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Journalist wins medal for film on Middle East
Safa Al Ahmad receives award for BBC documentary on uprisings IULIA DOBRIN
CLAIRE MEINGAST/Daily
Medical School student Solomon Rajput speaks about his plan to challege U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell in the 2020 elections during a town hall at Palmer Commons Tuesday evening.
U-M medical student running for Congress holds town hall meeting
Solomon Rajput discusses policy priorities, decision to challenge Rep. Dingell BRAYDEN HIRSCH For The Daily
Solomon Rajput, a 27-year-old medical student at the University of Michigan, began his campaign for U.S. Congress about a month ago. He spoke about his campaign Tuesday night at a town hall event he co-hosted with the Young Democratic Socialists of America. LSA junior Elias Khoury is the president of YDSA and helped organize the event. After hearing
about Rajput’s campaign, Khoury said he wanted to get involved. Khoury was interested in the fact that Rajput is a primary challenger to incumbent U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor. “I reached out to Solomon, who was accessible and easy to get in touch with,” Khoury said. “We were talking back and forth, and eventually we got him to come to one of our meetings, and he did a little presentation about what his canvas is all about. The vast majority of our membership
were, more or less, on board. So, since then, we’ve been working pretty closely with him, and we decided it would be a nice idea to put this town hall together.” Rajput began by speaking about his reasons for running. Currently, Rajput is taking a leave of absence from the University of Michigan Medical School in order to pursue his campaign. He said the main reason he got into the race was because of climate change, noting he has always been passionate about climate
issues and wants to become a doctor in a green world. “The number one reason why I got into this race was because of this little thing called climate change,” Rajput said. “It might kill us all if we don’t figure out what to do. … This baby step approach where we have a 90 year plan and we do something this year and then re-evaluate in 50 years when everyone else is dead, it’s not going to happen.” See CANDIDATE, Page 3A
Daily Staff Reporter
Saudi Arabian journalist Safa Al Ahmad gave a talk after accepting the Wallenberg Medal from President Mark Schlissel Tuesday night. She spoke in Rackham Auditorium to a crowd of a few hundred community members and students. The Wallenberg Medal is named after 1935 University of Michigan graduate Raoul Wallenberg, who saved more than 80,000 lives in Nazioccupied Hungary during World War II. The award is given to those who “demonstrate the capacity of the human spirit to stand up for the helpless, to defend the integrity of the powerless, and to speak out on behalf of the voiceless.” Al Ahmad is the 27th recipient of the award, joining notable recipients like Elie Wiesel, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and
Panelists Sleep-out organizers seek to draw talk policy attention to homelessness in A2 approach Activities, vigil highlight experiences of people dealing with housing insecurity to justice CAMPUS LIFE
MELANIE TAYLOR
Event examines impact of mass incarceration on prisoners, communities PETER HUMMER For The Daily
The FemDems and JustDems, two issue committees of the University of Michigan’s chapter of the College Democrats, hosted a panel titled “Rethinking Public Policy in an Age of Mass Incarceration” Tuesday night. The panel consisted of Francine Banner, associate professor of Sociology at U-M Dearborn, and Mark Fancher, a staff attorney for the Racial Justice Project of the ACLU of Michigan. They discussed the issue of mass incarceration and the policies and factors that contribute to it, specifically those that harm women and the Black community. The panel was attended by a group of about 50 students and community members at the Ford School of Public Policy. LSA senior Emma Rooney, the co-chair of JustDems, told The Michigan Daily they invited Banner and Fancher due to their previous experience with the criminal justice system. “Banner taught in prison systems, and Mark Fancher has experience with the ACLU and doing direct court cases, and we wanted to focus on policies,” Rooney said. See PANEL, Page 3A
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Daily Staff Reporter
The Diag was occupied by more than 30 students Tuesday night participating in the first “One Night Without a Home” sleep-out in Ann Arbor. The event, hosted by the Shelter Association of Washtenaw County, as well as student activist organizations MReach
and CURIS - Public Health Advocacy, comes as one of many organized by SAWC this week as a part of the National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. The event, which accompanied other “Nights Without a Home” held across the country, featured speeches from University of Michigan student organizations The Dot
Org and Poverty Solutions, testimonials from former SAWC clients, activities to help students confront the realities of homelessness and a candlelight vigil held in honor of lives lost to homelessness. Over the course of the evening, attendees were invited to confront their biases toward people experiencing homelessness. Sarah Papsal, SAWC Director
of Development, said the event is meant to “simulate homelessness” to the fullest extent possible in a single night. Papsal explained that while students may never understand what it is like to go weeks without a shower or clean clothes, they can empathize with the fear of spending a night alone in the cold. See SLEEP-OUT, Page 3A
JULIA SCHACHINGER/Daily Students participate in the first sleep-out to raise awareness about homelessness Tuesday evening.
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Vol. CXXIX, No. 31 ©2019 The Michigan Daily
the Dalai Lama. “If I’m going to be honest, this completely feels like imposter syndrome,” Al Ahmad said. “I don’t know why I was chosen … all I can say is that I’m overwhelmed and honored, and I hope I deserve it.” As a journalist and filmmaker, Al Ahmad has produced documentaries about the uprisings in the Middle East. She said her reporting on the complexities of the conflict in areas of Yemen has put her in great danger, yet she has continued to cover this area. “It’s constantly keeping me on my toes as a storywriter,” Al Ahmad said. “You never think ‘Oh, that’s it. I’ve seen it all in Yemen.’ You have not and you never will. So, on a personal, selfish level, I find it’s really important to keep engaged and interested, intrigued by a story.” See MEDAL, Page 3A
RESEARCH
Official examines response to PFAS
Epidemiologist reflects on state’s handling of ‘forever chemicals’ NAVYA GUPTA For The Daily
The School of Public Health held a lecture Tuesday evening addressing Michigan’s investigations and response to per- and polyf luoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contaminating sources of drinking water. The keynote speaker at the lecture was Betsy Wasilevich, a senior epidemiologist at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The audience consisted of about 30 people, including students and faculty members. The lecture started off with Wasilevich introducing PFAS and talking about a few of its sources. “PFAS is a group of chemicals, over a thousand analytes of these types of chemicals, they are incredibly stable, have a generally long half-life, they break down slowly and they bioaccumulate,” Wasilevich said. “We all have some level of exposure to PFAS. Tef lon coating, fire-fighting foams, food packaging. It is also in the water.” Wasilevich highlighted the challenges in addressing PFAS, which is an emerging contaminant. See PFAS, Page 3A
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MONDAY: Looking at the Numbers
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GEO criticizes University ’s bargaining stance Nov. 20, 1995 Af ter four rounds of contract negotiations, members of the Graduate Employees Organization say Universit y administrators are not g iving them the respect they deser ve. Mike Sell, secretar y of the GEO bargaining team, said that although GEO is presenting issues related to the educational and economic issue of the Universit y, “the administration seems to feel these are just complaints.” Dan Gamble, the
administration’s chief negotiator, disputed GEO’s claims yesterday. “I think both teams are working ver y hard to reach tentative ag reements,” he said. “I’m not sure where they’re coming from.” Issues on the bargaining table include wage and workload changes, hiring policies, chang ing the title of teaching assistant, and ensuring proper benef its and employee recog nition for interns. In a statement issued late last week, GEO off icials said Gamble “made clear that the administration
bargaining team has little interest in working with the Union to resolve problems that affect not only Graduate Student Instructors, but the Universit y as a whole.” Gamble said he never made such comments. Sell, a Rackham fellow and student and English TA, said the union has no sense that its issues are being taken seriously. During negotiations last Wednesday, the issue of recog nizing clinical psycholog y interns as employees came up for discussion.
Af ter GEO presented its views in what he called a log ical process, Sell said Gamble listened and said no, without explanation. Gamble said he thought he had explained his position adequately. “It is a unit determination made by the Michigan Employee Relations Commission,” he said. “I’m sorr y if I didn’t make it clear.” Sell said GEO is “less than optimistic that these issues can be resolved at the table, unless the administration is willing to change its tune...and step off their high horse.”
Sell added that GEO would be willing to compromise if the administration shows a willing ness to do the same. In the meantime, Sell said, “GEO will negotiation to the best of (its) abilities.” “GEO has 38 proposals, so we have a ways to go,” Gamble said. Negotiations for the 10th GEO contract began Oct. 31, with the current contract set to expire Feb. 1. The f if th bargaining session is scheduled for today at 5 p.m. on the second f loor of the LSA building. “Many students of color
face tremendous f inancial burdens, the cultural climate, and I do think there needs to be more support of our academic support ser vices,” Monts said. “ We must increase our efforts to inf use diversit y and multiculturalism into our teaching and learning prog rams. As societ y changes the Universit y must change to ref lect societ y.” Overall, enrollment dropped 290 students from 36,758 in 1993 to 36,468 in 1994.
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Editorial Staff JULIA SCHACHINGER/Daily The Center for Global and International Studies (CGIS) displayed photos taken around the world by students abroad in North Quad Tuesday evening.
Student organizations host event on feminism in South Asian communities
Elevate, South Asian Awareness Network, Paani collaborate on workshop to promote leadership VARSHA VEDPUDI Daily Staff Reporter
Student organizations Elevate, South Asian Awareness Network and Paani jointly hosted a collaborative workshop to discuss feminism through a South-Asian lens on Tuesday night. The event was part of a four-part series exploring global perspectives on feminism. About 50 people engaged in the discussion and Q&A led by Debotri Dhar, women’s studies lecturer, and Zunaira Jilani, a Wayne State health and social psycholog y Ph.D. student. The speakers addressed the importance of intersectional feminism in the South-Asian community both in the region itself and Sudoku Generator in the U.S.
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understand the daily life and the daily struggles of someone from the South Asian culture, and so I can know what to do in solidarity,” Bashir said. Zunaira Jilani’s focus was on South Asian culture in the U.S. and sexual violence. She talked about her early experiences discussing this topic with her mom while watching “Law and Order” and realizing the taboo behind discussing sex in the community. When asked about fueling cultural change, Zunaira Jilani emphasized talking about the issue in specific community groups and eliminating girl-on-girl hate as possible solutions. “Embracing your strong identity and movements are similar to cultural http://sudokugenerator.com/sudoku/generator/print/ what we see in the West but channeling it to form strong sometimes break away in alliances is very important,” order to articulate local Zunaira Jilani said. Sumrah Jilani, event needs,” Dhar said. Stressing the organizer from SAAN and importance of LSA senior, talked about understanding how some takeaways from the EASY culture is not static, event. “I learned that there are Dhar rejected the idea of cultural a lot of different cultural universalism when norms that differ in Southdrawing comparisons Asian culture compared to a about feminism between Eurocentric perspective, and Western countries and I think the speakers did a other regions. After good job of highlighting that talking about specific it’s okay to be different from movements in fields the norm,” Jilani said. Moving forward, Dhar such as literature, film and policymaking, Dhar emphasized the importance understanding the talked about how male of nature of allies are doing incredible complicated work across different feminism in south Asia. “Feminism in south Asia avenues in the region. LSA senior Taha Bashir is not a linear narrative. It’s also attended the event messier as it is anywhere and was interested in around the world, but I’d like learning what he can do to believe that it is a forward despite the as an ally to support the movement, women from the South complications,” Dhar said. Asian community. Read more at “As a guy, I would love © sudokugenerator.com. For personal use only. puzzle by sudokusyndication.com MichiganDaily.com the opinion of someone who is a woman and to
Engineering junior Kyra Kothawala attended the event in hopes of exploring more about other social justice issues outside the U.S. “I recently went to an event from SARS (Students Against Rape Society), and I thought it was really empowering, and I am kind of interested in learning more about feminism around the world,” Kothawala said. Dhar began the discussion by addressing the difficulty of explaining South Asian feminism in a limited time period, given the diversity of the countries and the nonlinear nature of feminist movements in the region. She went on to comment on the impact of colonialism on grassroots-level feminist movements in south-Asian countries which were
not only focused on local challenges but set in the context of a larger, global framing. “It’s like teaching a full semester course in 15 minutes. Sometimes, these
“Embracing your strong cultural identity and channeling it to form strong alliances is very important.”
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CANDIDATE From Page 1A LSA junior Rain Uddin decided to get involved in this campaign when she learned that Michigan’s 12th District was represented by a Democrat rather than a Democratic Socialist. “I am really interested in seeing the progressive take this seat, especially in this district,” Uddin said. “I am a transfer here, and once I experienced the community it was shocking to me that we had such an established Democrat as our representative, so that’s the main reason that I am here.” In an email, Kellie Lounds, the political director for Dingell’s campaign, said the congresswoman was focused on serving the people of the 12th District. “Congresswoman Dingell is focused on continuing to lead the fight in Congress for quality, affordable healthcare, safeguarding the environment, strengthening affordable and accessible education, and delivering for hard-working men and women in Southeast Michigan,” Lounds wrote.
