiously to gain a better understanding of each candidate’s platform and gauge their responses to issues affecting our nation before the primary election. But the fourth time around, I just didn’t have it in me to sit through another three-hour show. With a fifth one scheduled to take place in November, the question nagged at me: Why do we need so many debates? Of course, the purpose is to allow the public to learn more about why one of these 18 candidates is best fit to be president. But is there really anything new being said on stage? Ever since candidate Andrew Yang said it in the second debate, it has become more apparent these debates are really just “political theater.” Candidates still vie for standout moments where they can get a jab at another candidate or a slogan they can overuse — like the “I wrote the damn bill” line from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. It stops feeling like a forum for the discussion of important issues and more like a moderated verbal sparring match. There’s no need for an excessive amount of debates when candidates are only going in circles with their talking points and nothing new is being introduced. The problem with these debates is the field of candidates hasn’t narrowed; while the third debate had only 10 candidates, the fourth had 12. The whole purpose of having a smaller pool of candidates is to get a deeper insight how their views and plans differ, but if the debates continue to include more candidates who probably will not win, it defeats the purpose. There is less time for each candidate to talk and many of the lesser known candidates barely get any speaking time compared to the frontrunners. Even at the last debate, the moderators spent a lot of time going back and forth

between candidates who were arguing over one issue, which restricted the amount of air time other candidates got to speak. If anything, the qualifications to participate in these debates need to become more selective so the public can focus their attention on those who will most likely have the best chance at winning the primary. Furthermore, it felt like the candidates were just reusing their talking points at this last debate; a lot of the topics candidates are asked are recycled versions of questions from older debates that tie back into the larger umbrellas of foreign policy, gun control, health care and the economy. There is a lack of focus on other issues which also matter; Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., called out the lack of focus on women’s rights while former Rep. Julian Castro added climate change and immigration to the list of neglected topics. It becomes repetitive to hear candidates recite the same lines about Medicare for All versus private plans when there are so many other health care issues the audience wants to hear about.

The qualifications to participate in these debates need to become more selective.

Another aspect about the structure of these debates that should change is how much the audience gets to contribute towards deciding what the candidates discuss, especially since candidates are running for the right to represent these people. While the debates are too large to follow the structure of town hall meetings where constituents get to directly ask questions, there are

other ways to gauge the audience’s interests. The organizations hosting the events should allow constituents to send in issues they want to hear more about or even host a livestream where viewers around the nation could send in questions. While it is also true that candidates are able to change the subject to focus on women’s rights or climate change, it takes away from their time to give their input on other policy issues. It’s unlikely that any candidate would have changed their mind in the month between debates, so why not ask more relevant questions instead of forcing viewers to sit through another three hours of the same discourse? All of this comes into consideration since the University of Michigan is scheduled to host its own presidential debate next fall. Of course, the circumstances of this debate will be different — the pool of candidates will be much smaller and this time they will be on opposing sides. Even so, the structure of political debates can be improved, especially since students would want a chance to ask questions about issues they care about such as in previous debates. We should aim to make the experience more streamlined and productive especially since students have a personal investment. For many of them, it may be the first presidential election in which they get to vote. Furthermore, a lot of the proposed policies will actually impact the future of these students, so students should be given the opportunity to directly participate and gain a better understanding of pressing issues. The University itself stated its intentions to contribute as a whole to the development and understanding of issues that face the nation. With all eyes on it next fall, the school should take the chance it has to improve on the way that these debates are structured and set an example for the future. Alice Lin can be reached at alicelin@umich.edu.

JOSHUA KIM | COLUMN

Andrew Yang offers the best of the 2020 Democrats

e’ve all experienced this story before. A businessman comes out from the political dark. He has never held office before, neither local nor national. He has one main policy proposal that encourages a few people to give him a following. At first, he’s ridiculed by his peers, the media and the public, and few people decide to take him seriously, particularly online and on social media. The argument goes that this man is neither experienced nor qualified for the nomination. For the first few months, he lags behind his traditional and established competitors but starts to weed out established senators and governors. And when the primaries come around, he begins to galvanize the people. Suddenly, in one fell swoop, he secures the nomination and then shortly after the presidency. This is the story of Donald Trump. For some, it was a horror show highlighting the flaws within our political system. For others, it was a legendary tale of a man that, for lack of a better word, trumped the established political landscape. Regardless of how one may have seen the rise of Trump, it is undoubtedly a historic political feat. Fast forward to the beginning of November 2017, a relative unknown joins the race as a Democrat, vying to challenge Trump for the presidency in 2020. His main claim to fame — if one could even call his existence before the election cycle anything akin to “fame” — is that he was a tech executive. He has one main policy proposal that encourages a few people to follow him. At first, it seemed as though no one mainstream gives him attention and chalks his main policy as merely a gimmick. But, he continues nonetheless. While the mainstream TV media neglects him, a newer medium — the internet — carves him a following in the form of podcasts and videos. Moreover, he does something nearly unprecedented in modern America’s divisive political climate and crosses the partisan divide to speak with

some of the opposition’s most provocative and influential figures. He has developed a passionate base on the internet, and that support has manifested into thousands showing up for his rallies. This man is Andrew Yang, and his flagship proposal is a Universal Basic Income, or “Freedom Dividend,” providing every adult in America $1,000 per month. Considering the results of the 2016 election, it would have been well-advised for the Democratic establishment and the mainstream media to be wary of a seemingly small political outsider with a fervent media following. But they weren’t. And now, a man with zero political chops hovers around the fifth favorite for the Democratic nomination, according to Business Insider’s polling, competing right behind Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. and former Vice President Joe Biden. Yang’s rationale for UBI stands on the fact that the immediate automation of labor fields will disenfranchise millions over the next decade. He proposes that UBI be the preemptive measure for America to brace for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. And even now, the ramifications of automation have begun to show. At the beginning of 2019, it was estimated that roughly 25 percent of America’s jobs were threatened by automation and potentially 73 million jobs could be leveled by automation by 2030. Being a tech executive in Silicon Valley, Yang has spoken to the fact that automation is one of America’s greatest coming crises. Yet, at the September Democratic debate, Yang offered to give 10 families $1,000 per month for one year to prove the effectiveness of UBI, and he was met by laughter from the other candidates on stage — once again, shamelessly proving the disconnected nature of the Democratic Party. Millionaire Democratic candidates once again patronized average working families. These elitist millionaires laughed, but everyone else did

quite the contrary. After the debate, the entire pilot paid for itself in the form of $1 million raised in just 72 hours after the debate from 450,000 donors. And in the October debate, just one month later after being laughed at, UBI and automation stood at the forefront of the debate. It doesn’t seem like anyone is laughing now. Furthermore, Yang has fervently placed emphasis on bridging the political divide. Instead of focusing on why Trump should not have been elected like other candidates, Yang humbly recognizes that there was a large and influential disenfranchised working class that felt abandoned by the Democrats and settled for Trump. Yang has become an advocate for the Midwest, catering to both Democrats and Republicans alike, arguing for more investment in the Midwest. His mottos are also inherently bipartisan: “Not left, not right, forward” and “Humanity First.” Yang’s followers, comically known as the Yang Gang, are comprised of a coalition of Democrats, Republicans, independents and everything else in between. Possibly one of Yang’s most impressive feats is not his meteoric rise in popularity or his bipartisan commitment to bettering humanity, but his ability to dodge the explosive, immature wrath of Trump. Ever since the announcement of his campaign, Trump has barely tweeted about him. Think about it. Trump. The man who has an opinion on everyone and everything has yet to speak about Yang. Before, one could say it was because of his relative obscurity. Now, he has reached the main stage, and still nothing. There’s something else going on here. Andrew Yang is the political paradox: He resonates with the people like Trump did – minus the reckless temperament of Trump – and is extremely substantive, presenting dozens of comprehensive and innovative policies. Joshua Kim can be reached at joshica@umich.edu.

