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Wednesday, January 22, 2020
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‘U’ activist groups react to December Trump order
Executive mandate targeting campus anti-Semitism sparks controversy ATTICUS RAASCH & EMMA RUBERG Daily Staff Reporters
DESIGN BY LAUREN KUZEE
In the wake of an executive order targeting what President Donald Trump has described as anti-Semitism at colleges across the country, student activist groups on campus are concerned about possible implications for University students and free speech surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conf lict. The Dec. 11 executive order effectively adds a provision to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which allows the government to withhold federal financial assistance from public institutions that do not protect against various forms of discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin. As a result of the executive order, Title VI will now protect against, as the
Nursing students frustrated with shifts, attempt to buy better ones
Change allows people to choose shifts, individuals sell shifts for as much as $400 KRISTINA ZHENG Daily Staff Reporter
After a recent change in the University of Michigan’s School of Nursing curriculum, Nursing students were offering to buy other students’ clinical shifts for as much $400 in order to switch their assigned times and locations throughout the Fall 2019 semester. According to University spokeswoman Kim
Broekhuizen, the change began in Fall 2019 and allows students to select their own clinical shifts based on their registration date instead of being assigned them. Nursing students have the opportunity to work in a variety of clinical areas, including positions at the University Hospital, Veterans Affairs and St. Joseph Mercy Hospital. These opportunities allow students to develop
basic nursing skills related to delivering nursing care. Nursing sophomore Alissa Elanjian is currently completing her clinical shifts at the VA on Thursday nights. She explained to The Daily how particular times and locations were more favorable compared to others. “We have a nursing GroupMe, and for clinical times, people really, really like Michigan Medicine, and they really wanted Thursday
morning,” Elanjian said. “A lot of the people are in sororities or frats, and their formals or semiformals are on Thursday nights or Friday nights, and so I think that’s a huge reason why.” Nursing sophomore Moriah Lewis said some students wanted to switch times because they had jobs to help pay for their tuition and needed to accommodate for those times. See SHIFTS, Page 3A
Campaign Renovations to LSA Building create promotes new academic spaces, study spots LGBTQ+ Additional rooms for Opportunity Hub, Transfer Student Center protections GOVERNMENT
Private, public sectors mount petition effort to prohibit discrimination CHRIS SULLIVAN Daily Staff Reporter
Members of Michigan’s private and public sectors are uniting to propose a new civil rights protection petition for LGBTQ+ citizens. The Fair and Equal Michigan initiative aims to explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in the state’s legislation. An interpretation of the Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act of 1976 by the Michigan Civil Rights Commission in 2018 previously defined such discrimination as “sex” bias. The act protects people from discrimination based on 10 factors, including religion; however, there are currently no protections for LGBTQ+ individuals in employment and public accommodations. Kalamazoo County Commissioner Tracy Hall said the protections must be granted now. “We are one of too many states where people can be fired for who they love and how they identify,” Hall said. “And it’s time to change that.”
JASMIN LEE
Daily Staff Reporter
The Literature, Science and the Arts Building opened its new attachment and renovated the first floor earlier this month. The new area includes multiple study spaces, conference rooms and offices for University of Michigan programs. The new addition will house the LSA Opportunity Hub, Transfer Student Center, LSA Student Government and Technology Services. All these groups were involved in the planning of the
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LSA Building renovation. Lisa Reiher, the manager of Capital Projects, the architecture firm hired for the renovation, told The Daily that each section of the new addition was a reflection of student needs. “We actually met with each one of the groups: Student Government, the student recruitment for the Transfer Student Center, the Hub,” Reiher said. “We discussed with them their needs and we had an interior designer, and she came up with options to best suit their needs.” Architecture and Study Spaces
The LSA Building additions include study spaces with plenty of outlets and spaces for collaboration and individual work. A second level was added that includes Brody study desks and conference rooms. The Scholarship Office will also be housed in the LSA Building and is expected to be completed in Fall 2020. The back wall of the building is comprised of windows, allowing natural sunlight to enter the building. As it gets sunnier throughout the day, the lights are designed to dim in order to reduce electricity use. The construction team took
initiatives to make the LSA Building environmentally friendly during the process. The trees that were cut down in the process of creating additional space were then reused as tables in the building, according to Reiher. Many parts of the building are also made of lead silver, an energy efficient building material. Opportunity Hub The Opportunity Hub is located on the first floor of the LSA Building. It has five interview rooms with seven more in the process of being built on the second level. See LSA, Page 3A
The LSA building showcases new first floor renovations, including more study spaces and offices..
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official White House briefing stated, “prohibited forms of discrimination rooted in anti-Semitism as vigorously as against all other forms of discrimination prohibited by Title VI.” The final order did not specify whether Judaism would be interpreted as a race or nationality. Instead, it instructed the Department of Education to use a particular definition in combating antiSemitism. Jeffrey Veidlinger, Director of the University’s Frankel Center for Judaic Studies, explained what the definition and the order mean. “All it did was say the Department of Education should use the working definition of anti-Semitism in evaluation Title VI programs,” Veidlinger said. See ORDER, Page 3A
ACADEMICS
SSW looks to address diversity concerns
Authors of op-ed call on admin to bridge gap between ideals, practices FRANCESCA DUONG Daily Staff Reporter
After a group of students in the School of Social Work penned an op-ed criticizing the curriculum taught in a mandatory course, the school is working to address the authors’ concerns. Social Work students Justin Woods, Samuel Rentschler and the students of Social Work 504, Section 4 submitted the op-ed to The Daily on Dec. 4, 2019. The op-ed highlights three main gaps: the structure of topics of Social Work 504, the ways Social Work 504 chooses to discuss and present racism and an assigned reading on the effectiveness of diversity courses. “Instead of unequivocally and substantively interrogating the systemic white supremacy that allows for incoming graduate students to be unaware of the social privilege of whiteness, we engage in a cursory and trepidatious overview of the uncomfortable topic,” the op-ed stated. “It would appear as the course is developed with the white student majority in mind.” The authors suggested four courses of action to placate the situation, and they started a petition for the cause. They called for the addition of a mandatory class on race and ethnicity in social work using a critical race theory lens, as well as a course on “antioppressive practices in social work.”