MEDAL From Page 1A Al Ahmad has forged connections with her interview subjects, some of whom she has grown close with over her years of covering the area. As she returned to Yemen over the years, she recognized the effect the trauma from the civil war was having on people’s perception of time and reality. “Nothing prepares you for how you need to handle these cases,” Al Ahmad said. “How do you maintain distance, but also empathy (and) trust? They become your friends, you talk to them all the time, and so the boundaries are very difficult to deal with.” In addition to being a journalist, Al Ahmad covers her stories through film, directing documentaries that were broadcast on programs like PBS and CBS. “The camera is an interesting addition to a war zone, because it enables me to filter everything through that frame, through that lens,” Al Ahmad said. “It actually gives me emotional distance.” Though she is both a filmmaker and a journalist, Al Ahmad said she prioritizes the story being told over the quality of camera work. “I’m not one of those people who’s going to make a beautiful film, and I don’t really care about that as much as, ‘Are you getting the information that you need from this scene?’” Al Ahmad said. As someone applying for the Wallenberg Fellowship
PANEL From Page 2A “So, for the ACLU, them dealing with the courts was particular to that, and then we wanted to talk about the experience of women too, and Banner teaches at a women’s prison.” Fancher began the panel by outlining the history of mass incarceration in the United States and noting points in recent American history in which Black Americans have been wrongly incarcerated. “During the Civil Rights era, people were arrested for simply exercising their First Amendment rights. … During the Black Power movement, you’d find people who were framed… some of these people imprisoned in the 1960s are still in prison today,” Fancher said. “During the war on drugs… the number of people who went to prison skyrocketed because of policies that demonized people… and (law enforcement) swept through Black communities.” Before continuing, both
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“Across the 12th Congressional District, Mrs. Dingell talks with everyone, and has gone to hundreds of meetings and events - including events from Downriver communities to multiple events on UMich campus weekly. People who know her, know she is a fighter.” As Rajput continued, he emphasized his various beliefs. He said he was focused on college debt and talked about more affordable or free college. “How are we going to pay for it? Well, the answer is using the vast wealth and resources of the United States because we are a rich country,” Rajput said. “We are the richest country that has ever existed in the history of mankind, and we’re going around pretending that we are barely getting by. … We have so much money, but we keep spending it on dumb stuff.” He shared a story about a woman he met during his campaign. She mentioned she was married, but that it was not a romantic marriage. When applying to college, she got married to a friend so they would receive more financial aid because she would then qualify as a dependent. Rajput said no one should
have to get married in order to pay for college. “Is this actually something that is happening at this University?” Rajput said. “The answer is yes. … That’s where we’re at. Where people are trying to do whatever to figure out how to make this make financial sense for them.” University alum Stephen Tryban attended the town hall to learn more about the candidate challenging Dingell. “As someone who is pretty far left, I am curious and interested in any kind of disruption there could be in the establishment Democrat field,” Tryban said. “I think that even if this campaign is not successful, I think that primarily having somebody like Solomon come in and really gather a lot of attention for these particular stances could inevitably shift Dingell’s position, possibly. So, I think, if anything, it could gather more support for these particular issues.” Rajput concluded by sharing his opinions on health care. Implementing universal health care is crucial, he said. “We need to try to make our healthcare system better from the inside out,” Rajput said.
to learn about the lives of Yemeni refugees and asylum seekers, LSA senior Ayat AL-Tamimi attended Al Ahmad’s lecture for the opportunity to learn from someone who is doing groundwork in a similar field. “I think at the heart of it was that she talked about all these war and political factions, but I don’t think any of that mattered in the grand scheme of the story,” AL-Tamimi said. “What mattered was the human element, and people’s lives and how those have been impacted by people who put ideology above human life.” LSA junior Jalal Mawri, who attended the lecture, is a Yemeni-American student who lived in Yemen until 2013. Mawri said he felt a personal connection to Al Ahmad’s stories, as two of his cousins had been killed in airstrikes in Yemen. “It was brutally emotional,” Mawri said. “When I was hearing those stories that she was saying, I got really emotional. I had a few tears coming out of my eyes.” Al Ahmad became emotional while sharing stories of civilian casualties she had encountered while on the ground in Yemen, ranging from a five year old girl who died alone standing in line to get water, to a mother who lost her two boys to a missile strike that hit them while they were playing outside. “If anything, this was a reminder that you can have five factions warring in a village, but in the end, a kid is still a kid who answers to
his mother,” AL-Tamimi said. “A faction doesn’t take that away.” Currently, Al Ahmad is working on a podcast about Saudi Arabian human rights in Arabic. She is also looking to continue her coverage of Yemen in the future by revisiting her footage and seeing how the understanding of the conf lict has changed. “For a lot of people, access is more important than the story itself,” Al Ahmad said. “I hope I never get accused of just being someone who has access but no real journalism.” At the end of her lecture, Al Ahmad was met with a standing ovation from the audience. This was followed by a Q&A section, which included a question from an audience member about being a female reporter in the Middle East. Al Ahmad responded that she sees her gender as being a superpower, since she can cover Yemeni women with sensitivity to their culture and situation. Other questions addressed Al Ahmad’s opinion about other conf licts in the Middle East area and the relations between the region and the United States. Ref lecting on Al Ahmad’s speech, AL-Tamimi was moved by her description of the Yemeni people being impacted by the civil war. “I think what really moved me to tears when she talked about how people being here is a sign of people not forgetting about Yemen,” AL-Tamimi said. “I think people often forget that people living in the Middle East are people.”
Banner and Fancher stressed to the audience that the issue of mass incarceration is not simply a point of partisan disagreement. “The issue is not one between Democrats and Republicans, but it is between those in power and those who are oppressed,” Fancher said. “Sentencing guidelines (for the War on Drugs) were voted on by both Democrats and Republicans,” Banner said. Both Banner and Fancher offered up potential changes in policy and general approaches to the problems surrounding mass incarceration. Fancher focused on the issue of policing and the disproportionate impact felt in communities of color, especially Black Americans. One possible solution to this, Fancher said, is to incentivize police officers by tying promotion and job progression to policing in a manner that is as unbiased and as fair as possible. “The one thing that I am convinced of after talking to, at this point, hundreds of police officers, is that if they’re not concerned about anything
else, they’re concerned about their careers and their career advancement,” Fancher said. “If the message somehow gets through to them that the way to advance is to act as progressive as possible… I think that they would do it.” Banner brief ly spoke about the issues women face in the criminal justice system, and the rising number of incarcerated women. “From the 1970s to 2000, the number of women incarcerated grew by 823 percent … and women’s incarceration numbers seem to be growing. … So, we need to realize that policies are not equal in their impact (to men and women),” Banner said. When asked how University students interested in helping to reduce mass incarceration might do so, Fancher offered a rather simple solution. “The reality is, anything I do, you can do right now. It just becomes a question of whether your way of thinking is one that just drives you to get up and do it,” Fancher said. “You’ve got more power, you’ve got more inf luence than you think.”
PFAS From Page 1A Experts are unsure how PFAS exposure impacts people clinically, Wasilevich said. “Sometimes it means that our lab testing procedures are not as refined,” Wasilevich said. “We are learning and evolving those procedures to test for new analytes. We also don’t have a clear sense, at least for PFAS, about the clinical implications of being exposed. That makes the risk of communication very challenging.” Wasilevich then proceeded to talk about the public health obligations of the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team. “We have a public health obligation, so once (MPART) identifies contaminated sites, we intervene to try to reduce or remove that exposure, protecting public health,” Wasilevich said. “If we locate a contaminated site, we will replace that water either with bottled water or will shift the water source, and we will also distribute filters.” Wasilevich spoke about how PFAS contamination affects communities and how MPART assuages the fears of a contaminated community. “When a community is affected with a contaminant, they become very fearful. It’s out of their control that they’ve been exposed, and they want answers, and they deserve answers,” Wasilevich said. “We go into town halls frequently for health education to let them know about their testing. We create a very strong presence in the communities that are affected.” Wasilevich also talked about MPART’s surface water investigations where they check for PFAS levels in
SLEEP-OUT From Page 1A “We want to be very thoughtful about what we think we can understand,” Papsal said. “And we don’t want to be insulting to anyone (thinking) that we could truly understand what those individuals are going through, but we can talk about it. We can raise awareness.” SAWC Director Dan Kelly addressed the crowd as the event began. Kelly implored attendees to leave the Diag with not only a greater understanding of what experiencing homelessness entails, but also an action plan for moving forward. Student leaders from CURIS and MReach said they were eager to turn the event’s momentum into tangible action. CURIS rebranded their organization this year, moving away from clinical work and into advocacy. As a result, Public Health senior Josie Lee, president of CURIS, said the organization was seeking out a community partner who had experience in the field when their communication with SAWC began. “Our purpose was, ‘They’re already doing so much, they already have the connections, but what were the gaps? Is there anything that we could maybe fill?’” Lee said. Similarly, MReach is a new organization this semester. MReach President Cameron Zurawlow, Business junior, said the organization’s goal was to foster community partnerships such as that with SAWC. “Hopefully this will be a night that CURIS and MReach continue to do every (year), and that was the main purpose of this year: establishing those relationships and making a change within the community,” Zurawlow
Wednesday, November 20, 2019 — 3A fish and wastewater. “We do some surface water investigations,” Wasilevich said. “We test fish in the water and address PFAS foam in the water, and we test our wastewater as well, and based on what we find, we put in public health advisories.” Public Health senior Anna Tankersley commented on possible improvements MPART could make in its response to PFAS. “I think that they are doing a really good job, but I’d like to see them be a little more transparent about it,” Tankersley said. “I’d like to see more publications, kind of publicly available. Overall, I’d like to see the studies to see what they’re doing.” Wasilevich spoke about where MPART is presently in their area of assessment. “We are currently analyzing the data. We are pulling together a preliminary report for the community to share with them before the end of the year,” Wasilevich said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to share the full report by the end of the next year.” Wasilevich further spoke about MPART’s expansion plans, including a five-year grant to establish two new biomonitoring initiatives in Michigan. Meredith McGehee, a senior administrative assistant at the School of Public Health’s Department of Epidemiology, commented on Michigan’s response to the PFAS presence. “They’re doing a great job,” McGehee said. “They’ve got the steps down in the right order, they are doing the testing, and they have two studies that are in their first stages.” The event came to an end with a Q&A session. The first question asked involved how MPART planned to address the clustering of samples.
Wasilevich responded that MPART aimed to statistically address the issue of clustering, for example analyzing households rather than individuals. “One of the things that we’ve done in the North Kent County assessment is use households as a means of analysis as opposed to individuals,” Wasilevich said. “So, there are some statistical means that we might employ to address that.” Wasilevich was further asked how the researchers planned to boost enrollment in the study. “We are going to do a lot of non-targeted recruitment as well as targeted recruitment in the community,” Wasilevich said. “We are incentivizing with gift cards. We’re hoping that helps.” In an interview with The Daily after the event, Wasilevich addressed the struggles MPART faces in recruiting people to participate in studies. “One of the challenges is to make sure we have people across the spectrum of possible exposure,” Wasilevich said. “One of the things we also had struggles with when we did a random sample of participants in North Kent County was that we didn’t include everyone, which meant that some people who wanted to participate couldn’t.” Wasilevich also commented on how Michigan’s response to the threat of PFAS has been exemplary and what needs to be done in the future. “We are doing so much. It’s really been gratifying, in a way, to be a part of something that is so comprehensive and has all these state agencies participating in,” Wasilevich said. “We need to continue to do these kinds of investigations and direct funding to support it.”
said. In planning for next year, Papsal noted the need to apply for an overnight permit further in advance. Despite having begun to plan for the event just as students returned to campus in September, Papsal said they did not apply for the overnight permit with enough notice to gain approval. The event, which lasted seven hours, ended at 2 a.m. rather than at daybreak because of this. Lee also said she hopes next year’s turnout will be larger. She explained how in her four years at the University, she has observed many insensitive conversations where poverty is clearly misunderstood. Lee said this was likely on account of the privilege afforded to what she believes is a majority of University students. “Personally, I feel like there’s something U-M students particularly … need to learn more about this,” Lee said. “They need to be more aware of this topic, so hopefully it will be a tradition that happens every year.” Lee sees homelessness as a personal topic because there was a period during which her brother experienced homelessness. She and Papsal explained how quickly and irreversibly a person can transition from poverty to homelessness through no fault of their own. Lee and Papsal also noted the importance of preventative measures. In Papsal’s experience, it is far easier to save someone’s housing situation at the last second than it is to begin anew when they become homeless. SAWC client Yolanda Neely said when SAWC acknowledged her humanity as well as her homelessness, she was finally able to begin the recovery process. “I say that was the first
day of the beginning of my new life and the last day of the end of my old life, with me not knowing it,” Neely said. “I went there angry, upset, thinking my life was over, but they gave me something that I didn’t think that I had. They cared for me.” Neely also expressed a need for more preventative measures against homelessness, such as affordable housing. She referenced Ann Arbor’s housing crisis, which Papsal blames for SAWC’s inability to house virtually any of their clients in Ann Arbor post-recovery. The fight for affordable housing in Ann Arbor, which has been brewing for years, persists in Ann Arbor among both students and residents. Protesters took to the street on Sunday in order to protest mounting difficulties. Ann Arbor City Council discussed the issue Monday, approving a proposal to begin affordable housing development by a 9-2 vote. In regard to the decision, Councilmember Zachary Ackerman, D-Ward, who voted in favor of the development, advised listeners that, despite the proposal’s success, any tangible changes were likely four to five years down the road. In the meantime, Papsal urged students who are interested in helping to donate or contact SAWC at 734-662-2829 for more information on volunteering. “Our greatest goal would be that people would want to come to us and more meaningful ways to volunteer and actually have more client interaction,” Papsal said. “Really having the greatest minds in the community (use) their energy to do more than what they’re currently doing.”