Arts

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

TV REVIEW

Tuesday, October 29, 2019 — 5

LITERATURE COLUMN

A library between the poles of order, disorder EMILY YANG

Daily Literature Columnist

HBO

‘Catherine the Great’ shies away from its own potential

Turkey feel inconsequential and take back seats to romantic subplots. This, of course, is perfectly fine, but without any Daily Arts Writer significant dramatic stakes, “Catherine the Great” fails to Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, was deemed great excite in the ways it could. Helen Mirren, though committed to her role, does not get for a reason. “Catherine the Great,” the mini-series, hasn’t to play with some of Catherine’s more outlandish personality quite decided what that reason is just yet. HBO’s new historical drama “Catherine the Great” stars traits. Frequent mentions are made to the queen’s infamous Helen Mirren as the titular Russian queen who assumed the promiscuity, but she is never shown doing anything more role following a coup that dethroned her husband, Peter III. than making suggestive eye contact. Rather than dive into The premiere follows Catherine and her advisors, including Catherine the Great’s salacious reputation outright, the minithe cautious and calculating Minister Panin (Rory Kinnear, series substitutes any lewd content with tangential scenes of “The Imitation Game”), as they determine how to handle her lesser court members exchanging sex for power. This is just the most visible failure of the show to engage tenuous grasp on power. After giving a speech calling for the end of serfdom, its audience with the most compelling parts of this woman’s Catherine struggles to maintain control over her court of history. Catherine’s dynamic with her murdered husband wealthy landowners and military leaders. In the midst of her and her ambitious son, Prince Paul (Joseph Quinn, “Game shaky political future, she is met with a young man’s claim: of Thrones”) is hinted at but ultimately unexplored. In splitting its focus between the He is the rightful heir to the members of her court instead throne. Fearing a possible of solely Catherine herself, revolt, Catherine ultimately the show dilutes whatever decides to disregard her cultural impact it could have. liberal principles and call Series Premiere On a network known for him and his conspirators for its provocative content, to be executed. This violent HBO “Catherine the Great” has and out-of-character Mondays at 10 p.m. the opportunity to present decision marks the a history-making and beginning of her struggle enlightened female ruler to uphold her values while within the context of her cultivating respect as a own sexuality. Given the chance, the show could break leader. As Catherine navigates her life with absolute power, expectations of women in politics and present a more she juggles the personal relationships that have defined thorough examination of how power and femininity interact her legacy in history as much as her policies have. Former in a conservative environment. While undoubtedly beautiful, this mini-series does not lover and accomplice in dethroning Peter III, Grigory Orlov (Richard Roxburgh, “Moulin Rouge!”) demands more of seem to understand its angle in depicting Catherine’s history. a share in her rule due to his involvement with the coup. Not quite political and not quite shocking, “Catherine the However, handsome military lieutenant Grigory Potemkin Great” has trouble choosing what its audience wants. Mirren (Jason Clarke, “Zero Dark Thirty), begins courting the delivers a few lines that strain to be potential feminist adages, queen, much to the chagrin of Orlov. The men, in hopes of but the appearance of depth proves as fabricated as the cast’s obtaining bureaucratic influence and wealth, compete for lustrous outfits. All things considered, “Catherine the Great” is a fine Catherine’s affections. While the costuming and set design beautifully reflect show. Though nothing about it is distractingly poor, the the royal grandeur of the Golden Age of Russia, the rest of series suffers from its hesitance to make waves and commit the show does not seem nearly as powerful. Throughout the to its own controversy. Here’s hoping they at least pay premiere, the threat to the throne and a looming war with homage to that horse rumor. ANYA SOLLER

Catherine the Great

COMMUNITY CULTURE NOTEBOOK

Autumnal musings: Finding warmth in the falling leaves ZOE PHILLIPS For The Daily

Fall came on my birthday this year. Not officially, and not according to the seemingly arbitrary “first day of fall” that our calendars mark every year. On that official day, the high was 82 degrees. Given my unconventional love for cold weather, this sequence of events seriously depressed me. There was not a golden leaf in sight, and I was sweating on my way home from class. I had to wait several more weeks for the real fall — the tangible fall — to grace us with her presence. By the time she showed up for good it was the first week of October. The air turned crisp and a prickly breeze danced across my cheeks. The tree outside my apartment shimmered with hints of gold, and I wore boots to class. It was the best birthday present I could have asked for. I grew up in a California beach town where we have no seasons. We divide the years into rainy halves and dry halves and live in a year-round temperature range of 50 to 80 degrees. It’s beautiful weather, sure, but when deciding on the college that would take me away from home I knew it had to be somewhere with more

temperature variation. I wanted to watch the leaves turn for the first time and feel my skin contract in bitter cold. I wanted to see the flowers come out from hiding and watch the sun melt the last bits of snow off the sidewalk. Out of all the seasons, though, fall is so easy to love. It is not too harsh nor too long, and it brings an unbeatable color scheme. It offers me sweaters and boots and scarves and pumpkin bread that my mom sends me in the mail. The crunching leaves create soundtracks for my walks to class and the crispness of the air in my lungs makes me smile. I am not swollen or sweating; I am cozy and comfortable and happy. The closer we come to brushing shoulders with winter, the more I recognize fall’s communal spirit. She brings us together as we prepare for the looming frost. Friends often disagree with me. They say that cold weather separates us. That, apparently, our thick coats and hunched postures encourage isolationist tendencies. But I think that a gust of cold air and a fallen leaf will teach us more about the meaning of community than anything else. I point to the Big House on the first Saturday that the air is just a tad too cold to be comfortable. I gesture toward the thousands of us who still march toward kickoff, gloves in hand. I make a note of the crop tops that have become sweaters and the sunglasses that have turned into beanies. I point to the loyalty of Michigan’s fans, the friends huddling together under the lights of a rainy night game and the beat of students jumping along to “Mr. Brightside” just to get their blood pumping. I point and smile at our unbreakable spirit, as I’m reminded what it really means to be a Michigan Wolverine. And then I shiver, because it is cold, and I can’t seem to get KATELYN MULCAHY / DAILY enough of it.