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NEWS......................... 2A Vol. CXXIX, No. 54 OPINION.....................4A ©2019 The Michigan Daily C L A S S I F I E D S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 A
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S TAT E M E N T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 B ARTS...................5A S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7A
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2A — Wednesday, January 22, 2020
MONDAY: Looking at the Numbers
TUESDAY: By Design
WEDNESDAY: This Week in History
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Jan. 22, 1970: New Human Rights Commission: Stronger code draws mixed response from community Community leaders have given a mixed response to Ann Arbor’s new human rights ordinance which imposes stronger penalties against discrimination. While Mayor Robert Harris considers the ordinance “probably the best anti-discrimination code in the country,” others are concerned that the new Human Rights Commission does not have broad enough powers to adequately probe community tension. The ordinance, enacted by City Council Monday, abolishes
the present Human Relations Commission and, along with the new commission, creates a hearing panel of human rights examiners. The examiners are empowered to issue cease and resist orders in cases of discrimination. If the examiners decide a discriminatory practice was committed, a newly-created Department of Human Rights can petition Washtenaw County Circuit Court to order the person to pay a fine of $1000 per violation. The department, responsible to the city administrator, handles
investigations of discrimination charges and can request and can request the subpoena of records and witness, enforced by the Circuit Court. The Human Rights Commission will oversee the city government’s efforts to eliminate discrimination and ease tensions within the various departments of the city. Harris, who drafted much of the ordinance, is pleased with the scope of the penalties—especially the fines—imposed on persons found guilty of discrimination. City Administrator Guy
Marcom and Ann Arbor NAACP member Dr. Albert Wheeler of the medical school agree. “The ordinance spells out in much better terms the anti-discrimination laws,” says Larson. Others are not so positive. Mrs. Mildred Officer, a member of the present HRC, fears that the community may not have the opportunity to voice its grievances before the new Human Rights Commission. She is concerned will involve itself with overseeing city departments instead if serving as
a forum for individual problems. Commissioners Theodore St. Antoine and Lloyd Williams, who are generally pleased with the ordinance, also believe the commission should extend its authority to act as a center for citizen’s complaints. Commissioner Paul Wasson sees few desirable elements in the ordinance. “The human rights department should not be responsible for the mayor and city administrator but to all the people of all the sectors of the community,” he says.
Outgoing HRC Director David Cowley contends toe ordinance places too much emphasis on specific discrimination cases and does not provide an adequate structure for examining general discriminatory practices. Others believe the department should be free from the city administrator’s jurisdiction. They contend that, to operate effectively, the department must be autonomous and able to undertake broad investigations of discrimination and tensions in the city.
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Editorial Staff ERIN WHITE RUCHITA IYER/Daily The Center for Research on Learning and Teaching presents Distress Signals, a workshop for students’ mental health in Hatcher Tuesday afternoon.
City Council talks anti-Israel protests, board of environmental commission Members discuss how to deal with drinking water contamination from Gelman Dioxane plume ANGELINA LITTLE Daily Staff Reporter
The Ann Arbor City Council met Tuesday night and discussed anti-Israel protests, adding youth members to the Environmental Commission and how best to proceed regarding contamination from the Gelman Dioxane plume. During public comment, multiple community members spoke regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conf lict, condemning U.S. military aid to Israel. AntiIsrael protester Henry Herskovitz, a defendant in a recent lawsuit over a 16-year protest at an Ann Arbor synagogue, addressed comments from a City Council meeting earlier this month in which Councilmember Zachary Ackerman, D-Ward 3, called him racist and antiSemitic. Ackerman explained Herskovitz’s history of antiIsrael picketing outside the Jewish synagogue and told attendees Herskovitz denies the Holocaust at meetings. Councilmember Julie Grand, D-Ward 3, supported Ackerman and criticized Herskovitz’s behavior during such protests. Councilmembers were interrupted multiple times by outbursts from a community member shouting in protest about Israeli violence in Palestine. Councilmember Ali Ramlawi, D-Ward 5, responded with a call to order, expressing frustration over the time spent personally addressing Herskovitz rather than focusing on the issues on the agenda. “I am Palestinian, and I
have not made it this forum to express my political beliefs and my personal positions, and I think this body should be held to a higher level where we should be able to take a tax and move on and discuss the business that this city has elected us to discuss,” Ramlawi said. “I have my personal positions, and to this point, I’ve kept them to myself, and I wish others would do so, so we could get on to the work of the people. This body should not be attacking members in the audience, and I find that a very troubling direction that we’re going in.” Ackerman and Grand responded that it was necessary for leaders to call out hate in the community. As councilmembers continued to discuss this topic, Councilmembers Kathy Griswold, D-Ward 2, Jeff Hayner, D-Ward 1 and Ramlawi temporarily retreated to the council workroom until the Council returned to issues on the agenda. Mayor Christopher Taylor said he believes the protests at the Ann Arbor synagogue are relevant to the community. “I believe that the ongoing protests at temple are a local issue; they are a local issue because they impact deeply members of the community on a consistent basis,” Taylor said. “I believe those protests are improper, I believe that protests at a house of worship are inconsistent with the values of Ann Arbor, and I believe they should end.” The Council later considered implementation of a resolution that had passed in June to add two