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Opinion
4A — Wednesday, November 20, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
MAX STEINBAUM | COLUMN
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FROM THE DAILY
A
Building on CAPS
s the winter months quickly approach, many University students may begin to feel their moods darken as the weather gets drearier and schoolwork becomes more intense. During such times, mental health support services are in high demand. For many students, the f irst line of defense against mental health struggles is the Universit y of Michigan’s Counseling and Psycholog ical Ser vices. However, as wait times for appointments reach upward of t wo weeks, it is clear CA PS may not be accessible to all students seeking assistance. Many Universit y students frequently criticize CA PS as ineffective, largely because of the long wait times. Ser vices such as CA PS are deeply important to the Universit y, and we encourage all students to seriously seek help if they need it. However, as students at the Universit y, we feel there are f undamental and structural changes that CA PS must make in order to ensure that students are able to obtain the proper care. For many students, the actual purpose of CA PS is unclear. They do not prescribe medications for mental illness, but rather ser ve as a resource for short-term talk therapy and can act as a pipeline to other ser vices on campus. They mainly act as a treatment center for acute issues and not for long-term, specialized care. However, the of ten prohibitively-long wait times do not ref lect this aspect of providing care for short-term issues. Additionally, for many students on campus who may not have diag nosable mental disorders but regardless struggle with the demands of college life, talk therapy should certainly be prioritized over other treatment options such as medication. For this reason, they are an excellent resource for many Universit y students. Yet the inabilit y of CA PS to meet with students over a longer period of time is a hindrance to such individuals. The fact that they are unable to provide for such ser vices with its current budget is understandable. However, CA PS should ser ve as a pipeline to other options for students in need of
longer-term care. This can include ser vices such as local therapists holding “off ice hours” to speak with students in need a few times a week, referrals to therapists in Michigan Medicine and access to professional therapists covered by insurance or with need-based aid. With that in mind, it would be helpf ul to students if CA PS took action to amplif y their outreach and expand their resources. Certain steps have been taken, including North Campus recently opening their own Wellness Zone, but there needs to be more available to students living on North beyond the sun lamps in this space. CA PS has also taken steps to create schoolspecif ic therapists for students on North Campus and beyond. This includes the implementation of “embedded” psycholog ists and social workers: At least one specialized and f ulltime counselor in each Universit y school, including those on North Campus. CA PS now even has t wo counselors conveniently available for all students in the College of Eng ineering. While these school-specif ic counselors do help to increase the therapiststudent ratio, there are more areas that need f unding and resources. While we acknowledge the work of CA PS with schoolspecif ic therapists and counselors for non-binar y and trans individuals, CA PS should continue to expand resources so more students are more comfortable readily accessing them. Implementation of the CA PS Trans Care Team, a g roup of mental health care providers specif ically trained in providing aff irming care to trans and non-binar y students, is a g reat step in the right direction. Unfortunately, long wait times and limited professional resources can still compel students feel as if they cannot or should not seek adequate help. Af ter all, knowing that there is
scarce availabilit y can make students hesitant to take those resources away from a fellow student who might “need it more.” We acknowledge that CAPS on their own cannot simply revolutionize the current plan and implement new, radical programs. For that reason, the University should consider allocating more funding to CAPS so new ideas can be seen through and more staff can be hired. U-M’s budget for Counseling Services this year is nearly $3 million, a nearly $800,000-dollar decrease from that of the previous year. The University does not seem to have a lack of disposable income — the Michigan Union renovation, just one of many major campus construction projects, had a budget of $85.2 million. A new medical building is purported to cost U-M more than $900 million. It seems deeply illogical to cut funding to CAPS. There is an outstanding and chronic issue with mental health among students on campus, and U-M should recognize and respond to this demand for more mental health resources. It is arg uably more important to have healthy, happy and treated students than a new, shiny building. CAPS does a lot for our campus, but they could do a lot more and reach a much broader range of students if increased funding was poured into the program. While we do not want to negate the help they currently provide for thousands of students, we do challenge that this help is often temporary, and resources for long-term care often fall short. With the winter season steadily approaching, and as daylight continues to decline, we encourage better and more expansive mental health options and programming for students on campus. If you or someone you know is in need of counseling and psychological services, CAPS can be reached at (734)-764-8312.
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O
Populism’s popularity
ne hundred and ninety- in American government. Like an ocean tide that five years ago, the Democratic-Republican advances and recedes, the resurgence of a Party tapped a populist animus hot-tempered against “the elites” Tennessean to the forefront of nicknamed “Old American politics is Hickory” to headline inevitable. The 2016 its presidential election witnessed ticket. Andrew a rebirth of this Johnson, the hero perennial struggle. of the Battle of With the clinching New Orleans — an MAX of Wisconsin’s 10 entirely self-made votes, man who grew up STEINBAUM electoral Donald Trump impoverished and president-elect at orphaned in the Waxhaws became region of South Carolina 2:30 a.m. November 9, 2016. region of the Carolinas — An hour later, the brash New received more than 45,000 Yorker took to Twitter and more popular votes and 15 acknowledged the populist more electoral votes than wave that carried him to his nearest competitor, victory. “The forgotten man National Republican John and woman,” Trump promised, Quincy Adams, but fell short “will never be forgotten again.” The national populism that of the electoral vote majority necessary to secure the Oval came to define Trump’s brand Office. In accordance with resonated with Americans the Twelfth Amendment, who, like Jackson’s supporters, disaffected and the election was therefore felt to be decided by the House disconnected with the world of Representatives. Through around them. Hillary Clinton, congressional maneuvering — cast by her opponent as a selfnefarious or adroit, depending serving elitist, was an iteration on perspective — Adams, the of John Quincy Adams; son of Founding Father John Trump, an energetic disrupter, Adams, won the House vote in promised due consideration of the common man. In what February 1825. evidently perceived Supporters felt that Jackson, was who had received a clear as a bold stand against the machine, plurality, had been snubbed by establishment Adams and his congressional Trump framed himself as the allies. Four years later, the brusque Jacksonian champion 1828 election featured a second of blue-jeans America. Feelings of alienation — showdown between Jackson and the incumbent Adams, legitimacy aside — is what offering an opportunity to makes populist rhetoric so rectify the outcome of 1824. attractive. The fact that dimensions of Much of Jackson’s base, rooted right-wing in the rural South and western populism have surged in the frontier, disdained Adams United States in recent years as a pampered New England is no accident, because it was aristocrat. In Jackson, a man conservative populations who of the humblest origins, they felt alienated in the lead up to had found a champion and the 2016 election. Take immigration, a protector of the common man against the blue-blooded spotlight issue in the last cycle. Trump’s Washington establishment. election The populist’s resounding antipathies toward illegal victory, therefore, was the immigrants were a rhetorical first electoral triumph of the centerpiece of his presidential he has even everyday American against the campaign; elite class to which the first six since characterized illegal occupants of the White House immigration as an “invasion” that has “violently overrun” belonged. The electoral outcome, America’s southern border. Jackson beamed, was a In promising a border wall, “triumph of the great Trump seemed to reassure principle of self-government Americans that under his unwelcome over the intrig ues of administration, aristocracy.” The forgotten outsiders would not overtake man, engaged in a perpetual Americans in their own struggle for recognition country. The populist, antiin a world dominated by elite interests, now had a establishment character of champion at the highest seat Trump’s campaign rhetoric
is evident in these statements too. “The fundamental problem with the immigration system in our country,” Trump said at an August 2016 campaign rally in Arizona, “is that it serves the needs of wealthy donors, political activists and powerful politicians. Let me tell you who it doesn’t serve: it doesn’t serve you, the American people.” Conservatives, however, by no means have a corner on populism. A political narrative that juxtaposes the “common man” with the “elite,” the cornerstone of all populist ideologies, has found refuge in left-leaning rhetoric, too. While conservative populism has devoted much of its energy to immigration, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. — the left’s most prominent populist — has railed against big business, corporate interests and the top one percent. The progressive emphasis on tackling inequality has found increasing support: 29 percent of Democrats were self-described “progressives” in 2016, a figure that rocketed to 44 percent by last year’s midterms. While none of the presidential candidates are as left-wing as Sanders, several of the presidential hopefuls have championed populist policies, such as sweeping health care reform and antitrust measures. What has become clear from all this is that populism is in fashion because the theme of the common man against the elites is resonating with Americans of all political stripes. Four years ago, a New York developer observed this reality, built a campaign around it and took the White House through a populist wave. Three of the most important states in the 2020 election are Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio, which together command a potentially decisive 44 electoral votes. With their Midwestern, oldschool idealism, voters in these states could very well buy into a liberal brand of populism. While most Democratic candidates fare well in headto-head polling against Trump, they would still do well to consider why Trump was able to turn these states red in 2016 — a question whose answer is rooted, of course, in populism’s popularity. Max Steinbaum can be reached at maxst@umich.edu.
ISABELLE SCHINDLER | COLUMN
W
Information leads to tolerance
hat started as a custody battle in Texas over seven-year-old twins has transformed into a cultural debate that underscores the damaging effects of intolerance and misinformation about health care for transgender people. The custody battle between Jeffrey Younger and Anne Georgulas made national headlines in late October due to the couple’s disagreement over the gender identity of their child. One of their twins, who chooses to go by Luna, was assigned male at birth but identifies as female. Luna first began expressing a desire to be a girl at around age three. Since then, her mother has taken Luna to doctors who have recommended certain gender-affirming actions, such as allowing Luna to dress as a girl and identify as a girl in public. These so-called gender-affirming actions follow the American Academy of Pediatrics’ guidelines on how best to support children like Luna. Luna’s father, however, refused to follow these recommended steps and would not recognize his daughter as a girl. He continued to use male pronouns for the child, called Luna by her birth name and refused to allow her to dress in female clothes. As he and his wife entered into a custody case, Younger also began publicizing the court battles, using a website created to raise donations for himself. He claimed that Georgulas was forcing Luna to identify as a girl and was going to push a medical sex change on Luna. Younger also used his website and subsequent media coverage for personal monetary gain. He is said to have made over $139,000 as a result of his actions. It did not take long for right-
wing media to pick up on this story and add further false information, including claiming that Georgulas was going to “chemically castrate” Luna. Soon, the case became fodder for conservative politicians. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, claimed Luna was being used as a “pawn in a left-wing political agenda,” and Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, said he had referred the case to the Texas Department of Family Services.
It is more important than ever for us to be cautious and to question the media These comments by politicians only serve to misinform people about transgender health care. For young children such as Luna, it is recommended to use genderaffirming actions such as allowing them to choose a new name, choose their pronouns and wear what they want. If children continue to identify with the gender they choose, they can begin undergoing treatment to block the onset of puberty in early adolescence. These hormonal treatments are reversible. Only later are the decisions made about undergoing surgeries. On Oct. 24, Judge Kim Cooks decided to award the couple joint custody without compelling Younger to recognize Luna as a female. This unfortunate ruling will undoubtedly have a negative
effect on Luna. Upon reading about this court case, I brought it up in conversation and was shocked to find many people whom I interact with in my daily life incorrectly believed that young children would receive irreversible medical treatments to change their gender. Most of these individuals are very tolerant of the LGBTQ community but are unfamiliar with the process of how gender affirmation works in regards to young children. For these people, it was simply a lack of information or even worse, the spread of misinformation. One of the most shocking things about this whole story is the role of fake news and hyperbole. Not only were websites pushing Younger’s claims, but so were elected officials such as governors and members of Congress. These are people who at face value we believe we can trust, but in reality, we cannot. Though it may be tedious, it is more important than ever for us to be cautious and to question the media we consume. We will all be better off if we read critically and ensure that what we are reading is actually rooted in fact. If people ensured they read credible articles on this case, they would likely be able to find out about the benefits of genderaffirming actions and would, therefore, be more accepting of parents and children who are using these actions. If we want to build a more tolerant and accepting world for children like Luna, it is up to all of us to embrace information that is based in truth. Isabelle Schindler can be reached at ischind@umich.edu.
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, November 20, 2019 — 5A
DIY COLUMN
FILM REVIEW
Hey, want a flyer? ‘Angels’ showcases strong women RYAN COX
and guarded. And finally, exceedingly bright but soft-spoken Elena, a scientist — and newbie to the Angel world — who lets Daily Arts Writer her sexist superiors patronize and push her around (Naomi Scott, “Aladdin”). By the end of the movie, the characters make “Charlie’s Angels,” directed by Elizabeth Banks (“Pitch something more out of their so-called flaws. Forever-confident Perfect 2”), is a movie meant for all the women who have ever Sabina finds a reason to care about other people, Jane lets herself had a condescending man talk down to them, for all the women in be vulnerable and open up to people while maintaining the male-dominated fields who have to deal with misogynists every fierceness that defines her character, and Elena stands up for day. It’s meant for all the women who have had to sit through herself and shows off the intelligence she’s always known she has. The movie doesn’t shy away from letting the women be countless male-driven films in the past, forced to be appeased women. They’re not just by the presence of a single agents who fight crime female who serves as a while looking good — they vehicle for “equality.” It’s have real emotions. One for all the women who have of the most meaningful been told to “smile” and scenes in the film finds the “look pretty” and who have three leads on a quiet boat been called “good girls” by following an intense fight. men who don’t know them They’re sitting together, all or care to know them. It’s Columbia Pictures half-asleep on one another, for women who need to be Ann Arbor 20+ IMAX just enjoying each other’s empowered. presence. What makes the This film takes all the moment especially tender is best parts of the previous the presence of a little girl. renditions of “Charlie’s She interacts seamlessly Angels” and incorporates with the Angels, all of whom all the feminist ideals talk to her and play with her. present in modern day While these women might society, so you’re left with an action-packed, intense but shockingly real movie that makes be machines when it comes to taking down bad guys, they’re not robots. you feel. Even though that scene is one of my favorite moments from One thing that makes this movie so interesting to watch is the thread of inverting common media tropes. There is a minor the whole film, it’s not the best part of the movie. It’s not Sabina’s love story, sure, but it’s not the primary plot. It’s not even the humor or Jane’s epic fight scenes or even Elena’s opportunity to stand up for herself, secondary plot. Noah either. The best part of Centineo (“To All the the movie, as cliche as Boys I’ve Loved Before”) it might sound, is the plays Langston, one of message it leaves for Elena’s colleagues, and all the women in the has an almost laughably audience. There is no small role. In fact, he one perfect model of takes the role of the a woman. Anyone can damsel in distress and be an Angel. Whether is, in essence, the token you’re a little weird, male. It’s about time we physically strong had a movie where there or intimidatingly were hardly any men, intelligent, you have the and the few guys who makings of an Angel. are present are either Previous “female teamhilariously incompetent, up” movies try to get like Alexander Brock the same message (Sam Claflin, “Me Before across, but I’ve always You”), or reduced to found that the women minor love interests like favored in those films Centineo. are the scarily strong The three leads of and physically fit ones. the film all take on a That’s not the case in different strength found SONY PICTURES / YOUTUBE “Charlie’s Angels.” Here, in women and a different “flaw” typically attributed to them. Then, they cleverly invert you’ll find yourself loving and relating to various aspects of the the stereotype forced upon them. There’s quirky and chaotic incredibly different — but equally inspiring — women on screen. While “Charlie’s Angels” can and should be enjoyed by heiress-turned-convict-turned-Angel Sabina (Kristen Stewart, “Twilight”) who is confident but self-centered. Then you have everyone — men and women alike — it is, first and foremost, Jane (Ella Balinska, “Juction 9”), a fearless and fierce former MI6 a movie meant to empower women. This movie strengthens agent who was let down by her agency one too many times and women’s beliefs in themselves and gives them the opportunity to lost hope and trust in people, leaving her seemingly emotionless find what makes them Angels. SABRIYA IMAMI
Daily DIY Columnist
Social media and what we think of as DIY culture today are incredibly interconnected. Shows are organized on Facebook, with attendance being estimated based on the number of “goings” and “maybes,” videos of bands performing are publicized through Instagram stories. Even Twitter plays a part in allowing bands to personally connect with fans via memes and rants. As societ y progresses further and further into the digital age, DIY stands as a prime example of social media’s inf luence on our communities. However, sometimes I wish this weren’t the case. In an ongoing effort to limit my social media usage, I’m constantly held back by the thought that if I’m not constantly online, I’ll lose touch with my local communit y. If I delete my Facebook, how will I ever know when there’s a show going on? Or if I don’t check my Twitter, how am I supposed to stay informed about which independent labels I should or should not support? Of course, word of mouth is still a viable way to hear about shows and events in the communit y, and every once in a while posters for shows emerge around campus ( groups like MEMCO do a great job of this). But I feel like these two tactics have taken a much more subservient roll to the internet. In 2019, I feel as if DIY promotion is mostly contained within screens. These events were probably talked about in-person much more extensively in the past, and f lyering was probably a much more important promotional tactic a few years ago, but now it almost feels like a novelt y of sorts. Part of the appeal of local music and DIY is the community that it fosters, and the relationships it builds between people through art. It’s entirely possible to build and maintain a communit y through social media, but I think to really build a strong communit y, connecting with people face-to-face is something that cannot be undervalued, especially in environments outside of shows. Seeing the communit y in person outside of venues is something that seems to have come to a halt. It seems as if DIY only exists on the Internet and in basements for a few nights every month. Some artists, like Philadelphia-based Absinthe Father, have an incredibly strong presence on social media, and attract fans ( like me, for instance) that have never been to one of their shows in person. Their tweets reg ularly go viral, and attract new fans to their music daily. On the opposite end of the spectrum, groups like Hotline TNT, a band that I discovered through a car ride with a friend, merely have a YouTube channel that they upload their music on, with no other social media. I have no idea how long the band has been around, who’s in the group, or where they’re from, but I know that I really like their music. The band’s lack of an online presence is something of a rarit y among bands nowadays, and almost seems like a factor that’s restricted them from growing, unfortunately. It seems much harder to succeed without some sort of online presence. I’m definitely coming off as a grouchy old man here. I really do think the Internet has exposed a completely new audience to DIY, and has even made it more accessible to certain groups of people that may not have heard about these shows and events before. But I think there’s a bit of an imbalance between the online and off line communit y. Tell someone you don’t know as well about a show coming up, or maybe talk to your local record store about having a bulletin board of local events and shows. I’m not saying that everyone should hang up and hang out, but I do think that there’s something special about expanding the communit y outside of the Internet.