In the past month or so, I have started keeping track of what books I want to read next by placing them in a short, orderly stack next to my bed. This is a step forward from my previous method, which was to make a spur-ofthe-moment decision after finishing a book. I would look at my shelf, suddenly enamored by the possibilities it holds for a giddy moment before finally lighting on one almost by chance. This seemed, ultimately, like an odd way to pick something that I was to spend several hours with later. I thought it would be worth considering the structure of my reading. This hasn’t been going well at all, of course. I spontaneously move things around, add books I deem necessary for whatever I’m working on, put books back on the shelf for the simple reason that I don’t really feel like reading them just now. The stack of books has become a representation of my confusion and f lightiness rather than the solution to it. I don’t study literature in school, but have recently started taking reading more seriously. My reading has taken on a furtive, almost desperate quality, balanced as it is between vocation and distraction. It’s frequently what I retreat to when everything else is too much, and I forget that reading is, in fact, work, and difficult work at that. In a related way, I tend to forget that reading is slow, and any given 200-page book might be a commitment of ten or so hours, and longer if I choose to annotate it. The other day I looked at my bookshelf, which is full of unread books, and calmly realized that it will take me years at my present rate to finish everything on it. This is a source of mild stress to me as much as it provides me with a wellspring of possibility. I pass by my bookshelf and sometimes open a book at random, f lip through it, put it back. I feel ambivalent about this impulse — it feels cursory, usually leaves me feeling hollow. I sometimes wonder what the point of my collection is, why I’m overwhelmed by it, but keep continuously adding to it. I can spend hours browsing around bookstores, even as the unread books in my room pile up.

books not because they are poor, but because they are dissatisfied with the books they could buy but do not like,” he writes, deftly compressing all of literary endeavor into that of the collector. The real thesis of the essay is that collecting, at its core, is about appreciating and preserving the kind of historical memory that coalesces in old objects, something that has a quality of childlike “renewal” of objects. The essay is beautiful, generous, self-aware and judiciously funny. I never really liked it; I don’t find myself agreeing with Benjamin most of the time. At one point he mentions that the “non-reading of books” is characteristic of collectors. An unread book is, for me, an assignment. Too much of them and I can feel them staring at me reproachfully. I have friends who, like Benjamin, own thousands of volumes. It seems terrifying. It’s worth noting that the great philosopher wrote his essay as someone whose collection is specific to topics that he had a special interest in: children’s books, theology, Baroque German literature. It means something else to be in your early twenties and have such a voluminous collection. There’s an element here of self-creation, divorced from the actual work of reading, that feels slightly distasteful to me. And yet, this attitude is still more legible to me than that of my friends who only acquire copies of books by happenstance, or only own what they read in class, or my housemate, who returned from the bookstore one day and said, like it was the simplest thing in the world, “I finished my book, so I went and bought a new book.” A lot of the time, these friends are betterread overall than I am, but just have an uncomplicated relationship with the physical objects associated with them. I am still compelled to buy books, to wonder what my collection says about me as a reader, a writer, a person. Maybe I envy them. Sometimes I look at my (still comparatively modest) bookshelf and wonder if it has a mnemonic quality, as if I will not only forget to read these specific books but will forget to read at all if I don’t have the force of my unread books compelling me. On the other

Sometimes I look at my (still comparatively modest) bookshelf and wonder if it has a mnemonic quality, as if I will not only forget to read at all if I don’t have the force of my unread books

COURTESY OF EMMA CHANG

I’m reminded, of course, of Walter Benjamin’s famous 1931 essay “Unpacking My Library,” a semipersonal investigation into “the relationship of a book collector to his possessions.” Benjamin wrote the essay on the occasion of moving, after an acrimonious divorce, into a halffurnished apartment with crates full of nearly 2,000 books. He seems sheepish about his habit even as he enumerates its appeal — toward the end of the essay he admits that “this passion is behind the times,” and more than once adopts a sort of ironic position that suggests the ridiculousness of the collector. “Writers are really people who write

hand, there is so much pressing on my attention that I don’t get to choose: A book offers immersion and solace that is elusive elsewhere. To have a large collection of books is to have a large and varied window of possibility that I can take comfort in when my world is feeling small. This is a silly, irrational feeling that is only tenuously related with actually reading, but it’s one I treasure for its silliness — it reminds me that in every ostensibly serious thing I do, there is always an element of indeterminacy and blind passion. I live my life, as Benjamin wrote, somewhere in between the “poles of order and disorder.”

Arts

6 — Tuesday, October 29, 2019

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

FILM REVIEW

MUSIC REVIEW

FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES

4AD

Unnecessary ‘Sodomies’ However, some songs stand heads and shoulders above the rest. If “Unwritten Law” and Daily Arts Writer “Chart-Beep” are the floor of the ocean, songs like “The Night Has Opened My Eyes” and “Go Go x2” Odditties Sodomies just sounds like it would be are the Mount Everest and K2s. “This Night Has the name for a compilation of Ariel Pink’s best Opened My Eyes” finds Pink crooning Morrisseypreviously-recorded yet unreleased tracks. The like atop jaunty guitar strums and warm, heartoff-kilter and kitschy Pink has never been known filling bass. After all, it is a cover of The Smiths for doing things conventionally, and he certainly song of the same name. However, Pink gives it isn’t going to start now. The songs on this record his own signature lo-fi, antiquated twist, and it were recorded in the days of Ariel Pink’s Haunted sounds great. He took the song and made it his Graffiti and afterward. The tracks didn’t have own; it’s an example of a good cover (take notes, a place on his main releases, so they were all Weezer). “Go Go x2,” though it does not reach the same thrown into the Odditties Sodomies series instead. Unfortunately, it seems these songs may have highs as “This Night Has Opened My Eyes,” been left off Pink’s previous releases for a reason. deserves to be mentioned in the same breath. It They are far from his best tracks, but that doesn’t is a strange, passionate song directed to a woman mean they’re bad songs by any means. Some of that, for some reason, Pink cannot bring himself to leave. He sheepishly them are quite enjoyable. sings all sorts of lines like However, some things “I’m crazy for you / What just don’t need to be can I do? / I don’t care, released — some things walk all over me / Till I’m are best left abandoned on the cutting-room floor. black and blue.” Despite it’s less-than-pleasant None of the songs on subject matter, “Go Go Oddities Sodomies (Vol. Ariel Pink x2” is a sunny, vibrant2) are essential to Pink’s Mexican Summer sounding track that is a discography, but now very welcome addition to that they’ve been brought Pink’s discography. to life, they adequately Odditties Sodomies augment his alreadymassive resumé. A few songs, like “Unwritten (Vol. 2) is just that, a collection of oddities. As Law,” a snoozer reminiscent of new wave’s most listeners, we didn’t need any of these songs, but mundane, and “Chart-Beep,” an alright song with that doesn’t mean that they can’t be enjoyable. one of the most most blown-out and annoying- The compilation warrants very few repeat listens, sounding synth lines of all time, probably but for hardcore fans, it is a nice addition to the shouldn’t have been unearthed. But for the most collection. Ariel Pink isn’t at his best, but he’s not part, Oddities Sodomies (Vol. 2), if not superfluous, at his worst. And that’s about all you can ask for with a compilation album of unreleased rarities. is a fun, discretionary listen. JIM WILSON