youth voting members to the 13-member board of the city’s Environmental Commission. Though youth was initially defined as those aged 14 to 25, Councilmember Jack Eaton, D-Ward 4, proposed an amendment to change the age range to 16 to 25, believing that 16-year-olds would be better equipped to participate in policymaking. Grand contended that some leaders of the climate change protest are as young as 14 or 15 and should be allowed to apply, as they will only be appointed to a position if they are adequately qualified. The majority of councilmembers, however, believed it would be in the best interest of all to restrict the age minimum to 16. Councilmember Jane Lumm, I-Ward 2, highlighted the importance of ensuring the experience is as beneficial as possible to youth members. “It’s all about making this experience beneficial and positive, onboarding young people, orienting them in the appropriate way so that it’s a good experience, and they build confidence as a result of this experience and their leadership skills and competency,” Lumm said. “So, I’d like to see us do this in a more, sort of, thoughtful, planned way, not just lower the age and add these folks.” The amendment to change the age to 16 passed. The Council also discussed whether to postpone voting on a resolution to support the Environmental Protection Agency listing the site of the Gelman Plume, the spread of dioxane in groundwater contaminating drinking
water, as a “Superfund” site, which would begin a long-term cleanup by the EPA. Councilmembers Hayner and Nelson opposed the postponement, urging immediate action. However, other members believed it more important to deliberate carefully before taking action. Taylor emphasized the importance of consulting with the public before moving forward. “I believe it is wise that we have the consent judgment in hand before we make the decision,” Taylor said. “I think further, it’s wise that we have an opportunity to distribute the consent judgment to the public for their feedback before we make any decision.” The vote was postponed until the Council meeting on February 3. During communications from the city administrator, Lori Roddy, Executive Director of Neutral Zone, a youth-driven teen center, spoke about the benefits of the program’s partnership with the city. Neutral Zone was awarded a $10,000 grant from the city in May to create the Capacity Building for Job Corps Program, which provides mentors, tuition scholarships and employment opportunities to underprivileged youth. Roddy was joined by two participants of the program who spoke to their positive experiences in the program. “You have really created a space where, two years ago, honestly, I’m not sure many of our Black youth felt like they belonged in this city, and you’ve really created a warm, supportive, inviting space where they have a platform to be successful,” Roddy said.
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LSA From Page 1A The rooms have AI technology on the computers and dry-erase walls to make it easier to conduct job interviews. LSA senior Taylor Lind said she encourages students to spend time at the Opportunity Hub and explore the new LSA addition. “I’m really excited to see how students can utilize this new space,” Lind said. “I think it’s a really unique one, especially for a college as large as LSA, because it’s hard to find a central space to hang out as opposed to other colleges. I would just really encourage LSA students to step out of their comfort zone and explore a new favorite study spot eventually.” Hannah Lozon, operations lead of Opportunity Hub, said she is excited to see students using the resources from the Opportunity Hub. “We’re most excited about, I would say, from my perspective, seeing students coming in and using the building now,” Lozon said. “Each day we’ve been open since the semester started, there are more and more students every day, students are just finding their nooks, so that’s fantastic. And then, of course, seeing the Opportunity Hub has been able to do services for students, where we have much more space, which is really amazing.” 24/7 Market Food will be available in the building addition via the 24/7 Market, a self-serving market that takes debit and credit cards. The market will have a variety of different options from granola bars to energy drinks and meals, as well as a Starbucks coffee machine where students can make their own beverages. Transfer Center The Transfer Student Center is a space for all transfer students at the University to study, and holds events to help these students acclimate. Transfer student ambassadors are placed in the Center to answer any questions and provide advice. Commuter students are also welcome to all the resources for transfer students. There will be lockers in the LSA Building for commuter students to keep their items while they are on campus. LSA senior Samantha Tosa is a transfer student ambassador. She said she is excited to see how the space will support transfer students on campus. “The transfer centers are
SHIFTS From Page 1A “Someone in my other clinical lab group was saying, ‘I work on Friday nights, and Friday nights are when I make most of my money,’ and she has clinicals Friday nights, so she was just saying how it wasn’t fair,” Lewis said. “She was upset that now she couldn’t work and make her money, but other people that had money could just switch out of it to party. And she was just frustrated and trying to figure out how to pay for the rest of her schooling.” Many students were also upset if they had more class
CONCERNS From Page 1A They also asked that the School of Social Work require a minimum proportion of assigned readings written by indigenous authors and people of color, and that SSW “forge a connection with the Center for Institutional Diversity to support the faculty’s comfort in teaching across racial and ethnic differences.” On Dec. 10, 2019, the School of Social Work sent a statement to the social work community at the University addressing the issues presented in the op-ed. “We know that our work is not done and there is much more to do,” the statement read. “The op-ed speaks to a disjuncture that the writers experienced between what the School says and what we do. Our faculty and staff commitment towards antiracism and anti-oppressive work continue to be aspirational. This is true for our school as well as our profession. This means working towards continuous improvement in all we do.”