Charlie’s Angels
MUSIC NOTEBOOK
Two years in the rain: Waxahatchee’s ‘Out in the Storm’ JOHN DECKER
Daily Book Review Editor
Despite a tendency to allow songs and albums to demarcate periods in my life, I’ve found that Waxahatchee’s fourth album evades this contract. Any such associations I might filter through the 10-track album — a person, a relationship, an emotional season — are absent. I’ve come to believe that this is because Out in the Storm, uniquely and brilliantly, evades a sole moment. The relationship that songwriter Katie Crutchfield surveys is one available only at a distant retrospect — that is, once one has stepped far, far back from the ring of a relationship and can trace the life cycle of their love carefully, almost scientifically. Falling in love with Crutchfield’s album means falling in love with her audit of infatuation from start to finish. Out in the Storm throws punches at early love and laps at the feet of breakups; it screams with hatred and stomps out a rhythm to insecurity. It’s a broad and timeless narrative, one which, rather than pairing with a sole person or emotion, I appreciate for its amalgamation of so many emotions that seem both greatly distant and staggeringly familiar. *** Hovering over a sudden outbreak of violent electric guitar, Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee opens her fourth album, Out in the Storm, with a taste of both sloppy adoration and fear in her mouth. There’s an air of determination and aggression to the track: “I spend all my time learning how to defeat / you at your own game, it’s embarrassing,” Crutchfield sings in “Never Been Wrong.” “I love being right, especially with you.” It’s Crutchfield’s confident acknowledgement of a thrilling roulette game of love, one where she’s at her partner’s mercy but is up for the fight. It’s comparable to Sia’s “Fair Game,” in which the Australian singer likens her relationships to a game, one where she wants the tables, for once, to be leveled. Waxahatchee, on the other hand, seems OK with the presence of disparity. “I saw you as a big fish / I saw you as a conquest,” she later confesses. Unlike Sia’s sorrowful longing, Crutchfield’s thrilled acceptance of these conditions on her opening track raises the stakes for the rest of the album. And we’re eager with her, anticipating what turmoil will transpire. What separates the track from Sia’s cry for a fair game, too, is the fear that “Never Been Wrong” also drizzles over its harsh instrumentals: “Everyone / will hear me complain / Everyone / will pity my name.” Beneath the gritty willingness to crouch down over the board and move a pawn, there’s a moment of hesitation. It’s subtle, but it’s there. The rest of Out in the Storm, as it turns out, pans out a high-speed synopsis of the game Crutchfield lays bare in her opening track.
The album reaches its creative and lyrical summit with “Sparks Fly,” a track in which Crutchfield watches herself fall in love through her sister’s eyes. Like a practiced poet, Crutchfield trusts her audience. The terms she offers are never specific or explained; she knows we’ll mold the rest of the narrative for ourselves.“Sparks f ly / sparks f ly,” she repeats throatily throughout the song. “I’m raw like wire / electrified.” It’s a deliriously genius track that admits the indelible hunger that love calls forth. Perhaps the most striking line of the album is a simple but heavy concession: “I’m a live wire / finally.” There is a gush to the lyric, and though Crutchfield sings it in an even register, one might sense a shake hidden behind her voice on “finally” — instrumentals pause for the briefest moment. It’s a tone monitored carefully to prevent thrill from leaking through. It’s a descent into infatuation: finally, wonderfully. Bits like “Sparks Fly” showcase, too, the album’s truth-through-storytelling practice, a feat like that accomplished in the narratives that percolate Big Thief’s 2016 Masterpiece. Songs lay out unassuming landscapes and actions that, though brief ly mentioned, make the album’s experiences both personal and accessible. “We sat in the hot summer twilight / radio loud and the brim bite / the Coosa water is choppy and wild / I jumped abruptly, unreconciled.” Crutchfield similarly understands the capacity of small, tangible things — the way light falls in a stranger’s bedroom, say — to represent something bulky and unwieldy. She capitalizes on this. These objects and details are in the periphery, perhaps insignificant, long before they are injected into the song. Crutchfield’s strength is fishing them from these spaces and noticing the power they can possess in recalling a long-buried intimacy. “Fade,” the album’s conclusion, serves as a delicate outro. The intensity of prior tracks is pulled out from under Crutchfield, who sings f latly over acoustic strums. “You wring me out / I tell the truth,” she sings. “I kissed you goodbye / and hid for the rest of your life.” It’s a track that feels like closing a book, MERGE RECORDS / INSTAGRAM just-finished, slowly. It’s the exit from the storm. It should be despairing, and Crutchfield’s harmonies, the opposite direction, if Sharon Van Etten’s vocals were torn spread across the song thin like butter, make it sound so. But up and pasted back together. Each track centers on an organic there is a sense of acceptance, a breathy hope peeking through thrash of drums that amplifies Waxahatchee, even when things the nostalgia. “I first saw you through childish eyes / I was in feel sobering and despondent. With it, there’s an overpowering love with a song,” the lyrics admit — though not necessarily in electric guitar. The album has another noticeable consistency, defeat. Rather, for the conclusion, she distances herself from the though, and one that goes almost unnoticed without tender relationship: “I stayed out of your way.” The guitar strums fall listening: Just about every line is insulated with a harmony from into a rhythm and slow. The game ended, Waxahatchee tells us, Crutchfield’s sister, cut and laid over the original vocals. It’s not and guitar reverberations overtake the track. But there is a sense, just for emphasis; it is, literally, nearly every line. The padding having lingered with Crutchfield through the surefire center of of these harmonies softens the punkish aura of the album. It her album, that there will be another round. Another player, renders it aggressive but never overwhelming. Where the album surely, will enter the arena. Until then, there is little choice but already seems cohesive lyrically, such tactical blankets link to revel in the searing, expansive chronicle of the game already played. Crutchfield’s confessions together musically, too. In “Sparks Fly” she’s in the thick of love; in “Brass Beam” she’s fighting back against her partner’s narcissism and unsteadiness. “8 Ball” confesses toxicity and “No Question” chronicles anger so fervently that it’s as if you’re a lover, a thrown champagne glass having just missed your head. The album becomes a roadmap of a relationship with distinct checkpoints. At the same time, these points in the narrative don’t feel locked into their respective slots on the tracklist — at times, Crutchfield’s writing feels true and nonspecific enough that these checkpoints could be rearranged to puzzle together a new relationship. A softened punk sound pervades Out in the Storm, a noise distinct from both the band’s lo-fi precedent and piano-ballad follow-up album. It’s as if Bikini Kill were dampened or, heading
Arts
6A — Wednesday, November 20, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
TV REVIEW
ALBUM REVIEW
‘Shameless’ is bad right now FOB highlights their hits JUSTIN POLLACK Daily Arts Writer
Showrunner John Wells miscalculated the direction “Shameless” should go in the postFiona era. If the Season 10 premiere is any indication, the problems with the show have only been further magnified. “Shameless” is a show that revolves around multiple central characters, so when it was announced that Fiona Gallagher (Emmy Rossum, “Cold Pursuit”) would be written off the show this season, the news was upsetting, but did not completely ruin my expectations of what was to come. However, it was the quality of the storylines themselves, rather than Rossum’s absence, that has decreased the critical acclaim that came early on in the show’s run. With nine seasons and 110 episodes of character development to work with, it baffles me how much content Wells chooses to ignore. By picking and choosing which events from prior seasons to engage in, Wells effectively erases what happened. This is not a new development: Numerous storylines have been introduced, only to be sidelined with no explanation. Despite all of this, dedicated fans, like myself, who have watched the show for years still find reasons to be optimistic, yet critical. Next week will reintroduce “Gallavich” — the relationship between Ian Gallagher (Cameron Monaghan, “Gotham”) and Mickey Milkovich (Noel Fisher, “The Red Line”) — to the narrative. When a new season starts, the first episode is supposed to set the tone to give viewers a preview of what this season will be about. This leaves viewers wondering why “Gallavich” was not explored in the premiere, with the rest of the storylines being stale and not worthy of including in a premiere. Somehow, the writers made Debbie (Emma Kenney, “The Connors”) less likable. The 18-yearold has now assumed the authorities previously held by the former family matriarch Fiona. Part of this is managing the $50,000 check Fiona left the family. But, in typical Debbie fashion, she is secretly buying and returning fancy clothes that she keeps in a storage locker, in order to pick up women at hotel bars instead of saving for a rainy day. If you need more evidence for why Debbie is the worst, when she does this, she tells her family that she is completing job training and leaves her
daughter next door. On another note, Debbie is certainly not 21 and does not look it — there is no way a fancy hotel would serve someone who looks as young as her. Two of the most misused characters on “Shameless” are Kevin Ball (Steve Howey, “Dead to Me”) and Veronica Fisher (Shanola Hampton, “Three’s Complicated”). Last season, their young identical twins were enrolled as one student at a private school and this plotline was largely ignored until it was convenient for the show. This latest installment features Kevin being insecure about his age due to his miscalculated belief that there is some correlation between his sneakers and his basketball ability, a convenient excuse to get him back to the place where he spent a lot of last season: a gay strip club (because of the better tips, even though he is straight). This development was uninteresting, as Kevin being bad at basketball didn’t come as a surprise to me nor has it ever been brought up before so there was little reason to care about how it would play out. Veronica is being utilized to help the youngest Gallagher, Liam (Christian Isaiah, “21 Bridges”), discover more about his AfricanAmerican identity. Where this plotline falls short is that Liam has spent much of the previous season exploring his racial identity with his friends, raising a simple question — why didn’t this happen sooner? Frank Gallagher (William H. Macy, “Krystal”), the alcoholic patriarch of the Gallagher clan, is engaged in his usual scams that will amount to nothing. Carl Gallagher (Ethan Cutkosky) graduated from military school and had an absurd amount of sex with his girlfriend. Oh yeah, I almost forgot — Lip (Jeremy Allen White, “Homecoming”) is now a dad and his girlfriend Tami (Kate Miner, “Deviant Love”) is in emergency surgery and we’re left wondering if she will survive ... even though she appears alive and well in the promotional images for the season. The only reason I’m not classifying this season of “Shameless” as a failure is because the problems I have with the premiere are no different than those I had with past seasons. The reason “Shameless” continues to be renewed, in my eyes, is because of the potential that still exists. Even a decade later, there are still so many stories to be told with characters we have grown to love. But until Wells realizes this potential, “Shameless” may continue to be aimless.
Shameless
KAITLYN FOX Daily Arts Writer
Believers Never Die (Volume Two), the band’s second greatest hits collection, is a more promising place than their first. Believers Never Die (Volume One) mostly consisted of emo singles, allowing the band to compile the songs that broke them into the popular music scene in the first place. However, its release came just before the band’s unfortunate Fall Out Boy announcement of their 2009 hiatus where it later became clear that the band’s rapid success was Universal Island Records quickly turning into something toxic for all four band members. After their four year breather, the band broke the silence with their 2013 release of “My Songs Know What You Did in The Dark,” serving as a gateway to a new era for the band, coined “Fall Out Boy 2.0.” It’s within this six-year period that out some of the band’s rougher edges. “I’ve Been Believers Never Die (Volume Two) finds its basis, Waiting” pushes these boundaries even further covering their best songs from their albums Save with its crisp beats and collaboration with Lil Peep Rock and Roll (2013), American Beauty / American and iLoveMakonnen. What makes this album stand out among the Psycho (2015) and MANIA (2018). The album runs through their greatest hits in greatest hits collections is that the band finishes chronological order, fittingly starting with “My the album with two previously unreleased songs, “Dear Future Self” Songs Know and “Bob Dylan.” What You Did in The Dark” before The former transitioning into features Wyclef the symphony Jean and runs through bouncy theatrics and pop loops with gritty vocals of subtle electronic “The Phoenix” pulses lingering in and the energetic the background. beats of “Alone The latter ties up Together,” also the album nicely off of Save Rock with winding and Roll. From digital melodies here, songs and and emotional, their ideas become love-stricken larger and fartherlyrics that draw reaching with parallels between the introduction UNIVERSAL ISLAND RECORDS / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS the love one feels of “Centuries,” for their significant a high-energy tune featuring the passionate, powerful vocal other and the love they feel for music’s most wellperformance from Patrick Stump as he belts respected artists: “Cause everyone loves Bob Dylan “You will remember me for centuries!” Also / I just want you to love me like that, yeah / Would off of American Beauty / American Psycho is you bury me next to Johnny Cash?” While Believers Never Die (Volume Two) “Immortals,” a song with a taste of Asian- styled electronics written for Disney’s Big Hero 6, as well demonstrates the distance the band has maintained as “Uma Thurman,” which samples from the “The from its emo roots, the most notable aspect of the album is its emphasis on how much the band Munsters” theme song. The final half of the album borrows from their has progressed since it first started. Despite their most experimental album, MANIA, and “The Last lengthy hiatus, the band has proven its ability of the Real Ones” exemplifies the band’s attempt to learn from their mistakes and keep running for a fresher sound. While the tune maintains with music that works well for them. Fall Out Boy the band’s signature vocal spunk, it deviates from continues to fearlessly pursue the very best versions their rock and roll style with its electronic motifs of themselves, and this hopeful attitude is what will and heightened production approach to smooth make them “remembered for centuries.”