Odditties Sodomies (Vol. 2)

COMMUNITY CULTURE REVIEW

‘Jojo Rabbit’ is for 2019

because it is the sentiment his entire community is built around. Elsa, the aforementioned Jewish girl, Daily Arts Writer even tells him, “You’re not a Nazi, Jojo. You’re a tenyear old kid who likes dressing up in a funny uniform In 2019, a year when most people try their hardest and wants to be part of a club.” Isn’t this exactly what is happening right now? not to offend, not to make light of racism and cruelty, Taika Waititi’s Hitler comedy “Jojo Rabbit” should Alt-right extremist groups built on racist hate market not work. To make a drama about Nazi Germany is themselves to young, vulnerable, lonely people one thing, but to make a film about that same era of who feel forgotten by the world. Though there is no history that is intentionally comedic — that wants its legitimate excuse for participating in these groups audience to laugh — is another thing entirely. The and playing a role in acting out their agendas, “Jojo very thought of it is uncomfortable. There is arguably Rabbit” reminds us that these people are, like us, nothing more horrific than the actions of Adolf Hitler, human humans whose evil is not innate, but taught. And only by understanding where they are coming and there is arguably nothing less funny. Yet “Jojo Rabbit” works, and it definitely made me from can we move forward. Even if this is the case, isn’t analogizing our laugh. But it wasn’t a mindless, simple kind of laughter. It was laughter with substance, with darkness, current social situation to Nazism a tad extreme? laughter that drew attention to itself, laughter that Maybe even insensitive? In asking this question, I’m forced me into a painful awareness of why, precisely, reminded of what happened earlier this year when I was laughing at a movie about Nazism. “Jojo Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote a tweet calling the detention centers Rabbit” straddles the at the US-Mexico dangerously thin line border “concentration that divides comedy camps,” in doing and tragedy with so drawing a direct remarkable grace, and The State Theatre parallel between the tension that builds the current political through this balance Fox Searchlight Pictures administration and makes watching the Nazi Germany. Her film utterly strange analogy received and eye-opening. “Jojo Rabbit” is the nickname of Jojo (Roman immense backlash but equally immense support, Griffin Davis, debut), a ten-year old boy growing up with University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee history in Nazi Germany, who is thrown out of a Hitler Youth professor Rachel Ida Buff affirming AOC’s statement training camp for refusing to kill a rabbit. When he as “absolutely” accurate in Newsweek. In explicitly returns home to his mother (Scarlett Johansson, linking its subject matter to the social climate of “Under the Skin”), who he learns is not only critical 2019, does “Jojo Rabbit” exaggerate our situation to of Hitler but is in fact hiding a Jewish girl (Thomasin the point of becoming offensive, or is the film simply McKenzie, “Leave No Trace”) inside their house, calling it what it is? Maybe the complexity of the questions it Jojo is forced to reconsider his own beliefs and his own sense of belonging. His imaginary friend Hitler, compels us to ask is what makes “Jojo Rabbit” such tellingly played by Waititi, a Maori and Jewish man, a bizarre, unsettling viewing experience. Maybe my laughter was a kind of defense mechanism, doesn’t make things any easier. But what is “Jojo Rabbit” really about, and why an awkward response to my own discomfort and is it so uncomfortable to watch? Simply put, “Jojo newfound cognizance of the unacknowledged evil Rabbit” is about us. It is about how children learn we live among every day. Yet, despite the darkness to hate, and how these children, conditioned to it addresses and the awful, uncomfortable things it hate, grow up to run our governments. It is about forced me to ponder, “Jojo Rabbit” is ultimately an the allure of discrimination, its power to unite and optimistic movie, affirming that no one, not even foster communities and make us feel like we belong a ten-year-old Nazi youth, is irredeemable. I can’t somewhere. Jojo doesn’t actually hate Jews — he think of a message for the people of 2019 more thinks he hate Jews because his role models do, comforting or more uplifting than that. ELISE GODFRYD

Jojo Rabbit

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Philharmonia Halloween concert is a success, again Daily Arts Writer

On the day of October 1st (sometimes even before that), our campus suddenly turns orange. Lattes are pumpkin flavored, candy is a meal and “spooky szn” is the go-to Instagram caption. Even concerts take on a special theme. The School of Music, Theatre & Dance University Philharmonia Orchestra has been putting on their annual Halloween Concert for years, contributing to the spooky season and pleasing long time patrons. Though the only music that immediately comes to mind when you think “Halloween music” is “This is Halloween” from “The Nightmare Before Christmas” or “I Put a Spell on You” from “Hocus Pocus,” the Philharmonia Orchestra was able to fill an entire afternoon with lesser known, but no less spooky songs for all ages to enjoy. The music was a thrilling mix of recognizable classics and exciting new discoveries. “Infernal Dance of King Kastchei” from “The Firebird,” composed by Igor Stravinsky, made me jump out of my seat with its vibrancy and intensity. “Pavane for a Dead Princess,” composed by Maurice Ravel, brought me back to a dreamlike peace with its beautiful lullaby-like melody. Adam Glaser’s “March of the Little Goblins” gave the audience the perfect opportunity to see all of the costumes of the performers as they marched on stage to the beat of their own melody. With some of SMTD’s most talented performers, each

song was executed to perfection with stunning accuracy and breathtaking passion. Though the music was fantastic, the skits were even better. Each piece was introduced by a new conductor in a new costume, somewhat related to the piece. When I say “somewhat” I mean SMTD master’s student Leonard Bopp entered to conduct Swan Lake in a chicken costume, claiming to be “winging it.” Between songs, we saw SMTD master’s student Elias Miller, dressed as a princess, fall dead, only to be revived by a knight in shining armour — SMTD master’s student Nathan Bieber — while conducting “Pavane for a Dead Princess.” The six student conductors even put on a choreographed “Ghostbusters” dance to get the crowd on their feet. The audience participation took the cake — or should I say candy, which was handed out after the concert. Some patrons had been coming for over 20 years, some weren’t even 20 years old. Little Mary Poppinses and Wonder Womans roamed the upper balcony, clapping along to Ghostbusters and jumping out of their seats to see the “worlds scariest monster.” No matter what age, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the performance. The Halloween Concert is a long-standing tradition that brings in all kinds of goblins, ghouls and ghosts of all ages. If you missed this supernatural, fun-filled evening, don’t worry. There w ill be one next yea r, a nd t he yea r af ter, a nd t he yea r af ter. You ca n see t his show until you’re mummif ied, or maybe just dressed a s such!