a really great date spot for transfer students in general, because, like I said, there was no space before specifically for transfer students,” Tosa said. “It’s really nice though … We’ve had students just come in and sit down and study to the point where I’ve been able to recognize them, and now we’re friends. It’s a really great start to make and build connections with other people who are going through a similar experience.” LSA Student Government LSA Student Government, previously housed in Mason Hall, will relocate to the new building addition as well. Brian Wong, president of LSA Student Government and LSA senior, told The Daily he is excited to have a space central to campus. “I think we’re incredibly happy about this new building,” Wong said. “We’re glad it’s open … Jumping into a new place really helps with coming up with new creative processes and ideas that we’re really excited about.” Technology Services Technology services will also have a presence in the LSA Building at the Navigation Desk on the first floor. Starting in midFebruary, students will be able to rent out chargers, adapters and graphing calculators. Sanam Arab, manager of Programs and Patron Services, told The Daily she will be collecting student feedback to see what other equipment students would like to have available from their services. “We offer a lot of different services to students, faculty and staff. One of the things we’ll be bringing to the Navigation Desk is our equipment loan service,” Arab said. “In our other centers, we rent out cameras, laptops, digital audio recorders and things like that. We will see what would be the interest here, and we’ll bring those here to circulate from this location as well.” Homewarming Party This Friday, Jan. 24, the LSA Building will be hosting a “Homewarming Party” from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., with food, trivia and games. LSA Associate Dean Rosario Cabello told The Daily she is looking forward to seeing LSA students at the event. “I’m very excited about this because I’ve spent a lot of time working on this, and I want students to come,” Cabello said. “I hope to invite all LSA students to come down this Friday and really check it out. Check out the space and get their swag.”
ORDER From Page 1A “It was from an organization called the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, and it has already been accepted by the State Department and was already widely used within the Office of Civil Rights.” The IHRA definition used in the order has been widely criticized for the examples of modern anti-Semitism to which it refers. One example describes anti-Semitism as “denying the Jewish people their right to selfdetermination by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.” According to Student 1, a member of Direct Action for Palestine who wished to remain anonymous due to fear of professional repercussions, the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism is controversial. “It has been sort of a site of controversy because the issue with the way that IHRA defines it is that it conf lates anti-Semitism with critique of Israel,” Student 1 said. “So that is basically the lens through which I am understanding that defining Judaism as a nationality is really cementing that definition of anti-Semitism, which I believe it’s a grossly incorrect way of thinking about it.” In a statement, the AntiDefamation League, a nonprofit that fights antiSemitism, praised the order, noting that it supported the IHRA definition. “This Executive Order is an important step acknowledging the growing concern about rising antiSemitism on American college campuses,” the statement read. “Including Jews in Title VI protections is something that ADL and previous presidential administrations have supported for years. ADL has likewise long supported the IHRA definition, which has been adopted by more than 20 countries and entities around the world as a nonlegally binding definition of anti-Semitism.” LSA senior Becca Lubow, a student leader for If Not Now, a student organization opposing the Israeli
Wednesday, January 22, 2020 — 3A
occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, said she does not support the executive order. “I think that antiSemitism is present and rising on college campuses, but Trump can’t be trusted to define anti-Semitism for us, because he incites deadly white nationalist violence against our community,” Lubow said. “He calls us disloyal; he refers to Israel as ‘your country’ because he believes we don’t really belong here.” Veidlinger agreed antiSemitism was rising and should be addressed, but said he did not believe regulating speech on universities was the correct approach. “I think it’s significant to look at the definition of antiSemitism and recognize that, although we haven’t seen that much in universities, I do think it is a growing problem around the world and in the United States,” Veidlinger said. “We have seen tragic evidence of that in the last few months, so I do think we need to pay serious attention, but I don’t think cracking down on institutions of higher learning is the way to do that.” Arwa Gayar, Public Policy senior and co-president of Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, expressed a similar belief that while combating anti-Semitism is important, this order is potentially problematic. “I do obviously support legislation that seeks to combat anti-Semitism, especially in a time where there’s rising white supremacy and there’s a need for these things,” Gayar said. “But I also am extremely hesitant because I recognize that a lot of times, people kind of undermine antiSemitism and throw it at things or movements that are, for example, critical of policy of the State of Israel.” According to Student 1, Palestinian activist organizations have historically struggled with issues of free speech on campus. “In organizing around Palestine, what we call is the ‘Palestinian exception to free speech,’” Student 1 said. “In the United States, you can have a position on something, you can advocate for that