Believers Never Die (Volume 2)
Season 10 Premiere
COMMUNITY CULTURE PREVIEW
Showtime
The ‘recollect-us’ trio finds a voice through their dance
Sundays @ 9 p.m.
DANA PIERANGELI Daily Arts Writer
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Release Date: Monday, November 18, 2019
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
HELP WANTED
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Aquarium 5 Yeshiva teacher 10 Dance in a pit 14 Iranian money 15 For all to hear 16 Baja’s opposite 17 Swashbuckling leading man of Hollywood’s Golden Age 19 Precious 20 Delivers, as a conventionopening speech 21 Donny or Marie 23 Hairstyles 24 Art Deco designer 25 Barbara of “Mission: Impossible” 27 German shepherd of ’50s-’60s TV 32 Beach headturners 33 Forest moon that’s home to the Ewoks 34 Dedicated poem 35 First chip in the pot 36 Tokyo’s country 37 Pinot __: white wine grape 38 Geol. or chem., e.g. 39 Nattily dressed fellows 40 Fortune-teller’s card 41 North Vietnamese leader with a trail named for him 43 City near Provo 44 “SportsCenter” channel 45 Gear tooth 46 “Peanuts” newspaper section 49 Jeep model named for a tribe 54 “I get it now!” cries 55 Hotel chain since 1952 57 Trap fluff 58 __ Oyl 59 Advance, as money 60 Enemies
42 Thieves’ bank jobs 61 Package sealers 30 “Take the cake” 62 Pre-revelry nights 45 Hands over or “cream of the 46 Cow kid crop” DOWN 47 State east of 31 Home on a 1 Long haul Indiana branch 2 Suffix with billion 32 Diner fare 48 Horse hair 3 __ a soul: no one 36 Basketball 49 Paper holder 4 Ice cream bar scoring technique 50 Bee home named for a 51 Ukraine’s capital 37 Grotesque Yukon river 52 Feminine suffix architectural 5 Rapids transports 53 Breaks off figure 6 Fashion monthly 39 Part of DVD 56 Suffix with pay or 7 Pop music’s Cray40 Irish lullaby start Backstreet __ 8 Pastry that might ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: be sticky 9 Ralph Kramden’s pal 10 Drama set at an advertising agency 11 Bread spread 12 Laurel seen with Hardy 13 Difficult 18 Diving birds 22 Swizzle 24 Hyphen-like mark 25 Con game 26 Bit of high jinks 27 Transfer to memory, as data 28 Best way to sign 29 MLB exec Joe 11/18/19
Help needed removing snow periodically for elderly father near North Campus Contact Cheryl 773-403-4245 or clf@umich.edu $25+ per job
“Dance has been a really special thing to help me build my confidence, both in my voice physically and vocally,” said School of Music, Theatre & Dance senior Sally Butin. Though Butin doesn’t speak in her pieces, she has found her voice through dance. Over the years, Butin has been inspired by her peers and mentors to express herself and channel her own ideals into her artform. With her senior recital quickly approaching, this is what inspired her pieces. “Dance, but just art in general I feel, has been this incredibly refreshing medium for me to express my values and create work that feels impactful and important,” Butin said. Alongside Butin, SMTD seniors Victoria Briones and Alyssa Winnie will be performing their senior dance recital titled “recollect-us” from Nov. 21 to Nov. 23 at 8 p.m. each night. Like the other seniors in the dance school, the trio were assigned their partners and given the task of creating their own show, handling everything from choreography to program design. The theme of self-reclamation was unanimously decided because of the personal experiences that each dancer has endured. “We all discussed what our pieces were looking like schematically or what ideas we wanted to create,” said Butin. “There were a lot of themes about identity and how we are aware of our identity both from the past and from the present, even the future, sometimes, ”Butin explained. The whole show has been a collaborative project, but through this process, each dancer
has discovered a unique way of expressing her ideas and how she relates to the world. The show is deeply personal to each dancer and something they’ve all been working towards throughout their years at the University of Michigan. “It’s a more personal show,” Butin said. “We’re all definitely dealing with topics and themes that we feel are affecting our lives often and are important. Whether it’s in light of something or shedding some light on a more dark kind of instance. It’s definitely special to see people have such a personal experience on stage. I think this show will have a lot of that.” Through their time in the dance program, the three women have formed a tight bond, making this opportunity to dance together even more special. Butin has learned a lot from her fellow classmates and other young artists at the University. “There’s such an all-over-the-map difference in training and background that people come to the school with, and it’s been really special to meet other dancers and artists and collaborate with them,” Butin said. “Now that I’m naming my senior piece, I’ve been a part of a lot of other ones, so I’ve learned a lot from the older students in the department and got to hear voices that inform mine.” Butin’s personal growth throughout her years in the dance program has come as much from her individual studies as from her collaborations with other young artists. Collaboration has allowed the dancers to explore new ideas and realize how important it is to share their voices. With all her previous experiences influencing her current performance, Butin and her fellow dancers have the opportunity to inform new artists through their art form.
recollect-us Nov. 21-23 @ 8 p.m. Betty Pease Studio Theater $7
By Kurt Krauss ©2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
11/18/19
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, November 20, 2019 — 7A
Wolverines advance in NCAA Tournament ‘M’ locks in 12thwith 2-1 first-round win over Bowling Green ranked class in 2020 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
JACK WHITTEN Daily Sports Writer
In early September, the Michigan and Bowling Green women’s soccer teams faced off at the U-M Soccer Stadium. Fittingly for one of the season’s early games, the halftime entertainment was entitled “Pups on the Pitch.” Last Friday, the two teams met again at the same place. No puppies were present — an accurate representation of the maturity that the Wolverines and Falcons accumulated between then and now. The early-season mistakes made by two teams about to catch fire through regular-season and conference tournaments disappeared. Ball and player movement from both sides was more purposeful and more problematic for the opposing defense. Set pieces, performed in a premeditated fashion, created more substantial opportunities on goal. But when the clock hit zero, the result replicated the September outcome. With a 2-1 victory, No. 19 Michigan (16-5-1 overall, 8-2-1 Big Ten) advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, eliminating Bowling Green (14-6-3, 10-1-0). The Falcons made it clear from the onset that they wouldn’t let the Wolverines play bully ball again — Michigan’s 16-0 shot advantage in the last contest took away all chances of Bowling Green ever climbing onto the scoreboard. On Friday, 61 percent of possession by both teams was at midfield compared to just 51.5 percent in the last contest, while the Wolverines’ possession in its final third fell from just over a third to just over a quarter. These statistics bear witness to Bowling Green’s improved ability to neutralize Michigan’s possessions before they became dangerous. On the offensive end, the Falcons
also demonstrated increased potency. Michigan coach Jennifer Klein acknowledged their ability to foil the her team’s plans to push the ball and players forward in possession. “We wanted to lock them into their half and be a bit more aggressive in our press,” Klein said. “... (In) the first half, their movement and interchange caused us a little bit of problems.” That scheme nearly found paydirt for Michigan in the fourth minute. Junior defender Alia Martin received a penalty kick opportunity, but grounded it wide of the left woodwork. Following the miss, Bowling Green recorded a combination of six shots, corner kicks and offsides calls, signaling its intent — and ability — to create higher up the field. In the 35th minute, the Falcons capitalized on this aggressiveness. With numbers in their final third, Mackenzie Reuber’s facility, including a touch off the chest, gave her the control needed to slot the ball into the net’s corner, just out of junior goalkeeper Hillary Beall’s reach. “They like to make games exciting and difficult,” Klein said. “They’ve done it all season, so nothing has changed.” Bowling Green closed out the first half and opened the second with increased offensive confidence which stemmed from its draw of first blood. While the ball was concentrated around midfield, any possession that threatened in front of goal belonged to the Falcons. The frustration of the Wolverines’ inability to create and extend possessions that posed a serious threat was plastered on the face of junior midfielder Nikki Hernandez, who was trying to play a role in every third of the field. “As a forward I know I can’t get caught up just in my attacking role,” Hernandez said. “The team can’t all be an attacking team.” But just as Bowling Green only
needed one goal to make Michigan and its fans come to the sober realization that this game could be the last, the Wolverines only needed one to renew daydreams of a second round. With just under an hour to go, freshman forward Danielle Wolfe slid into the penalty box to poke a ball — played in by junior Big Ten Midfielder of the Year Sarah Stratigakis and then Hernandez — into the goal. When asked about her contribution, Wolfe, who saw limited minutes in relief, was quick to defer the results to her teammates. “I just work my hardest for the girls who worked the whole 90 minutes,” Wolfe said. “… Those 30 minutes are the best 30 minutes that I can play.” The game-tying goal provided new life for the Wolverines and their faithful. The former notched a trio of shots and a quartet of corner kicks in the following 12 minutes; the latter used their feet to pound out an emphatic “Let’s Go Blue” on the bleachers. This momentum
made another Michigan goal seem inevitable. That’s why it came as little surprise when Hernandez took advantage of Falcon goalkeeper Kathleen Duwve’s abnormally high position in the 18-yard box, chipping in a goal from 26 yards that fluttered over Duwve’s fingers. The 2-1 lead in the 79th minute would prove to be insurmountable. When asked about the crucial tiebreaking goal, Hernandez’s response was simple. “I didn’t think it was going in at first,” Hernandez said. “I was just really lucky that I got that goal.” After weathering the Falcons’ continued press until all 90 minutes had expired, the Wolverines began to look forward to next week’s second round game against No. 15 Texas Tech. Wolfe put the night in perspective. “Nothing better than being under the lights, at home, with your crowd, and your whole team here,” Wolfe said, “and it’s the best feeling to be repping Michigan at home.”
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Junior midfielder Sarah Stratigakis won Big Ten midfielder of the year.
KENT SCHWARTZ Daily Sports Writer
In her eighth year at the helm of the women’s basketball program, Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico raked in the 12th-ranked recruiting class in 2020 to join the Wolverines, highlighted by the No. 30 recruit in the country — forward Cameron Williams. Williams is one of four players to sign her letter of intent, and is joined by No. 40 ranked Seattle native, guard Meghan Fiso, and two local Michigan players — guard Elise Stuck and forward Whitney Sollom. Williams’ decision to join the Wolverines adds her to the long list of impact forwards recruited by Barnes Arico. “Those kids as high school kids want to go to a place where they’re going to have an opportunity to learn from one of the best,” Barnes Arico said. “Naz Hillmon wanted to come to Michigan because she watched Hallie Thome develop over the years and she wanted an opportunity to learn from her and have a year to spend with her. The same was true when (Williams) was going through the recruiting process.” Similar to what Thome meant for recruiting bigs, Williams could prove to be the catalyst for a new recruiting ground. “Whitney Young High School is traditionally one of the best (basketball) high schools in the country,” Barnes Arico said. “(Williams’) head coach there — her husband is Mac Irvin, who runs the AAU program. They traditionally have one of the best AAU programs in the country. Year in, year out, they have shown
consistency and they just do a tremendous job developing their players and building high character kids.” The acquisition of Sollom and Stuck, from Hartland and Charlevoix, respectively, marks the Wolverines’ first addition of players from Michigan since Deja Church transferred after last season. “That has really been a point of emphasis since I’ve been here is to try and get the best players in the state to stay home,” Barnes Arico said. “When you want to build a program and you want to build a championship culture, you want to do it with Michigan kids that really bleed maize and blue, were born that way and want to win a championship for their home state.” Sollom and Stuck were also recruited by Michigan State, whose roster currently contains eight players from the state. Three of the Spartans were four star recruits in the 2019 class and are making impact plays for the Spartans this season. What all four recruits bring to the Wolverines is what Barnes Arico mentions every time she talks about recruiting — the experience of winning. Each player has moved far in their respective state tournaments, winning all-state honors along the way. In order to win at this level, Michigan needs more talent to break into the upper echelon of teams, and recruiting impact players and gaining a foothold in a fertile recruiting ground is vital if it wants to take the next step. Over the last few years, with the acquisition of star recruits like Amy Dilk, Izabel Varejão, Hillmon and now Williams and Fiso, it’s slowly moving in that direction.