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Rogues 5 Is without 10 Possesses 14 Rose’s Broadway love 15 Copier brand 16 Game with cues and balls 17 Social event with costumes and facial covers 19 Gaelic tongue 20 Defunct Amer. soccer competition 21 Commented 23 Footwear insert 26 Slice of history 27 Homebuyer’s need 28 Accustom (to) 32 Ron Weasley’s pet Scabbers, for one 35 The “S” in CBS: Abbr. 37 San Diego ball club 38 Act in a bipartisan way, and what the circled letters do Across and Down 42 Major blood vessels 43 Have a bug 44 Northern Calif. airport 45 Avow 46 Lunch hour 49 Nutrition fig. 51 Native encountered by Crusoe 55 Large watchdogs 59 “SNL” alum Cheri 60 Rebuke from Caesar 61 Kitchen storage brand 64 Rolled-up sandwich 65 Office communication 66 “__ hardly wait!” 67 Internet transmission delays 68 Uses for a fee 69 Therefore DOWN 1 “The Stranger” novelist Albert

2 Make selfconscious 3 “Y.M.C.A.” music genre 4 Book that continues a story 5 Charlemagne’s domain: Abbr. 6 Balloon filler 7 Hiccups cure, so they say 8 Lymph __ 9 Unifying feature of many escape rooms 10 Part of MO 11 Toil 12 Odor detector 13 Iditarod conveyance 18 __ no good: scheming 22 “That’s __ shame” 24 Speaks in a gravelly voice 25 One-named “Only Time” singer 29 Caterer’s coffeepots 30 Snorkeling spot 31 Gas brand in Canada 32 Some TVs

33 In __: lined up 34 Ripped up 36 Mrs., in Madrid 37 Traffic cone 39 Recipients of venture capital 40 Broadway restaurant founder 41 “Mean Girls” screenwriter Fey 47 __ about: roughly 48 Peabrain

50 Chasing 51 “Washington Journal” channel 52 Surfer’s hangout 53 Pianist Claudio 54 Real estate claims 55 Whimper 56 Gillette brand 57 Without a date 58 Do a slow burn 62 Mango remnant 63 Trains over the street

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Sports

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Tuesday, October 29, 2019 — 7

Sainristil turning hype to production How Mel Pearson used his timeouts THEO MACKIE Daily Sports Editor

Throughout spring ball, Mike Sainristil’s name had an inescapable presence inside Schembechler Hall. Offensive players praised the three-star freshman receiver. Defensive players said he was terrifying to face. Coaches spoke ad nauseam about his adaption to the college game. “He’s been really good,” said Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, summarizing the general consensus at the time. “Can’t say enough good things about him.” Fall ball, though, brought a different reality. Suddenly, Sainristil was absent. Ronnie Bell took his place at the center of the Wolverines’ ever-churning hype machine and actually followed up with production, while Sainristil notched just one catch for eight yards through seven games. “Coming in from spring ball, the speed adjustment was really a big factor,” Sainristil said. “… Fall camp is just more game reality. Putting yourself in those game situations compared to spring ball is when (we do) big installs.” That, in turn, lowered a confidence that had soared throughout the spring. “A couple times during fall camp, a couple times during season practices where I just really wasn’t locked in,” Sainristil said. “Because I was just feeling like I wasn’t giving my all to the team. I kinda didn’t like the position I was in.” Slowly, though, Sainristil has begun working his way onto the field, mostly as the slot receiver in three and four-wide looks. Saturday against Notre Dame, he doubled his career reception total with a key second-quarter third-down conversion. Two quarters later, he notched his first collegiate touchdown, weaving through a trio of

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily

Freshman receiver Mike Sainristil scored his first touchdown on Saturday.

would-be tacklers for a 26-yard score to put Michigan up, 45-7. “It felt great scoring for the first time,” Sainristil said. “… And it surprised me that my first touchdown was against Notre Dame.” Sainristil knows that he’s not a central cog in the Wolverines’ offense. Bell, Donovan PeoplesJones, Nico Collins and Tarik Black take that mantle, with 82 of Michigan’s 92 receiver receptions between them. It’s part of what makes the regular season different from spring ball, when PeoplesJones, Collins and Black were out, allowing Sainristil to thrive. But it’s also given him an opportunity to develop at his own pace, adapting to the college game over the course of the past three months. “Really seeing a lot of growth from Mikey,” Harbaugh said. “The last four weeks, especially in practice, he’s really gained a lot of confidence in catching the football. He’s always been really good at route running. He went through a little spell there where he wasn’t catching the ball great. Now his confidence is back and surging.” Sainristil’s route to this point took the path of most freshman contributors. It required hours in front of the jug machine, working with graduate assistant coach and former Michigan wide receiver Roy Roundtree. Every

time the Wolverines had what Sainristil calls an “opportunity practice,” Roundtree’s message was simple: “Come out, have a day.” Sainristil took that message to heart, knowing it would eventually translate to game scenarios. All of that is normal. The difference for Sainristil is where expectations stood six months ago, when he was praised as Michigan’s next freshman sensation. Since then, he has been able to push his position on the depth chart out of his mind, focusing instead on his own performances. The result is a catching ability that’s finally caught up to his route-running and yards-aftercatch savvy. The proof is a trio of catches and a game-high 73 yards in Michigan’s biggest win of the year. Thinking back on the touchdown catch that defined his day, Sainristil knows that it didn’t win Michigan the game, that it won’t catapult him to the top of the depth chart, that it isn’t going to make the coming weeks any easier. And yet, as he spoke, he couldn’t help a massive smile from spilling over his face. “I wouldn’t say I overcame a lot within these months that I’ve been here, but it was just a big relief,” Sainristil said. “I just wanted to get into the end zone.”

ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily

Michigan coach Mel Pearson regretted his timeout usage against Western.

TIEN LE

Daily Sports Editor

Despite a four-goal lead midway through the third period Friday, the Michigan hockey team was reeling, and coach Mel Pearson had had enough. The game was at hand, and the players settled. In turn, they took on unnecessary wear-and-tear, defending against Western Michigan’s dominating zone presence. Instead of attacking the opposing net, Michigan players were blocking shots and taking hits, fending off attacks with their bodies. Instead of dominating the ice as they had done all night long, they had become mere spectators, watching along as the other team had its way with things. And so Pearson called timeout. “(What) you’re trying to do (in) that last seven minutes (is), force them to have to play in their zone,” Pearson said. “So when it does take a toll on you for the next night, we were playing in our zone way too much in our defense and having to endure more hits and more pressure when

they shouldn’t have been. And (sophomore goaltender) Strauss (Mann) too, you wear him down a little bit. “So that was the whole reasoning as to try to not give them any momentum or a life for the next night.” It was an example of a coach seeing a play slip and making a timely judgement call to sway things in his favor. The Wolverines had gotten complacent. He wanted to remind them what exactly they had to lose. Sure, not the game. But there was the chance of a shutout still up for grabs and the condition of players, who may have benefitted from a couple less bumps or bruises on Saturday’s game. “I just usually see a momentum shift a little bit in and when you do that and just trying to slow them down and whatnot,” Pearson said. “And just give our guys a little break but just try to light a fire under them. The matches weren’t