and be vocal about that, but when it comes to Palestine, all of a sudden, things become very controversial, and then an issue arises which also Palestinian activists, in particular, have been asked to step back and step down. Their calls for justice have been framed as discriminatory and hateful, and there’s been administrative action against those activists for a long time.” Lubow also voiced concerns that the order would limit the free speech of students on campus. She said she believed Trump was using the order to silence opposition to his administration’s policies. “As a Jewish college student, I know that this order isn’t meant to keep me safe. It’s meant to silence, in particular, Palestinian and Muslim students,” Lubow said. “It could even silence Jewish students who are critical of occupation and the Israeli government and students who speak out against the occupation on campuses are already targeted and censored. Now Trump wants to crack down even further, and he’s doing it in the name of Jewish safety, which makes me angry. He has no right to co-opt our voice in that way.” Gayar said the University has faced challenges in handling free speech issues. “College campuses, especially this University, in recent years have kind of struggled with free speech and kind of evaluating, what exactly is free speech? At what expense does freedom of speech come? And kind of acknowledging that freedom of speech is something that’s very valuable,” Gayar said. “But then again, you know, I think as a country we value free speech and our ability to speak our minds and our ability to, you know, be able to exercise, our personal politics, additional views.” Miriam Saperstein, LSA junior and student organizer for Jewish Voice for Peace, said there is an important distinction between free speech and anti-Semitic speech which may not be taken into account when implementing this order. “Palestinian students at this University and across
the country are already being targeted,” Saperstein said. “I guess I’d put it simply that a feature of Palestinian freedom depends on supporting, not silencing, this important advocacy.” Student 1 said that the capacity of the executive order to stif le student freedoms should prompt a response from the University. “Now for me, the executive order is a really egregious stance on this government that impedes on the possibility of academic freedom and student activism on campus,” Student 1 said. “And so, what the University should do — what I believe they’re obligated to do — is to take an active stance against that executive order.” Saperstein said the University should make specific efforts to support Palestinian students on campus, especially following the executive order. “I think the way the University supports dialogue with feeling no need to actually repair for the harm the University has caused Palestinian students (is problematic),” Saperstein said. “There needs to be an acknowledgment first that we can’t just talk to each other, we need to change the material conditions of what it means to live in Palestine and to be a Palestinian in the U.S. when there’s so much suppression.” The Jewish Resource Center and Chabad House of Ann Arbor did not respond to requests for comment. Hillel could not provide a statement to The Daily in time for publication. University spokeswoman Kim Broekhuizen told The Daily the University aims to provide an inclusive environment for all students. “The University works hard each and every day to foster an environment that supports all our students and their diverse faith traditions,” Broekhuizen said. “This includes our work to support Jewish students and to call out antiSemitism, which is anathema to our mission and values. We do and will, of course, comply with the law. But, more importantly, we do this work because it is the right thing to do.”
credits but still registered at a later time than students who had fewer credits, Elanjian explained. “My adviser told me that we were using the entire University slot time generator so not the specific nursing school for credit,” Elanjian said. “People were upset because they had way more credits than others but ended up having to pick their classes last on the last day possible. There was a problem with that, but the advisers are actually working on switching that for next year.” Jayne Hubscher, a Nursing senior and president of the U-M Student Nurses’ Association, spoke to The Daily about the schedules and the impact on
the student culture at the University. “I feel like it’s not really surprising to me because it does kind of fit in with the competitiveness of the Nursing School that I’ve experienced,” Hubscher said. “And there’s always been drama that goes on with different things, like academically, so this is just like another tip of the iceberg.” Hubscher further said some students prefer placements at the University Hospital rather than at the VA due to its location farther away from campus. “No one wants to go the VA because you have to take the bus, and you have to get up way earlier,” Hubscher said.
“They used to not let you give medication there, which really hinders your education. So, if someone got placed there, they would definitely want to pay for a position at Michigan Medicine.” Broekhuizen told The Daily that in the past, students have requested more input in their clinical section assignments. In response, the Nursing School piloted a new registration process at the start of this school year. This process provided students with a system that allowed them a choice in their clinicals, Broekhuizen explained. “This was an isolated case and did not affect any students’ learning experience,”
Broekhuizen said. “There is no evidence of additional instances.” To address the situation, Bonnie Hagerty, associate dean for undergraduate affairs, sent an email on Dec. 5, 2019 to the sophomore and junior undergraduate nursing students. “This is unbecoming of what we strive for in nursing, that of integrity, compassion, and inclusivity,” Hagerty wrote. “No student may pressure another student to make a switch, including making offers of monetary compensation or other incentives.” If continued, Hagerty wrote, students risked disciplinary action, including an honor code
violation. Laurent Hokanson, a freshman nursing major at Grand Valley State University, is currently in the middle of applying to the U-M School of Nursing. She spoke to The Daily about the competitive nature of nursing schools in general and its impact on student culture. “I cannot imagine selling my position,” Hokanson said. “It just seems unethical. It implies that some departments are better than others in health care, and I think that is unjust. We’re caring for people. It shouldn’t matter what form of care we’re giving. I think every department is beneficial. It can teach you amazing things.”