In East Lansing, goaltender Hayden Lavigne lends a helping hand ROHAN KUMAR Daily Sports Writer
Midway through the final period Saturday night in East Lansing, the Michigan hockey team (3-7-2 overall, 0-5-1 Big Ten) went on the penalty kill after graduate transfer forward Jacob Hayhurst got called for roughing. The ensuing faceoff in the Wolverines’ defensive zone resulted in notable scoring opportunities for Michigan State. First, defensemen Dennis Cesana and Jerad Rosburg passed back and forth before Cesana took a one-timer from the high slot. The puck was deflected by the goaltender before forward Patrick Khodorenko took possession on the left side. He skated to the corner and stayed behind the goal line while attacking the post. At the last second, he dished a pass through the tip of the crease to Rosburg on the other side, who took a shot at the gaping hole on the right half of the net. A goal looked inevitable, but the goaltender extended his glove and made the save. That display of staunch goaltending was nothing new. It has been Michigan’s staple for most of the season and has given the Wolverines a chance to win in most games. Only this time, it was senior Hayden Lavigne who held out the hand and not sophomore Strauss Mann. Michigan was down 3-0 with six minutes left in the second period when Michigan coach Mel Pearson decided to pull Mann to change things up and potentially rejuvenate the team. “Just basically told him ‘Hayden get ready, you’re going in.’ That was about it,” Pearson said. “And he knows, I mean, he’s a veteran. He knows you don’t need a lot of words, but I did talk to him after. I told him I was happy for him. He played extremely well, and I thought he was really good.” The decision put Lavigne on the ice for the first time this regular season. The last time he stood between the pipes was during an exhibition game against the University of Windsor in early October. And though his team fell to the Spartans, Lavigne impressed with 11 saves and no goals allowed
during his time in net. “When you start a game, your initial mindset is obviously just do what you can to win,” Lavigne said. “And then I think going in midgame, your mindset is kind of just to hold it where it is. You’re not really necessarily looking for that win. Obviously that’s the goal at the end of the day, but going in my goal there with 26 minutes left in the game is just kind of make sure that we leave with three on board and it doesn’t increase from there.” Watching the first 11 games from the sideline is likely not a position Lavigne would have foreseen a few years ago. Not for a guy who, as a sophomore, won the starting job mid-season and led his team to the Frozen Four. Last year, though, Lavigne couldn’t find his peak form and thus shared the crease with Mann. And at the start of this season, after Lavigne let up two goals in the exhibition, it was Mann who got the final nod.
That brings us to the current status. After coming off the bench against Michigan State, it took some time for Lavigne to settle in. His heart raced early, but he mentioned that after facing the first few shots he found his composure. “It was good. I mean, I’ve been waiting a long time to get in a game, working hard in practices to make sure I was ready,” Lavigne said. “It’s definitely nerve-wracking. Kind of felt like a little freshman again, playing my first game in a while, but it was good. Good feeling to be back. Felt like I was seeing the puck well, just felt fast, felt good overall.” Being a backup goalie requires you to be on your toes. As Saturday showed, Lavigne could be called into action at any moment and maintain his edge, even on the bench. “I just try and stay kind of mentally and emotionally involved even though I’m on the bench,” Lavigne said. “Just makes it easier to get in there so your mind doesn’t
have to turn on as well as your body when you get in.” From the bench Lavigne stays vocal, always pointing out to teammates what they’re doing well as this helps him stay focused on the game. What’s more, he looks for tendencies in the opponent’s game and imagines how he would handle the various situations if he were playing. This routine paid off, as he was well prepared for the heat in the third period against the Spartans. “I expected Khodorenko to just kind of drive it to the net since he had that little lane, so I went down on that post,” Lavigne said. “As soon as he released it, I just kind of knew that I had to get over there as fast as I could. Stretched my hand out as far forward as I could to kind of cut down that angle. “It’s one of those plays where you play the odds and know where the angle is likely to be
and then just kind of hope that it hits you, and that was the case. Just made sure I got over there fast and got over there aggressive and then luckily held on to it.”
Though it’s unclear when he’ll play next, Lavigne is still a key asset for the team. After all, you never know when you might need a helping hand.
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Senior goaltender Hayden Lavigne entered the game in relief on Saturday.
DIAGNOSED WITH ADHD? University of Michigan Study looking for Eligible Participants at the Jonides Lab.
Participants needed to complete visual attention tasks! Duration of study: 1-2 hours, compensation ranging from 10$ to 15$ an hour, located at B434 East Hall, 530 Church Street, contact us back for a phone screening at JLabAttention@gmail.com!
8A — Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Cruise control With emerging weapons on offense and a steady defense, the Michigan football team is feeling good ahead of Saturday ETHAN SEARS
Managing Sports Editor
The first sign that Michigan might retool its offense came months before Josh Gattis was hired to take over the coordinator role. Giles Jackson, then a fourstar whose position in college was at question, committed last September. His skillset, based around speed, not size or technique, didn’t seem to fit into Jim Harbaugh and Pep Hamilton’s offense. To succeed as a receiver, Jackson would need to be put into open space, where he could make use of that skill set and pick up yardage after the catch. Gattis, of course, has built his offense around that very concept. Jackson hasn’t been much of a factor in the receiving game his freshman year with three established starters atop the depth chart. Still, he’s made a name for himself as a kick returner, and found the field on offense when the Wolverines see chances for him to stretch the field on sweeps or end arounds. Technically speaking, it isn’t the offense he signed up for when he committed. But it’s one that fits him. “I think (my game) helps a lot,” Jackson said. “Me and Mike (Sainristil), we’re similar. We both use that to our advantage in our offense on like the swings and bubbles, using our speed to try to beat everybody out, and I think that helps us a lot.” Cornelius Johnson, another freshman receiver who stepped into an offense that was perhaps different than what he expected, was across the room talking to media at the same time as Jackson. A Connecticut
native, Johnson was recruited field to work with. It ended in a ARIA GERSON by Gattis to play for Alabama, pitch-and-catch touchdown. Daily Sports Editor “I was not surprised at how but didn’t see him at Michigan open I was, cause that was the Shea Patterson faked the until the spring game. handoff, rolled to his left and There’s a stereotypical designed play,” Johnson said. threw to tight end Sean McKeon adjustment period for “I was definitely expecting the in the flat. Ahead of McKeon freshmen, at any position in ball on that play.” Tangibly, that play is the was sophomore wide receiver any sport that both Jackson and Ronnie Bell, who plowed into an Johnson discussed. Jackson biggest impact either he or unsuspecting defensive back and said remembering a more Jackson have had on the offense knocked him down. With mostly nuanced playbook took time; this year. But they both know open space ahead of him, McKeon Johnson said he struggled what they can do in the offense. gained an easy 19 yards. with the increased time on And they want this year to be Bell’s block was perhaps the sideline between drives. just the beginning. the best example of improved “Sometimes, me, Mike, That adjustment, though, blocking from Michigan’s wide came with the added layer of (Cornelius Johnson), George receivers over the past month or the Wolverines’ new offense. (Johnson), we’ll all talk about so. While blocking isn’t nearly as One that, as any onlooker how n=ext year, as time goes glamorous as catching passes or could plainly see, took time for on, we’ll be the big receivers on scoring touchdowns, it’s equally everyone to get comfortable in. campus,” Jackson said. “Just important, and the Wolverines’ “I feel like all our receivers got to keep grinding, one day receiver room has taken that can actually do it,” Jackson said. we’ll get to it.” “Like I said, little details matter and that helps us a lot. Just showing every step in a route. We can’t take a play for granted. We’re never going to get a play back, so we just have to do every play to our fullest ability.” Keeping with the theme of the last few weeks, Johnson said the Wolverines haven’t changed what they’re doing on offense. Merely, the execution has gotten to where it needs to be. “Doing a terrific job,” Harbaugh said Monday when asked about Gattis. “I think we talk pretty much every week how I feel about the job that he’s doing.” Whether anything bigpicture has changed with Gattis is, in a sense, moot. The Wolverines are moving the ball with far more ease, and that’s what matters. At the tail end of Saturday’s 44-10 win over Michigan State, Johnson entered the game due to the lopsided score. Patterson faked a handoff and rolled out, causing a defender to overcommit and ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily giving Johnson 30 yards of open Sophomore receiver Ronnie Bell leads the team with 621 receiving yards.
message to heart. “That’s been a really good thing for our team,” said Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh on Monday. “I’d say probably four or five weeks ago, it just — we were at a point early where it wasn’t that good and that’s an area we really value. Really gotten better. Really improved steadily and it was at its best in the past game. That’s been a real focus for us and how to get yards after contact, tackles will get guys blocked. If you don’t have the ball, to me you’re a blocker on a down or play and that was big this week.” When Bell was young and still learning the game, his dad gave him a word of advice: If you can’t block, you can’t play. So Bell has made blocking into something personal, and the message has spread. “Every receiver’s just blocked their tail off this year,” Bell said. “And it’s been a lot of fun to watch it on film.” Johnson on his first touchdown With 2:33 left in the Wolverines’ 44-10 win over Michigan State on Saturday, freshman wide receiver Cornelius Johnson found himself wide open. Like, wide open. As Patterson took the snap, Johnson bluffed a block, pursuing his man briefly before breaking free downfield. Patterson found him around the 25-yard line and, with no one in front of him, Johnson coasted into the end zone. “I was not surprised how open I was because that was the design of the play,” Johnson said Tuesday. “So I was definitely expecting the ball on that play. That was the playcall.” In the moment, Johnson wasn’t thinking about the rivalry or the hundreds of thousands of fans in the stadium. All he focused on was the ball, and it paid off. The 39-yard reception was Michigan’s
second-longest of the day. “I was just like, ‘Now’s my opportunity,’ ” Johnson said. “I knew what I was doing, I’d practiced it so many times and everything. Just, now’s my opportunity and you gotta focus.” Bell still seeking first score This season, Bell leads the team with 621 yards on 37 catches, but he still hasn’t found the end zone despite several close calls — including one on Saturday when he was tackled at the 3-yard line. After Saturday’s game, Johnson joked around with Bell, asking, “Who’s got more touchdowns?” Of course, it was all in good fun. Whether or not he has a touchdown to his name, Bell has been one of the Wolverines’ most productive receivers. Still, the numbers don’t lie, and Bell admitted: “He got me.” “I thought that was funny,” Johnson said. “It was like my fourth catch. Ever.” Bell’s teammates haven’t lost any trust after Bell dropped the potential game-tying reception at Penn State last month. In that moment, Bell felt he had let everybody down. But the team lifted him up and made it clear that he wasn’t the reason they lost the game. After being limited against Notre Dame and Maryland due to injury, Bell continued his status as Patterson’s favorite target Saturday, with nine receptions for 150 yards. Now, the Wolverines have truly hit their stride on offense, scoring 30 or more points in the three games since, and Bell has been as big a part of that as anyone. “It was just funny cause technically I got more touchdowns, but obviously he has like the most yards and catches on the team,” Johnson said. “I’m happy for Ronnie. He’s gonna push it. He’ll get tons of touchdowns for sure.”
A transition in transition: Analyzing Isaiah Livers’ success on the break DANIEL DASH
Daily Sports Writer
When Juwan Howard returned to Ann Arbor, it was a foregone conclusion that he’d bring his wealth of NBA experience with him. Now in his first year as the coach of the Michigan men’s basketball team, Howard’s experience as an NBA player and coach is shining through. The area of the game in which it’s most obvious, though, is in transition offense. As a result, the Wolverines are humming along in an up-tempo offense that’s seemingly starting to become second nature. Under former coach John Beilein, Michigan’s offense finished 341st in the nation in possessions per game last season. While the Wolverines averaged just under 57 shots per game in 2018, they’ve eclipsed that mark in three of their first four contests this season. Thus far, the biggest beneficiary of the stark change is junior forward Isaiah Livers. To shed light on Livers’ success, The Daily broke down the film: First and foremost, Livers’ most impactful strength is his combination of athleticism and ability to beat the defense to the rim. Because Michigan’s frontcourt presents so much size, Livers is afforded the liberty of leaking out if his defensive assignment is away from the rim. At 6-foot-7, his long strides allow him to cover the court quickly. That much was apparent against Saginaw Valley State, particularly in the early going. Just three minutes into the exhibition, senior point guard Zavier Simpson found Livers lurking behind the defense after the Wolverines secured a loose ball. From just in front of the logo, Simpson lobbed a pass over the lone defender standing between him and Livers. The defender made an effort to contest Livers, but stood no chance as he barreled to the rim. Livers’ sheer athleticism allowed him
to elevate over his defender as he flushed home Simpson’s feed with two hands. On the very next possession, Livers’ speed in the open floor allowed him to get to the rim for another dunk. When senior center Jon Teske pulled down the rebound, Livers was the furthest player from the basket. With a Cardinals player on his hip and the other four defenders standing between him and the rim, Livers took off in a full sprint, out-running two of them. When he saw the fourth defender stop the ball and the fifth bolt towards junior guard Eli Brooks in the corner, he angled himself toward the basket. Livers then kicked his speed into top gear, reeling in a chest pass from Simpson in stride, reaching the paint without putting the ball on the
deck. Against Creighton, Livers showed no hesitation in running alongside Brooks following his steal. Seeing that Brooks was drifting towards the opposite wing, Livers correctly filled the lane, creating an angle that made it easy for Brooks to float an alleyoop pass. When both defenders committed to Brooks, Livers was left all alone for the two-handed slam. With the NBA’s emerging emphasis on transition 3-pointers in recent years, Howard has given his team the green light to let uncontested
looks fly. Livers, in particular, has taken advantage. Even when Simpson slows down the pace in transition, Livers still hunts for his own shot. While the thunderous dunks against Saginaw Valley State stand out, Livers was just as effective at slower speeds. When the ball began ahead of him, he often hung back and read the defense. If the Cardinals failed to communicate, which happened twice, he’d find an open spot along the arc and make them pay. Delaying his transition from offense to defense until the ball crossed halfcourt forced the opposing defense to communicate
Against Creighton, Livers showed no hesitation...
as Simpson brought the ball up. Twice, miscommunitcation led to two defenders guarding the same player, leaving Livers open for a walk-up triple. In the instances in which Livers doesn’t beat the defense to the rim or no passing angle presents itself, he still keeps himself in the play. About midway through the second half against Saginaw Valley State, two defenders converged on Simpson at halfcourt as Livers sprinted ahead of him. Simpson couldn’t find an angle to get him the ball, and with sophomore forwards Brandon Johns Jr. and Colin Castleton trailing a few steps behind him, Livers filled out to the corner. The decision not only cleared some of the paint congestion for the driving Simpson and trailing forwards, but also created a new passing window for him to get
the ball. When Livers’ defender remained in the paint to help stop Simpson, Livers was left alone in the corner for an uncontested 3-pointer. Simpson, a creative passer, made the mid-air hook pass to the corner look easy and Livers canned the triple. Altogether, Livers’ ability to beat defenders down the floor, finish at the rim and knock down the long ball add value to a Michigan offense that lost its three leading scorers from a season ago. With prized freshman wing Franz Wagner still recovering from a fractured wrist, the Wolverines will continue to lean on Livers in transition. As the schedule gets tougher over the next few weeks, Livers’ ability to score in transition may be the difference in a number of potential signature wins.