working so couldn’t get the fire going underneath our guys.” “And it didn’t work,” Pearson said on the timeout Friday. “We should’ve saved the time out.” While he expressed wanting to save it at the time, there was really no better time to use it. The team was losing focus and there was really nothing to lose to try to jolt effort in them. Pearson didn’t need to use it for strategy to secure a close game. It would have gone to waste. “You can’t save them, you can’t take them with you,” Pearson said. “So you might as well use them, we only get one, and I thought was a good chance to use it and try to change that momentum.” It was a similar case on Saturday, except instead of using the timeout defensively to change momentum, Pearson used it offensively. After sophomore forward Jimmy Lambert took a hit from behind, a minor penalty was assessed but the players thought otherwise. Trusting his players, Pearson gambled a timeout in the chance the call would get overturned. “That point of the game, yeah, I have no problem with that because it could have been a big momentum change,” Pearson said. “And as it worked out, we didn’t really need our timeout maybe when it’s 3-1 at some point later, you’re still down two goals though. So not as critical, going down one.” In hockey, there’s only one timeout for 60 minutes. When and how it’s used can shift a game in any direction. And for Pearson, his weekend uses of his were no-brainers. “It’s just a gut feeling.”

It didn’t work. We should’ve saved that timeout.

Amy Dilk ready to take the next step ‘M’ defense shuts down Terrapins JACK KINGSLEY Daily Sports Writer

It’s never easy for a freshman to fill a vacant starting role. It’s even harder when that freshman is replacing a program’s all-time leading scorer. That was the case for sophomore guard Amy Dilk last season. Katelynn Flaherty, the Michigan women’s basketball program’s most decorated player, graduated the year prior to Dilk’s arrival, leaving a huge hole in the Wolverines’ roster. Dilk came in as Michigan’s top recruit, a five-star ranked No. 40 in the nation, with the weight of filling an important role on the team. While a highly-touted freshman like herself could let the pressure to replace Flaherty affect her play, Dilk did what was asked of her and got acclimated to the college game. “I think the biggest challenge for her last year was that she didn’t realize that you have to actually play hard on every possession,” said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. “I think when you’re in high school and you’re such an elite player ... you can take possessions off where you don’t even realize that you’re taking possessions off.” With a full season under her

belt, Dilk evaluated her weaker aspects and improved them. One area in particular is taking care of the ball. Dilk turned the ball over 3.4 times per game last season, higher than both she and Barnes Arico would like. Additionally, Dilk looked to improve her shooting (39.4 percent last season) and scoring (7.2 points per game) abilities during the offseason. With three other players averaging over 10 points per game and two other established scorers averaging over seven, she was not asked to be one of the Wolverines’ main scoring threats last season. But after losing three of their top four scorers from last season, Dilk will be relied upon as a distributor and a scorer. “I think those two things are primarily what I’ve focused on over the summer because I think that’s what I needed to improve to be the best that I can be,” Dilk said. “Taking the fundamentals and going back to the basics of making sure my free throws snap, my form is perfect, and tightening my ball handling skills so I don’t create those turnovers. “We call it daily vitamins. It’s just things that we personally need to get better at that we do every day as an individual.” Added Barnes Arico: “I think

for her to take those next steps in her development ... she’s gotta be a more consistent shooter. She’s gotta be willing to take those shots and knock down those shots, and she has worked hard on that in the offseason.” Dilk’s teammates have praised her passing ability. She finished seventh in the Big Ten last season with 4.4 assists per game. Her knowledge of her teammates’ style was key to this. “As a point guard, coach talks about it all the time, being able to make the right reads and just knowing the person also,” said junior forward Hailey Brown. “Building relationships on the court as well, I think she just did a really good job her freshman year.” While Dilk has worked hard to improve her game, the most important factor that could lead to a breakout season is the increased confidence that comes with having played a year in the system. “(She) knows her teammates, and knows what she has to do to get those wins, and she knows what she has to do to put her teammates in the best position,” said sophomore forward Naz Hillmon. “I think she’s going to look even better than last year, if you guys can even imagine what that looks like.”

KEEMYA ESMAEL/Daily

Sophomore guard Amy Dilk worked to improve her shooting as well as her passing during the offseason.

ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily

Junior midfielder Sarah Stratigakis helped Michigan’s defense to a dominant performance over Maryland.

NICK MOEN For The Daily

Studs out and the U-M Soccer Stadium packed, the No. 16 Michigan women’s soccer team dominated Maryland, 4-1, in its last regular-season game Sunday. Sitting behind just Wisconsin and Rutgers in the Big Ten standings, the Wolverines (13-4-1 overall, 8-2-1 Big Ten) put in a fierce performance against the Terrapins (9-7-3 overall, 5-5-1 Big Ten). During a crisp fall afternoon where Michigan outshot Maryland, 12-2, it was the Wolverines who dominated for 90 minutes in a critical game leading into the postseason. Though the game included multiple goals from the winning side, the Wolverines’ defense also proved to be an important aspect to its success. In its 18 games prior to Sunday, Michigan allowed just 15 goals, an average of .83 goals per game and an impressive stat from a commanding back line. The center back partnership of junior defender Alia Martin and sophomore defender Sydney Shepherd anchored the Wolverines’ back line and shut out the Terrapins until the 83rd minute. “We want to be good

defensively,” said Michigan coach Jennifer Klein. “When you want to be a great team you have to be a team that can keep the ball out of your net. It is a goal of ours to be good at that.” The goals came for Michigan this year, with junior midfielder Sarah Stratigakis leading the team in points with six goals and nine assists. Yet, the importance of the backline is obvious. As the Wolverines dominated offensively Sunday, it was the calmness of Martin and Shepard that controlled the flow of the game. The passing between the two and into the opponents’ defensive third gave Michigan the edge. “This year, defensively, we’ve been very strong, especially with Hilary Beall back their in the goal,” Stratigakis said. “We’re doing well both offensively and defensively and that’s how we are winning our games.” Though the team could not finish the game with a shutout, the confidence remained. With Big Ten Tournament play about to begin, the team will rely heavily on its back line to grind out wins in games in which results matter more heavily. The Terrapins’ lone two shots came on a long shot from freshman forward Kaylee Kozlowski that barely challenged Beall. The

second came from a late second half goal. In other words, Michigan’s back line didn’t give Maryland the chance to reach its defensive third. “It’s a huge confidence booster any time you can get a result at your last regular season game,” Klein said. “Now we can close the chapter on regular season and prep for postseason.” Whether it was clearing a ball from a Terrapin cross or keeping possession in the final moments of the game, the Wolverines stayed compact and dominant throughout the game. Out of five players who played the full 90 minutes, Beall, Shepherd and Martin were three of them. Not only does this show their importance to the squad, but also how dependable they will be as the postseason begins and a trophy is at stake. Michigan has not played in a Big Ten championship game since 2005 and hasn’t won since 1999. Anything can happen in tournament season and the Wolverines will look to capitalize on that chance and use their stalwart defense to do so. “We are very confident,” Stratigakis said. “We’re a team to watch out for coming postseason.”