In an interview with The Daily, Woods said he was grateful that the School of Social Work formally recognized the issues. “When we first got the response, I was encouraged,” Woods said. “I definitely think there’s some level of validation from it, that the administration took away to say seriously they were open from dialogue and they’re willing to engage us in a meaningful way.” The School of Social Work’s statement opened an opportunity for dialogue between the authors of the op-ed and the administration, according to Woods. He said they held a meeting at the beginning of the winter term, but added that the meeting left the authors of the op-ed feeling uncertain about the future of the curriculum. “I think for us, I was really hoping to get a response from the administration on our four specific recommendations that we outlined,” Woods said. “I think there was some conversation on a couple of the points, but they also then took the opportunity to give us some context on why things are the way
they are … For me personally, I was hoping to have real dialogue about our recommendations and a specific response to either ‘we can do that,’ or ‘we can’t’ or making some sort of counter offer. I think we didn’t really get that.” After the release of the op-ed, the authors received an influx of messages from current Social Work students and alumni voicing their support. Social Work alum Violeta Donawa noted the challenges of having a class filled with people of different experiences. “You have students with a wealth of lived experiences who are not starting out at social justice 101,” Donawa said. “The difficulty with that is having students who are much further along in these conversations and those types of students getting challenged in really rudimentary ways that can feel draining and exhausting.” The 2016 Student Campus Climate Survey on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, — the most recently taken survey — reports that one in six graduate students reported feeling
that over the past 12 months they have been discriminated against at the University of Michigan. Donawa called attention to these surveys, commenting on the number of students who have felt discriminated against. “Surveys have revealed a number of students who have expressed discomfort in discussing race, who, in some way shape or form, have felt like their voices have been marginalized because of the discomfort in discussing race,” Donawa said. “If you’ve been having to explain your identity in so many areas of life … students can shut down; they can decide they don’t want to participate.” Donawa applauded the authors of the op-ed for calling attention to the issue and stressed the importance of change. “Our program is 16 months, 20 months, 12 months, and so you end up with a very rapid graduation rate of students, so it’s very hard to get change to stick in that short amount of time,” Donawa said. “What the incoming MSW class is encountering, or at least the students from 504 that wrote the original article, they’re
filling the remnants of the fact that the change is still in progress … You can’t relegate solutions to a specific department, you can’t relegate to a certain office, you can’t relegate solutions to voluntary activities. That’s not how institutional change happens.” Chidimma Ozor is a Master of Social Work candidate who was able to take advantage of the Social Work curriculum and craft it to better suit her needs and experiences. “I’ve noticed that there is a focus on those that don’t have very much experience with racism,” Ozor said. In an interview with The Daily, Lorraine Gutiérrez, associate dean for educational programs at the School of Social Work, addressed some of the concerns regarding the Social Work 504. “Because these classes are so diverse in terms of the background students come from — not only from parts of the U.S., parts of Michigan, but also parts of the world — it can be challenging to figure out where everyone is and what their past knowledge is,” Gutiérrez said. “The dynamics of that class can get very
complicated because somebody may ask a question that other students may feel is very naive and ill-informed, but in fact, they might be asking it because of what their own background and life experience has been.” She also addressed the class content, including the call to move toward introducing critical race theory, the social scientific framework used to examine the role of race in society. “Some of the things they recommended, for example, critical race theory, are things that could be part of the class,” Gutiérrez said. “The class is supposed to come from a theory-base; the class is not intended to focus entirely on race. … There should be anti-racist and critical race focus in that class, but it’s not the total focus, because the focus in the class is broader than that.” To address the issue with the diversity reading assigned in the class, Gutiérrez said she hopes to reevaluate a few of the assigned pieces.
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Opinion
4A — Wednesday, January 22, 2020
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ELI FRIEDMAN | LETTER TO THE EDITOR
O Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. Stanford Lipsey Student Publications Building 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com
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Managing Editor
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FROM THE DAILY
The Olympic’s misguided crackdown on activism
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s athletes compete at the highest caliber in Tokyo, Japan later this year, their actions and words will be watched more closely than ever thanks to new regulations from the Olympics’ organizing body. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has recently come under fire for issuing Rule 50, a ban on protests on the field, on the podium, at Olympic ceremonies and in the Olympic Village. Athletes are still allowed to express their views in press conferences, in team meetings and on social media. This rule comes after heightened political statements and attention on world sports stages from athletes like Colin Kaepernick, Feyisa Lilesa and Sarah Lee Wai-sze. It is easy to feel powerless in the aftermath of new sweeping reg ulations from a large international organization such as the IOC. As the IOC is an independent non-profit organization, there is no law, international or otherwise, that prevents the Committee from creating and maintaining Rule 50. But protest has been and will always be about confronting institutional structures, pushing against legal and social boundaries and refusing to be silenced. We encourage athletes who have the means and the security to do so to speak up for the issues they believe in, and we encourage the audience watching the Olympics to be aware of the risks these athletes are facing in order to speak up. First, Rule 50 has particularly troublesome implications. The new rule appears as a small limitation for athletes; after all, the reg ulation clarifies that protest or discourse of any sort can happen away from the medals ceremonies and the athletic events themselves. Athletes can still post on their Instagrams or speak openly at their post-event press conferences. But the presentation of medals at the Olympics is far too large of a cultural symbol to dismiss Rule 50 as a small tweak to existing athletic reg ulations. The medals presentation is an iconic athletic ceremony that captures the attention of the public. From Tommie Smith and John Carlos’s Black power protest at the 1968 Olympics to Race Imboden’s kneeling at the 2019 Pan American Games, the medal podium has been a crucial locus for protest from passionate and talented athletes. Furthermore, the Olympics draw in massive audiences to create a sort of international town square where people from all over the world discuss their ideas and values. As such, the Olympics create an attractive platform for protesters. When someone receives a medal, the world is watching, and it’s the most
advantageous time for an athlete to publically espouse their beliefs. The Olympics are essentially allowing people to voice their opinions, but only in the spaces where these opinions would not garner attention. The Olympics have always been political. In Ancient Greece, they were a way for political leaders of different city-states to gather and have discussions on political matters reg ularly. Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics, once said the games served not only the purpose of uniting countries through sports, but also of bringing humanity together and striving for a better world. Based on the founding idea and modern philosophy of the games, the Olympics have been one of the biggest stages for athletes to protest based on their beliefs. Despite the IOC’s ambig uously worded effort in Rule 50 to stay as apolitical as possible, the Olympics have seen numerous meaningful protests since the
The IOC’s new rule bans free expression.