NATALIE STEPHENS/Daily
Junior forward Isaiah Livers has shown a propensity to get out in transition under new coach Juwan Howard, who has emphasized a more NBA-style pace compared to his predecessor, John Beilein.
statement T H E M I C H I G A N DA I LY | N OV E M B E R 2 0, 2 0 1 9
Is it worth it?
ILLUSTRATION BY MAGGGIE WIEBE
2B Wednesday, November 20, 2019 // The Statement
statement T H E M I CH I GA N DAI LY | N OV E M B E R 1 3 , 2019
Managing Statement Editor Andrea Pérez Balderrama Deputy Editors Matthew Harmon Shannon Ors
Designers Liz Bigham Kate Glad Copy Editors Silas Lee Emily Stillman
Associate Editor Eli Rallo
Photo Editor Danyel Tharakan Editor in Chief Maya Goldman Managing Editor Finntan Storer
Disconnecting to connect: Thoughts on the 24-hr news cycle
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e left the farm to begin our weekly climb up the hill to the chapel. The cell reception was better toward the top of the slope, so we often went there before dusk to call family and friends thousands of miles away. The dogs barked ahead of us in excitement as we used the sturdy walking sticks to support our weight. Despite the fading colors and chipped paint on its walls, the church’s green columns and blue structure shined in the setting sun’s gaze. We entered the shadows under the balcony to catch our breath and shield ourselves from the intense sunlight. I pulled out my phone to call my parents as usual. After updating them with what I had been doing that week, I swiped down to scan through hundreds of push notifications, pausing to glance at the headlines about the Democratic presidential primary and Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony. I continued to peruse through weeks of news until an email with the words “Shootings” and “Kashmir” caught my attention. I felt an ache in my chest as I read the evening news briefing from the New York Times. Two mass shootings had occurred in Dayton and El Paso two days before the Aug. 5 briefing, which I was reading on the ninth — almost a week after the violence had occurred. I didn’t have time to process that information since I also read the Indian government revoked Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status and sent in its forces to occupy the region. I was silent on the walk back to the farm, distressed by how much had happened without me learning about it. What else did I miss? What other events happened in the world that just slipped right by me? his past summer, I interned with a small, family-run organization in La Bolivarense, a rural sector in northwest Ecuador. We came to document the history of the region since many of the original founders still live there, offering a unique opportunity to foster community engagement. Though it was no doubt a rewarding experience to work within a community and to
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BY ARJUN THAKKAR, STATEMENT COLUMNIST
cultivate a greater understanding of its origins, there was a certain irony in my being there. For, while I was in Ecuador, I couldn’t help but lament the sacrifice I had made in losing access to news on global and domestic events. It should come as no surprise, coming from a student journalist, I’m an avid consumer of news. As a New York Times subscriber, I check the newspaper’s online front page a few times a day. Whenever a big event happens, I read an article about the subject from every news outlet I can, and I watch at least two or three videos of political analysis, too. Following the news has essentially taken up the mantle that television and movies once held. Being caught in the 24-hour news cycle means it’s hard to step back and slow down. Going to a remote location in Ecuador with essentially no access to the internet meant I would have to put reading news on hold. My discovery at the chapel highlighted the anxiety I experienced from distancing myself from a 24-hour news cycle. I was so accustomed to the rapid consumption and constant access to information that its absence left me a wide-eyed addict desperate for longform profiles and breaking news pieces. The absence of news in my life changed my behavior while living with my host family. I repeatedly swiped down to refresh my email, even when I knew I’d be met with a “No connection” message at the bottom of my screen. It was equally frustrating when I did have a connection and email briefings still wouldn’t load properly. I even resorted to crouching in the bathroom and peering at the newspapers written in Spanish along the floor, only to find that they were three years old. I read them anyway. My hysteria subsided with time, and as I focused on our project, I began to see what kind of life I’d live if national and global news wasn’t always at my fingertips. We woke up at seven every morning to help feed the guinea pigs and chickens on the farm and clean their cages. We walked for hours in
direct sunlight to meet with founders from the community. The interviews themselves ranged from 30-minute to hour-long conversations. The work was grueling, yet there was a greater intimacy in the moment-to-moment routine of the days. We were engaged without the opportunity for digital distractions or pings from CNN to hijack our attention. While I still talked about news with the other interns and the host family, our conversations were intimate as we weaved personal narratives into our discussions and talked about how natural disasters, politics and significant events impacted our lives. The internship gave me the opportunity to see how reading the news nonstop with the intent of being aware actually made me more distant from issues that mattered to those around me. Our history project was a work of news, yes, but unlike national news, it was,
in a sense, a work of community journalism made by and for La Bolivarense. It enhanced connections within the town rather than detracting from them as a national news story might. When I came back to Chicago in August, I initially regressed back into my constant digestion of domestic and international news. So much continues to happen, and being an informed citizen demands that we engage with journalism. But every now and then, when I get especially busy, I’m able to take a step back from the news cycle and take it in piecemeal through briefings rather than my daily binge reading. I’m more attentive in my own life and in the global news world when I can take it slower. Now, I recognize how some of the greatest “news stories” in my life might appear right in front of me rather than on a front page.
ILLUSTRATION BY CASEY TIN AND KATE GLAD
Wednesday, November 20, 2019 // The Statement 3B 3B
Modern Love: I think you found my mother’s ring I
was in a witchy mood on Halloween. It was raining, and I was walking while listening to the Modern Love podcast when I saw something glittering in a puddle. It was an engagement ring. A sad Titanic, its stone was half-sunken in mud and pointed up like the bow of a ship. Instead of a single, perfect circle, the gold band had an arm split off that held the gem in its claws. I rescued it from the water in hopes it held a story. I brought it to Noodles & Company to take a better look and ordered a drink. The cashier hesitated. “I know you just got a drink, but I still have to put in a name for the order. Got a fake name?” I said, “Witch.” She laughed. “OK, Witch, happy Halloween.” Then, she winked. Or maybe I’m just including the wink to make this story sound more witchy. Over the past year, a lot of people have told me I have a “witchy vibe,” and I’ve secretly liked this new identity — it’s special, supernatural and makes my strange stories seem like more than just coincidences. I do have a lot of witchy stories. An artist once approached me in a Trader Joe’s parking lot and gave me a photo identical to one my cousin showed me that morning. My clock stopped the moment my greatgrandmother passed away. My grandfather opened his eyes in the hospital when I touched him. I experienced a one-person hail storm on a mountain in Santa Fe. While telling these stories to a friend, the petals on a flower behind me fell to the ground. I was convinced this ring was just another witchy thing that happened to me — and I needed to know the story. I posted an ad in the Ladies of UofM Facebook group and plenty of people commented telling me to turn it in to the police. I became more defensive with every comment — I didn’t trust the police to get the ring back to the owner. I felt eerily attached to it, like I owed something to the ring. I wore the ring for the rest of the night. he next day, I received a message from someone named Carey. We had no mutual friends. “Hi Hannah!” her message read. “I lost my mom’s ring 2 days ago and was wondering if you found it? It’s a simple design with a white sapphire. I’m looking to see if I have a pic of it somewhere!” I sent the photo before she could describe it to me. Within minutes, Carey confirmed the ring was hers and insisted on bringing me a gift. Instead, I asked her to bring me the story. We met a few days later, and she told me the ring’s saga. In 1985, her father visited India from the U.S. to see his family, and while he was there, he was introduced to over 25 women to marry. He fell for Carey’s mother and sent her love poems for a year, including the ring in his final poem to propose. Carey’s mother came to the U.S. the following
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BY HANNAH BRAUER, STATEMENT COLUMNIST
ILLUSTRATION BY JONATHAN WALSH
year. Since then, Carey’s father has bought her mother plenty of rings, so she no longer wears the one I found. The two of us exchanged more stories and ended up talking for two hours — I learned Carey is also a writer, and we discussed our hopes to make systemic change through journalism. We decided to meet again and continued messaging on Facebook. I asked Carey to tell me more about her mother later that week. She responded that her mother is a witch; apparently, the woman has flat-lined twice and her blood sugar is regularly at a level that would kill a normal person. Carey needed some of her mother’s luck for an important meeting and borrowed the ring without asking permission. In the end, she never got to use its magic. The ring was lost by the time she arrived. hile writing this piece, I wanted it so badly to prove that witches are real, that I’m a witch, that Carey’s mother is a witch, and why not Carey, too? I told the story to my partner, and he simply responded, “Writers are witches.” Then it hit me: He’s right. I’m not a witch, I’m a writer. Not only that, this is a Modern Love column and I’m a modern love writer, which means I know there are stories happening all the time — we just need to ask ourselves the right questions. Instead of turning in the ring to the police, or keeping it, or even accepting whatever coffee or dinner Carey wanted to give me as a reward, I asked about her story because I knew there was one. I figured it was the work of mysterious magic that Carey and I had met and held many of the same
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thoughts on systemic issues and activism. Our nearlytwo-hour discussion touched on ideas also covered by adrienne marie brown, a self-proclaimed witch and Detroit writer whose theory of “emergent strategy” shows how small systems incite larger-scale change. In other words, if more people found connections like how Carey and I found each other, these tiny interactions will multiply to create a larger movement. brown cites fractals in this argument, which are small, repeated patterns that create larger systems (think the designs of snowflakes or seashells). Fractals appear in math, too, with the “magical” Fibonacci Sequence where each number is the sum of the two numbers before it. When squares are created using these numbers as the base and height, they stack on top of each other perfectly to create a symbol called the Golden Ratio. You may have seen the Golden Ratio before — it looks like a spiral, or a shell opening up. It also sort of looks like Carey’s mother’s gold ring, with the stone being held on an arm separate from the band. But then again, maybe that’s just me prescribing witchiness to the situation. I’m not sure why I was the person who picked up Carey’s ring after it had been lying in a puddle for almost two days. Part of me wants to think there’s a reason we were meant to meet and connect, to discuss systems of change when we were engaging in them all along. Another part of me believes these stories could happen a lot more if we knew where to look. Maybe it’s witchcraft, or maybe it’s part of a larger pattern. Maybe it’s even love. Or maybe those are all the same thing.