Sports

8 — Tuesday, October 29, 2019

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Partridge, Campanile form friendship in football

WOMEN’S GOLF

Michigan finishes 13th LILY ISRAEL

Daily Sports Writer

ALEC COHEN/Daily

Special teams coordinator and safeties coach Chris Partridge has shared a friendship with Anthony Campanile since the two attended high school together.

ARIA GERSON

Daily Sports Editor

The year Paramus Catholic High School finally got over the hump, going from four straight losing seasons to a state championship in 1997, the team was full of the kind of players that might not go onto the NFL, but could still elevate everyone around them. It was the kind of season that sparks careers and forges connections that come back around, so maybe it was no surprise that 22 years later, two of those guys ended up on the same team again. Chris Partridge was the senior captain, the heart and soul of the team who doubled as a hard-hitting middle linebacker and tough-as-nails right guard. Anthony Campanile was the coach’s son, the talented freshman quarterback whose season was derailed by injury. The two friends kept in touch throughout the years, crossing paths as they rose in the coaching profession. But they’d never been at the same place before, not until this year. Now, Partridge and Campanile are reunited at Michigan — Partridge coaching safeties and special teams and Campanile coaching linebackers. In some ways, they’re two guys talking football, just as they always have. The stakes are just a little higher now. *** Paramus Catholic’s coach at the time was Mike Campanile, Anthony’s father and the patriarch of a quintessential New Jersey football family. Mike’s four sons are all coaches — Nunzio is the interim head coach and offensive coordinator at Rutgers, and Vito and Nicky are successful high school coaches back where they grew up. Anthony and his brothers spent their childhoods coming to practice with their dad. They got to know the older kids, who made them feel special. As Anthony grew up, he naturally meshed with Partridge, who also came from a football family — his father, Rick, was a punter in the NFL and helped coach high school teams. Partridge was an easy person to look up to. Campanile managed to make varsity as a freshman but tore his ACL over the summer before he had played a single snap. He was forced to watch from the sidelines as his team made a run. Partridge was an inspiration to Campanile that entire season. He was never the most athletic or naturally talented guy, but he worked hard to mold himself into not only a top player, but a leader. The way he and the other team leaders went about their season made Campanile want to work that much harder to get back so he could play with them. In the process, Partridge and the other seniors helped guide Campanile’s recovery. “I wish they did play together in high school,” Mike told The Daily in a phone interview. “(Anthony) used to watch those guys, the older guys, and he became close with those guys from not being able to play. He would watch them all day, watch

every little thing they did. … It was a good year, it really was. Too bad he couldn’t have really participated with them on the field. That would’ve been — ah! — it would’ve been so good. But what are you gonna do?” After Paramus Catholic scored the game-winning twopoint conversion in the state title game, Partridge headed off to college while Campanile, finally recovered from injury, stepped into a larger role. But their friendship, as it turned out, was just beginning. In college, the two hung out over breaks and during the summer, heading to the Jersey Shore and talking football. And when both entered the coaching world, their trajectories were remarkably similar. As Anthony started his freshman year at Rutgers, Partridge was about to graduate from Lafayette College and knew his feature laid in coaching. So he gave Mike a call. Mike no longer coached at Paramus Catholic but encouraged Partridge to apply there anyway. Mike suspected what Partridge later proved: that he had what it took to be a champion, on the field and on the sidelines. Partridge served as the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach of Paramus Catholic from 2003-04 before brief college stints at Lafayette and The Citadel. After three years away from football, Partridge came back as the head coach of his alma mater in 2010. In 2012, his literal and figurative return to his roots was complete, as he lifted Paramus Catholic to its first state title since that fateful one back in 1997. Campanile coached linebackers for one year at Fair Lawn High School before becoming the defensive coordinator and later offensive coordinator, at Don Bosco Prep, one of Paramus Catholic’s most bitter rivals. For two years, the friends coached against each other. “Didn’t say a word to each other, before or after (the game),” Partridge told The Daily. “Later, about a month or so. We’re both competitors, so we know it’s all in good love.” Through all this, the two met up at times, talking Xs and Os with whatever means they could — even if it meant scrounging for a napkin and scrawling out hypothetical plays. Partridge was the first to make the jump to the Power Five when he took a job as a recruiting analyst with the Wolverines in 2015. When the Scarlet Knights visited Ann Arbor that year, Campanile, then at Rutgers as a wide receivers and tight ends coach, brushed paths with Partridge once again. During his tenure at Michigan, Partridge has helped bring in several big-time New Jersey players — among them Rashan Gary, Michael Dwumfour and Cesar Ruiz. But last year, he recruited more than

just players. A position opened on the Wolverines’ defensive staff, and Partridge knew just the guy. Partridge had talked to Campanile about his job at Michigan before, and how much he loved the place. But this time, he hoped his friend could see for himself. He called Campanile and told him, “This could be something special, and I think it would be awesome for you to look into.” Then, Partridge told Jim Harbaugh about Campanile. With Campanile’s other connections on staff — he knew defensive coordinator Don Brown from his time at Boston College and then-offensive analyst Ben McDaniels from a mutual stint at Rutgers — he seemed like a perfect fit. Campanile came out to see for himself, an official visit of sorts, and felt right at home. He was hired in January of this year. In football, chemistry on the staff is just as important as chemistry on the team. Otherwise, it becomes every man for himself, people just striving for paychecks instead of working together towards a common goal. The way Mike describes it, good camaraderie lights a fire under a coaching staff, and that rubs off on the players. In a broader sense, communication is vital in such a high-stress position, and familiarity can breed that kind of assertiveness. “It was awesome because we work really hard and you’ve gotta have guys you trust and lean on and stuff like that in this profession,” Partridge said. “I think now we have that. It’s so huge. “And (Campanile) just adds to it because I’ve known him for so long. It’s cool just to see the mesh of coaches that we have here now and the fact that we get along so well for so long, I knew he would fit if that makes sense. I just knew he would be a guy that Jim would love and the whole staff would love.” At Michigan, Partridge and Campanile are expert recruiters — bouncing New Jersey recruiting knowledge off each other — and work closely together on the defensive staff. Partridge came to his interview straight from his office, where he and Campanile were drawing up schemes. They bring not only that all-important sense of camaraderie, but also the same qualities that lifted their oncemoribund school: toughness, leadership and a will to win. Back in the old days, when Partridge and Campanile were both new to the wide world of coaching, Partridge remembers the two joking about how they were so like-minded — wouldn’t it be fun to work together? Campanile maintains that they never exactly framed it that way. But he still sits back sometimes and thinks to himself, “What are the chances of this?” He knows that if you went back and told the