first modern games in 1894. In addition to the tradition of prevalent protests during the games, the IOC itself has proved to the world time and time again how it can be blatantly political when it helps its case. The IOC chose to still invite Russian athletes to the 2018 Olympics even after the scandal of statesponsored doping schemes during the Sochi Games in 2014. When South and North Korea decided to field a unified team for the Pyeongchang Games in 2018, IOC president Thomas Bach evidently saw an opportunity to take a stance in easing the tension in the
Korean peninsula and openly welcomed the decision, even stating the games were “hopefully opening the door to a bright future on the Korean peninsula.” Given the precedent of past protests and the IOC being intentionally political on other occasions, it seems as though the Committee wants to take control over what kind of politics can be present during the Olympics and ended up banning any protests for which they could be seen responsible. The IOC’s new rule bans free expression. Protests function as a way for individuals or groups to express concern toward the status quo, so protestors are bound to oppose the existing reg ulations by nature. Protests must be public to serve the purpose of getting the intended message across to as many people as possible and bringing about change. Rule 50 does not completely ban all protests. In that sense, the new rule does not sound terribly oppressive. However, the rule limits where protests can and cannot take place and consequently bans free expression as free expression itself should have no limits. Controlling where protests can or cannot happen takes away the public and deliberately anti-establishment aspects of such demonstrations, defeating their purpose. Maybe it was the IOC’s goal to ban the free expression of athletes. Maybe the IOC simply did not want to be responsible for whatever the athletes could say or do with political aim. Either way, it is clear that the new rule decided by the Committee is poorly stated and misg uided. Athletes may protest during the games this summer anyway. Some might even be more motivated to speak up for their cause because of the new rule. As spectators, we support the athletes and their protests as long as they are not destructive. Promoting inclusivity and peace on one of the biggest international stages should be a noble cause,
CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor and op-eds. Letters should be fewer than 300 words while op-eds should be 550 to 850 words. Send the writer’s full name and University affiliation to tothedaily@michigandaily.com.
n Jan. 17, The Daily published an opinion column entitled “Language in a politically correct 2020.” While passionate, the piece’s underlying point was fundamentally problematic. The article begins with an appeal to the First Amendment of the Constitution, which states that “Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech.” I absolutely agree that this is a fundamental right, and the author is correct that it has been largely unrestricted by law. This is where the comparison to Orwell’s “1984,” drawn in the following paragraph, falters: Nobody is jailed, tortured or killed in the United States for politically incorrect speech. How can public pressure “work just as well to shame people into silence” when articles like this one can be published? How can preachers stand on the Diag shouting hate speech without fear of arrest? The U.S. is freer than the author of the article imagines, and certainly freer than Orwell’s dystopia (unless I’ve missed a “1984”-style torture chamber hidden beneath Angell Hall). Herein lies the crux of the issue: If one has the freedom to be politically incorrect, another has the freedom to call them out for it. This concept is the nucleus of political correctness; it is a back-and-forth of free speech exactly as guaranteed in the First Amendment. Therefore, I argue, political correctness is a critical component of modern society. Ideas will never develop if they are allowed
to go unchecked. And let’s be clear: Those who espouse political incorrectness do not want their ideas checked. Rather, they prefer to express their opinions and shield themselves from criticism with terms like “snowf lake” or “PC culture.” Another central idea in the piece is the claim that actions matter more than words, and therefore we should not judge people based on those words. What this misses is that words often act as actions, whether or not the speaker intends them to. In sociology there is a concept called “performative language,” which describes expressions that count as actions in and of themselves. The idea is that phrases like “I do” and “I quit” can change social situations, thereby functioning as actions. Similarly, the language we use has real effects on others. Depending on how they’re wielded, words can and often do cause legitimate sadness, fear or anger. We can’t control how others react to our words, but we can control what we say. Actions and words are both important. They both reveal a person’s character. Finally, we arrive at the intersection of political correctness and creativity. The author says that her friend’s creative writing, in addition to her own, was criticized for being politically incorrect. Furthermore, she argues that forcing authors to write in a politically correct fashion will make all stories the same (“a lot of princess-and-princess fairytales”) and will make it impossible to tell who actually supports equality.
The advancement of creative literature will not be stunted by political correctness. Countless authors writing today have not been forced to hand in their pens even in this new era in which we find ourselves. Infinite stories can still be told. If the only politically correct story one can imagine is the “princessand-princess fairytale,” perhaps the fault lies not in society but in oneself. In regard to this contentious creative writing class, I remind the original author of the final line of her piece: “The only way to combat ignorance is to let people speak freely and convince them of their illg uided conceptions.” I agree. This, as I’ve tried to impress, is what political correctness is. It is exactly what the professor was trying to do — let the students write freely, notice an illg uided conception and try to convince them of it. Don’t run from political correctness, let it g uide debate and lead to greater understanding for both parties. I see how this letter could be construed as an arm of the politically correct establishment trying to silence the free-thinkers. It’s not that. I’m just a student who read another student’s column and disagreed. Like good political correctness, I do not want to silence expression, but instead push back on an idea that I see as harmful. Can’t we agree that is worthwhile? Eli Friedman is a freshman in the School of Literature, Science & the Arts.