4B Wednesday, November 20, 2019 // The Statement
Gun control for those who control guns BY EMILY RUSSELL, STATEMENT CONTRIBUTOR
ILLUSTRATIONS BY MAGGIE WIEBE
Wednesday, November 20, 2019 // The Statement 5B
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few summers ago, I moved to Reykjavík to research the Scandinavian human rights framework. The land was a playground, and every night my friends and I played. Natural trampolines of thick moss, crystal clear geothermal pools tucked in the mountains and a clan of cats roaming the streets gave us unfettered fun. Knowing I was there for research, many of my friends would offer ideas about the history of Iceland, how they wish it’d been written, and how it had been instead. Other times I found myself in the company of those close to the center of political change, like the night I shared a cab home from a party with the former prime minister’s son. But I learned more about issues of disarmament and human rights by accident, in the interludes when I wasn’t looking for answers. One night, while a friend and I drove through Iceland’s ceaseless daylight, she turned to me and asked if I had ever seen a gun. I scoffed, but she was sincere. She had never seen one in her life, though she glimpsed partial images of them on some American television shows. I had seen guns more times than I could count: holstered, cocked, displayed, pointed, referenced, possessed, carried. Didn’t that make me anxious? She wanted to know. Though my instinct was to defend my normal, I wondered, “Does the overwhelming presence of weaponry cause anxiety?” Surely, she’d seen guns, I insisted, like when she got pulled over for speeding, as she always did. “Why should that entail guns?” She asked. Now it was her turn to scoff. Guns are written into the American fabric. America’s propensity for violence is undisputed, and its perpetuation by guns is unignorable. And while it is estimated that nearly half of American households own a gun or firearm, many more Americans have likely seen guns firsthand. We encounter guns all the time, like at the entrances to concert venues or music festivals, patrolling sporting events or any other number of the places we go for leisure. Despite the carnage
were reported killed extrajudicially by police in the U.S. When combined with the first months of 2019, the three-year total reaches 2,779. Research shows this is not a universal phenomenon. In many places around the world, including the United Kingdom, Norway and New Zealand, police are unarmed, or must go through extensive reporting processes to receive permission to unlock the arms they travel with. More alarming than the American statistics is the nonchalance with which we address the matter; officers who commit on-duty manslaughter rarely face charges, and instead, they are granted paid time off. We reward those employed to protect us even when they fail to do so and neglect to hold them accountable for the killings they commit against everyday citizens. We as a nation have come to believe in, and ironically, protect, a “thin blue line,” but in doing so, we forget that the government can train more cops anytime it chooses. It’s us citizens that have only one chance. For a long time, I clung to the words of Bertha Von Suttner in her nearly 500-page manifesto, “Lay Down Your Arms,” which, when read by her friend Alfred, led to the creation of the Nobel Peace Prize, and, when read by me, rekindled a personal commitment in my scholarship to understand, track and eradicate weapon proliferation and violent conflict. While I still feel pulled to her ideals of total civilian disarmament, I know now there is nuance in the way we negotiate our safety. As the nation pushes for gun control more broadly and deeply, it’s necessary to consider which communities would be most impacted by the loss of providing for their own personal protection. If the constitutional idea underpinning citizen weaponry is to maintain a way to overpower the government when necessary, we should think again about whether handfuls of handguns can really counteract the world’s most powerful military and most entrenched military-industrial
designated area where we could not be penalized. “What are you so afraid of?” My friend demanded of me. In hindsight I don’t know if we were on private or prohibited property, another largely American concept, or that it would even be policed if we were. But my fear of punitive action that overuses force is not unfounded. My parents always worry before I go abroad about the multitude of dangers that might befall me, but I’ve always been more afraid of late nights driving alone on overpoliced Michigan highways — when the darkness of night makes abuses of authority more untraceable, unpunishable — than I ever have of shenanigans under other sovereigns. Because, while seeing guns is a facet of American public life, still more disconcerting are the times we don’t see them. In Michigan, cops have concealed carry licenses, which means off-duty officers carrying their government-issued firearms and handguns can do so in secret, ensuring fellow citizens cannot see they are armed. What could be the purpose of hiding a gun on someone’s person in the public spaces we share? Are police officers never off-duty, just undercover? Are they to be vigilant at all times, prepared to launch into armed attacks in situations where they are not beckoned? We know the consequences of this are high. Take the recent case against former officer Amber Guyger, who was “off-duty” but armed when she mistakenly entered a Dallas apartment which was not her own, but her neighbor’s, who she mistook for an intruder and shot and killed them. How are citizens to survive when they cannot know the fight they are up against? My childhood home was part of that American half which has a gun. It never provided any semblance of security to me. As a young girl, I knew only that I could not go near it nor touch it, and as a young adult I wanted nothing to do with it. This guttural reaction of distrust of weaponry transfers to the institution of armed policing; it is not a criticism of those individuals who feel they are serving the country and its
a small platform to jump down and tied a rope to swing into the water. Beer cans and other garbage litter the small makeshift beachfront. I have been to that tree once, and I will never go back. t was the summer after senior year of high school, and I was high off of graduation and my recent trip to India and Vietnam. After hearing about many friends’ fun expeditions to the swimming hole, I finally decided to tag along. My mom later joked, rather morbidly, that I had been completely fine traveling through Vietnam with only my sister, but nearly died upon returning to the United States. On a standard D.C. August afternoon with blistering temperatures and humidity, Sam, Fox, Fox’s girlfriend Pauline and I piled into Sam’s 20-year-old Toyota. We drove along the George Washington Memorial Parkway until we reached the scenic overlook where we parked and headed down the improvised trail to the swimming hole. The spot is very isolated; you have to climb down nearly 100 feet on a steep cliff face, where someone tied a rope to some roots to help you rappel your way down, and then once you reach the river, you walk another few hundred feet alongside the river to reach the tree. Once we reached the swimming hole, we set up our little camp with a couple towels and the snacks and drinks we brought with us. Several other groups of people were already there, sharing the communal space (and our chips). Being more adventurous than me, Fox and Sam both immediately scampered up the tree, grabbed onto the rope and Tarzan-swung into the water. I, being much more nervous and cautious, slowly climbed up the tree, gripping each plank as I went. I stood at the top, staring at the water twenty feet below. I wasn’t confident enough to swing on the rope; if I lost my grip or held on too long, I could fall into shallow water. Eventually, enough people heckled me that I plugged my nose, closed my eyes and stepped off the platform, not really jumping off, more so ungracefully falling off into the river. Somewhere in the 20 feet of airtime between the tree and the water, my feet ended up above my butt, so I landed square on my ass — it proceeded to hurt for the next hour. I had my fill of adventure for the day and decided not to try it again. We spent the next several hours like this, chatting among ourselves and with the other groups there, interspersed with the occasional swim when the heat became unbearable. Someone I didn’t know gave me a beer, and we shared the tortilla chips and salsa we brought with everyone else. By the time evening came (though there were still at least two hours until sunset), almost all of the other groups had left, except for us and one other group of five guys. They were still mostly friendly, but only spoke Spanish, so Pauline and I could speak with them, but not Sam or Fox. Pauline and I continued chatting with the five of them intermittently, with Fox and Sam awkwardly left out, but after a few minutes the five of them turned inward and spoke only among themselves with the occasional glance in our direction. We thought about leaving, feeling a little threatened, but convinced ourselves that this was nonsense. After all, over several hours, we shared our food with them, conversed with them, participated together in a classic summer activity and coexisted in a communal place. If something was going to happen, we surmised, it would’ve happened already. If you can’t trust people in a space like that, where can you trust someone? Who could be the kind of monster who would do all of those things with a group of people and still wrong them in the end? Our judgement got in the way. Things got worse. They started harassing Pauline, talking about how Fox “wasn’t man enough” and that she should date one of them instead. They were obviously a little drunk and started talking shit about us. The uthor’s note: This entire story is 100-percent true and about-face was very sudden. We had been having a good time actually happened to me, and I’m pretty traumatized up until then, but now knew something was very, very wrong. from it, even if I don’t usually show it. Escape seemed impossible, as they were standing above us on n the forest along the Potomac River, a few miles from my the “beach” and blocking the only way out; even if we made it house, there is a large tree that hangs over deep water. It past them, it was another 100 feet climbing straight up to reach has been altered by many people; they have etched their See “SUCCESS”, Page 6B names into the bark, nailed boards to climb up the trunk, added
A “success” story
Is it worth it? guns are responsible for, they are a staple of the places we go to enjoy our lives. Why? Guns have become a feature of American life, in large part, because of their proliferation among the police. To the moderate, gun presence is non-alarming; to the ambivalent, normal; and to the realist, necessary. But we have to question the ubiquity of armed state actors and interrogate the perceived irreversibility of our systems of state security. In the social contract theories which undergird our relationship to our government, we are promised security, and in exchange for some personal liberties, we nominate the state as our protectorate. But what happens when our protectorate fails to keep us safe? It’s more likely than you think. Over the past two years alone, nearly 2,000 people
complex. If gun control calls for the radical abandonment of personal weapons, we’ll have to have our security guaranteed. State actors, like the police, are supposed to make manifest that security, but the modern system of American policing cannot make that promise. A few months ago in London, another hub of unarmed police, a friend and I were headed out to enjoy one of the rare sunny days of spring with a picnic in one of the many sprawling gardens on the city’s north side. After taking double-decker buses most of the way, we jumped out to walk the remaining blocks, hoping to maximize the time we’d spend in the light. The route we took was haphazard, and we walked behind dumpsters, over driveways and through seemingly privatelyowned lawns. I resisted. I wanted to return to a path, a bus, a
people. In fact, my original interest in, and insider knowledge about, security forces comes from a deeply personal connection. My father is a police officer, and he offered candidness about a system that desperately needs reform. From his vantage point, police militarization seemed only to create domestic warzones, and it was this observation and his doubts about the institution’s ability to provide justice that inspired me to question it further. The gun in my household was a police gun. It makes no difference. I know the answer to the question asked of me in Iceland now … and it is, “Yes, I am anxious.” Armed, unchecked figures of authority have given me every reason to be. So, when we decide to say lay down your arms, I want this to mean lay down our arms inclusively.
BY DANYEL THARAKAN, STATEMENT PHOTO EDITOR
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Wednesday, November 20, 2019 // The Statement
From Page 5B the cars. After a few minutes of this taunting, however, they simply got up and left and walked away. It seemed that we were in the clear. Relieved, we started to pack up our things and prepared to head out. At that moment, two of the five came back wearing bandanas over their faces. This almost made me laugh — as if a bandana was going to stop us from recognizing someone we had shared an entire day with, or from identifying them in a police line-up. It wasn’t funny when I saw a flash of silver, and I realized that one of them was carrying a handgun. They started yelling at us in Spanish as they waved the gun in our faces, telling us to give them everything. Of course, we obliged, tossing over all of our bags, begging them hysterically not to kill us. They told us to get in the tree and the four of us ran toward the tree and started to climb up. Changing their minds, they instead yelled at us to get in the water. We instead started frantically toward the water, Pauline and I still pleading for our lives in Spanish as Fox and Sam just tried to figure out what they wanted. If they wanted to kill us there, they could have gotten away with it. And they almost did. In a single-file line, we trudged down the bank as quickly as we could toward the water. I was last. I turned around to see him holding the gun with his arm extended, heard the quiet but powerful *click* as he cocked the hammer, the barrel a foot from my face, aimed directly at my head. That sound will stick with me forever. I thought I was going to die, but fortunately instinct kicked in. Before they had a chance to shoot us, we had all jumped into the water and swam away from the shore and were swept downstream by the swift current in the middle of the river. Pauline immediately began having a panic attack — she still had her shoes on and was being weighed down, struggling to keep her head above the water. The three of us circled her, trying to make sure she didn’t fucking drown. Fortunately, we spotted a paddle boarder and Fox swam away to wave him down; he quickly paddled toward us and threw Pauline his life jacket. He helped escort us across the water as there was nowhere convenient to get out on the other side of the river. It was a slow process, taking many breaks to rest on my back or hold onto the paddle board. The current in the Potomac in August is dangerous from all the rain D.C. gets in the summer (a detective told us he was surprised we survived, as most people who try to swim across the river at this time of year drown). After at least 15 minutes of swimming, our feet touched the mud on the other side of the river, a few hundred feet downstream from a boathouse called Fletcher’s Cove. We used the paddle boarder’s phone to call the police and told them to meet us at the Cove. The police arrived right as we walked up from the river bank, bedraggled, covered in mud, only in our swim trunks without shoes or any other possessions. We described to them what happened, and they called in a goddamn helicopter and a police boat to look for them — which seemed a little extra. They found a couple of people who matched the description, but it wasn’t them. Whoever it was is still out there.
I called my mom from a cop’s phone and very nonchalantly told her what had happened — that we had been robbed, but we were ok and could she please pick me up. I think my tone threw her off — she just replied “ok, sure” before a pause and then the inevitable, “Wait, WHAT?!” But physically, I was fine. All of our parents came to get us and bring us clean clothes, shoes, towels and maybe a sense of security. I tracked my phone from the cop’s phone, and that must have scared the robbers when they realized it was being tracked, as the cops found my bag on the other side of the river with almost everything in it and returned it to me within an hour. My total financial loss from this? Ten dollars cash that was in my wallet. I went home and slept for 12 hours. *** When you see the statistics for all-too-frequent mass shootings on the news, they recount the number of dead and wounded. The survivors are called “lucky” because they happened to be in a better place at a better time when the shooting occurred. Media outlets rarely report on their psychological damage, or the damage caused from all of the less “sensational” gun violence that occurs in this country every day. The body count for my incident? Zero dead, zero wounded. Probably less than $100 value stolen from the four of us collectively. A success story. There are no statistics about the fact that I no longer feel safe in any communal space, that, at any moment, I have an exit strategy, preparing for anything to walk through the door. Because in this country, that’s likely. I had been robbed once before — when I was 12, but that was by some random guy in an alley, without a gun. An alley is somewhere you might expect to get robbed, and without the gun, my life was never in danger. I was just a dumb kid who looked like an easy target, and he took advantage. I was a little shaken up after that, but nowhere near the magnitude I felt after being robbed at gunpoint. This time, I was at a swimming hole in the summer, somewhere you might expect safety, somewhere to escape to — not from. That sense of safety and community is all but shattered. Beyond the countless lives lost, this is what we give up — as a community, as a country — for guns. Never being safe, always looking over our shoulders, at the movies, at school, at church, at a bar, in your own home. Is it worth it?
There are no statistics about the fact that I no longer feel safe in any communal space, that at any moment I have an exit strategy, preparing for anything to walk through the door.
7B Wednesday, 20,2019 2019////The The Statement 7B Wednesday,November January 16, Statement
College brought me back to earth BY ALEXANDER COTIGNOLA, STATEMENT COLUMNIST
“I
’ve had enough,” I thought to myself at the end of my senior year of high school. I was tired of the small town in New Jersey and ready to get out. I was tired of being around the same people, I was tired of having no freedom and I was tired of the dullness that came with being in the same place. I was ready for a change, and I knew I wanted to point myself toward Los Angeles. I could no longer stand the cold weather and snow. I wanted that temperate SoCal climate, the ability to go to the beach in the middle of January, the feeling of being on vacation all the time. Unfortunately, my mother wouldn’t let me apply to any schools in Los Angeles, so oblivious to how much the weather resembled the New Jersey winters, I went for the next farthest place: the University of Michigan. I knew that a lot of Californians went to Michigan, and they had an established alumni base there, so I could aim my sights on sunny LA post-grad. If I couldn’t go to California, I would go to the best school I go into far away from home. I would get the vaunted independence I desired and a degree that could land me on the Pacific shores. I quickly fell from the clouds of my fantasy and back to cold reality. The minute I arrived at Michigan, I immediately yearned for New Jersey. The cliche “You don’t know a good thing till it’s gone” definitely rang true for me. I didn’t realize how many things I took for granted at home — having a homecooked meal, having help with my laundry, having a set bedtime and schedule to follow. I missed my mom’s meatballs, and the comfort of my own bed and bonding with my mom over our shared affinity for HGTV’s “House Hunters.” I missed my little town of Chatham — walking around the tree-lined streets, having delicious bagels at my favorite cafe, being an hour train ride from New York. I missed all the great attractions I took for granted while being able to go to the greatest city in the world nearly every weekend — the thin-sliced pizza, the Met, Central Park. I missed the familiarity of the people I had known for the past four years, and the strong friend group I had made my senior year. The independence I so desperately craved was too overwhelming for me. Without a rigid schedule, I spent too much time hanging out with
friends, and not enough time studying, and often went to bed too late to be productive in the morning. And, without that delicious Italian cooking, I ended up eating too little, and what I did eat was mostly garbage. I was a mess, and I couldn’t believe this was the start of the life I had waited for. I also immediately put to rest all of those grand plans for California I had set out at the beginning of college. It was so nice to be able to be only a short plane ride away from home. I couldn’t imagine only being able to go home twice a year if I were in California, and not spend Thanksgiving in the comfort of my own community. More importantly, I couldn’t stand the fact of being too far from my sister, who moved to New York during my freshman year. I wanted to be able to see my parents and my sister more than just a few times a year. The nightly phone calls I made were no replacement — and this was coming from the guy who said he was only going to call home once a week. What really tipped the scales for me, though, was spending my summer with my sister in New York. I loved staying in her little studio apartment and being able to go to the attractions every weekend. Even better, I was able to walk or take public transportation anywhere, a near impossibility in car-centered California. I immediately knew I had to return to the tri-state area; this was my home, and I could not imagine being away from the center of it all, with the people I loved most. Putting those crazy ideas to rest also made my college experience better. I was able to establish a new friend group, go to the football games and share in all of the fun Friday nights after a long school week. I missed all of these important things in my rush to grow up. We became such a tight-knit group that we decided to travel to New York for spring break,
and I was in charge of showing them my hometown. Returning home that February with my friends, my experience came full circle. I drove them around those same tree-lined streets, showed them what a real bagel tasted like, walked around the mall I had grown up with and, best of all, shared a dinner of my mom’s meatballs. Being able to share my love of home put any thoughts of leaving to rest.
ILLUSTRATION BY JONATHAN WALSH
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Wednesday, November 20, 2019 // The Statement
BY MONICA BABITS
VISUAL STATEMENT: CHILDREN OF THE GALAXY
“LUMINESCENT BEINGS ARE WE, NOT THIS CRUDE MATTER” - YODA