We’re both competitors, so we know it’s all in good love.

freshman quarterback with a torn ACL that he’d be here, with Partridge, coaching at the same school, he wouldn’t believe you. “How often does two kids from the same team end up coaching at a major college together?” Mike said. “That’s especially if one of them’s not the head coach. … It’s kind of strange that they ended up on the same team.” *** That 1997 season did more for Partridge and Campanile than simply making sure they left with a trophy. Ask Campanile, and he’ll say Partridge was a masterful team leader the entire season. Ask Partridge, and he’ll tell you how much Campanile’s passion for the game shined through. Ask either one, and they’ll tell you they could tell the other was going to be a coach, even back then. And guiding their team was a perfect role model in the business. Mike was a master motivator, pushing players to places they didn’t believe they could take themselves. He believed that hard work and leadership were vital, both on the sidelines and in the locker room. Those are values both still take to heart. “(Mike) really gave me the foundation of how football should be played,” Partridge said. “Hard-nosed, tough, just the qualities of an old-school coach that I try to employ now.” Mike, who still coaches high school freshmen even into his 70s, follows his former players from afar. He offers up advice — “You can’t play the game for them,” he says to Anthony when he’s too hard on himself — and sees in the two the same competitive fire they had back in high school. Now, Partridge and Campanile, two kids who grew up and won a state championship together, are striving for Big Ten championships together. They sometimes hit the road together on recruiting trips and meet up with their families other childhood friends — many of whom are also coaching — when they’re back in New Jersey. Instead of scavenging for napkins to get in some Xs and Os, they get to talk football together, all day, every day, on the whiteboards in their offices. “I think the similarities really lie in what we learned growing up,” Campanile told The Daily. “About, there’s nothing wrong with being tough. There’s nothing wrong with having character. … There’s really only one way to do it. Be tough, do your job, do it to the best of your ability. But love your players. Be a rational, competitive and compassionate person. “ … That’s something I think we probably learned when we were young, from our staff in high school, which inspired us to be coaches, among other guys that we played with in high school to be coaches. That’s the cool thing.” Maybe the odds of them both ending up here were small on paper, but after the two friends built their foundations in the same place and brushed paths for years, it’s only appropriate that things have come full circle.

The circumstances weren’t advantageous for the Michigan women’s golf team this past weekend at the Landfall Tradition tournament in Wilmington, N.C. But that’s what’s expected when competing in a tournament fielding 13 of 18 teams ranked in the top 50 on a challenging course in inclement weather. And yet, the Wolverines finished in a formidable 13th place. The team finished at 27-over par (296, 303, 292) over the course of three days and 54 holes. Junior Ashley Kim was the top individual performer, finishing 2-over par and tied for 17th place. Michigan felt like it had something to prove. Coming into this high-level tournament, the last of the fall season, the Wolverines hoped to finish on a high note and gain some momentum for the offseason before the year picks up in February. “We had quite a few flashes of some high-level golf,” said Michigan coach Jan Dowling. “In our final round, we really played quite well. I think we had a little bit of something to prove. We were the fourth-lowest team score (on the last day). This was definitely a moral victory.” Going into the final day of the tournament, Michigan was in 15th place and focused on moving up in the standings. They accomplished this by limiting their mistakes and capitalizing and staying in control on par 5s. In the final round, they were 3-under par on such holes. There were plenty of positives to take away from this tournament, like Kim’s continued consistency and good play. This was Kim’s second top-20 individual finish in four events. In the first round, she shot 2-under par, notching her

third under-par round of the season. Her play this tournament reaffirmed everything she has been working on throughout the summer and fall. “It was nice for her to see (her hard work) come together on a hard golf course in some pretty tough conditions,” Dowling said. “That’s only going to build some confidence for her. She is working on the right things and that validates the work she has done.” Sophomore Ashley Lau followed Kim by finishing the tournament 6-over par (72, 76, 74) and tied for 39th place. This was her second top-50 finish of the season. As a collective, Michigan was excited to compete against some of the best talent from around the country. While it did not finish as well as they did in similar caliber tournaments at the beginning of the season, this tournament showed what they are capable of. “If you look at our schedule we are constantly trying to play against the best teams on some great golf courses,” Dowling said. “That really prepares us for the big picture which is the postseason and the NCAA championships. It’s a really big challenge but it’s also something that our team welcomes every time we tee it up. It’s always a great opportunity and we embrace it as much as we can.” The Wolverines do not compete in another tournament until February but will use this time off to prepare for the spring season. “The idea for the spring just keep building on those flashes of brillance we had,” Dowling said. “It shows our capability. We have a great lineup of tournaments in the spring and have some nice changes to work on our games, compete, and spend some good time over the winter to make some improvements in our consistency.”

‘M’ gains experience SPENCER RAINES Daily Sports Writer

The Eastern Michigan Fall Classic is a small event at the end of cross country season. You could even say it’s unimportant, but that’s not the case to Michigan coaches Mike McGuire and Kevin Sullivan who view it as a great oppurtunity to showcase young runners’ talent and the work they’ve put in all season. The Michigan men’s and women’s cross country teams competed at the Eastern Michigan Fall Classic on Friday in Dexter, Mich. While a small event, the meet is still a good benchmark for the young Wolverines searching for experience at the end of the fall season. Michigan rested its starting lineups in preparation for the Big Ten championships meet next Sunday. And even though the meet was not scored, that didn’t stop the Wolverines from having what Sullivan labeled a positive day, gaining experience for their young runners. For the men, sophomore Gabe Mudel was the first to cross for the Wolverines in fourth place, with a time of 15:04. Freshmen Colton Yesney and James Gedris crossed the line next in seventh and ninth, respectively. “Our guys did a good job of injecting themselves in the race and being competitive,” Sullivan said. The women’s team brought a larger group to the meet and got similar results. Five runners finished from spots eight to 13, led by senior Faith Reynolds in eighth

place. “Faith’s been running with the travel squad all year so I thought it was a strong race, ” said Michigan coach Mike McGuire. This is the second time the Wolverines have raced this course this season, the first of which was in the season opener at the Michigan Open, where they had overall slower performances. “We came back and improved on what they established in late August on this course,” McGuire said. This all comes after an entire fall of training and an entire season of experience. And while most of these runners don’t get to see action as often as some of their teammates, when the opportunity arose on Friday, they showed up. “Really happy that their body of work in the falls being reflected,” McGuire said. While the runners here aren’t running in the postseason this year, they may next year, making this experience possibly invaluable. “We will have people running in the Big Ten meet who were in this position a year ago,” McGuire said. Preparing for next year isn’t all experience is good for. In the more immediate reality, this is a time for young runners to showcase what they’ve worked towards. “This is like studying all fall and taking an exam at the end,” McGuire said. “This exam happens to be different and maybe next year, this exam will be the Big Ten meet.”

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Michigan coach Mike McGuire is getting ready for Big Ten Championships.