SAM FOGEL | COLUMN
Donald Trump is a symptom of a larger problem
T
he race to win the Democratic presidential nomination continues, with the large selection of candidates narrowing ever so slowly. There are 14 candidates still vying for the nomination, although the most recent debate in Los Angeles, California, only had seven. The remaining politicians are all trying their hardest to make their presence known for the upcoming Iowa caucus on Feb. 3. Throughout the campaign, hot button issues have been debated and discussed, including but not limited to universal healthcare and climate change. But the one thing that unites most of them is this — President Donald Trump’s defeat in 2020. Of course, this is a no-brainer. They want to win the Oval Office, and he’s the opponent. But there is more substance to it than just that. One of the biggest concerns for the Democrats is focusing too much on Trump specifically. Beating Trump in the upcoming election isn’t enough to stop his malignant brand of absolutism and demagog uery. In the sixth Democratic debate, the question of “Who can beat Trump?” was discussed a lot. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Mn., succinctly demonstrated the fixation with her line that the Democrats “should have someone heading up this ticket that has actually won and been able to show they can gather the support (they) talk about with moderate Republicans and independents, as well as a fired-up Democratic base.” She cited her Midwestern ties to bolster her claim of electability. Former Vice President Joe Biden can be quoted in his campaign announcement warning that “if we give Donald Trump eight years in the White House, he will forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation.” The problem is that he already has, and that none of the problems that gave rise to him in the first place are being addressed. Trump is a symptom of the country’s real problems, and his shadow will loom over us until we tackle the source. As painful as it is to look back at the election cycle
in 2016, it’s unfortunately a must in forming a strategy not only for 2020, but for the future presidencies to come. But rather than looking at the strengths of the opponent, more focus needs to be put on the Democratic inadequacy. One of the biggest failures for the Democrats was in the Rust Belt, the group of Midwestern states that have taken the biggest losses from globalization and automation. The swing states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin turned red and gave candidate Trump the electoral votes he needed to win. The margin of victory? Less than one percent in all three states. His win wasn’t a guarantee. The win in Michigan can be chalked up to decreased participation in urban areas, and increased participation in rural ones.
What comes after Trump is just as important as what to do with him now. Trump was able to appeal to the disgruntled workers of the Midwest, allowing them to channel their anger towards things like immigration and “the left” (despite neither of those things really causing their problems). Wayne County voter turnout dropped by 4 percent, while the rest of the state’s turnout went up by 3 percent. Winning back these states is in reach for the Democrats, but they have to inspire voter turnout. As former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton showed, it’s hard to inspire the politically diverse constituency of potential Democratic voters to turn out and vote, leading to a 20-year low in 2016. It’s hard to say exactly how the loss could’ve been avoided, but Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.,’s primary wins in the Rust Belt could’ve been the canary in the coal mine for the loss in 2016. Sanders appealed to voters by promising the same things Trump did — economic security in an increasingly unequal world. It shows that it’s not impossible
to gain support for leftleaning policies in the more rural and industrial areas of the country. Bernie is again trying to appeal to the Rust Belt with policies that promise better conditions and combat economic inequality. The unfortunate reality of the situation, which many of the current Democrats fail to recognize, lies in the growing disparity between the haves and have-nots. Demagog ues like Trump will utilize the inherent uncertainty and fear of job loss and declining conditions to gain support, and inevitably worsen the conditions they said they would combat. The hypothetical situation of a competent candidate armed with the gaslighting techniques the Republicans learned over Trump’s first term is a scary one. Lying and fearmongering are now common in the Republican party. Trump’s brazen lies to the American people to inspire confidence would be much more pernicious and believable if they weren’t undermined by his lessthan-stellar public image. Regardless of whether Trump is removed or not, the situation of a fearmongering Republican candidate appears more and more likely. As I’m sure most of us know, President Donald Trump was formally impeached by the House of Representatives this December, which leaves the process in limbo with regard to his trial for removal. It’s unclear when the trial will actually happen, as Senate members are seemingly reluctant to proceed with the trial. Removal seems unlikely, with a supermajority needed with a reluctant GOP, but that doesn’t mean it’s completely implausible. Whether the competent candidate be Vice President Mike Pence or someone else in the future, things will end poorly. What comes after Trump is just as important as what to do with him now, and that foresight is being lost in the whirlwind that is the 2020 election. Unless we want another fearmongering despot to rise to power, we must recognize the problem and fix it before it’s too late. Sam Fogel can be reached at samfogel@umich.edu.
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, January 22, 2020 — 5A
BOOK REVIEW
ALBUM REVIEW
‘The Dishwasher’ is loud, energetic and absorbing EMILY YANG
Daily Arts Writer
U.S. AIR FORCE / KEN HACKMAN
Little Big Town’s latest is a slice of country life KATIE BEEKMAN Daily Arts Writer
It’s a Saturday night in the middle of nowhere. You’re driving down a dirt road (in a pickup truck, obviously) and passing cornfield after cornfield. Eventually you reach a massive bonfire where attractive young people are gathered. Tailgates are down. Speakers are turned up. Everyone is drinking. It’s a common image in popular contemporary country music. The light-hearted, quasi-romantic night in the backwoods. One that Little Big Town turns on its head in the group’s latest release Nightfall. “I’d paint a river of stars for you / Cross the ocean of a sapphire blue” lead singer Karen Fairchild claims on the cinematic “River of Stars.” Other tracks don’t detail landscapes so explicitly, but all of Nightfall exists in this starry, inky blue atmosphere. “Next to You” and the title track glow with the kind of vulnerability that can only come out in the dark. And while the band has fun on songs like “Over Drinking” and “Wine, Beer, Whiskey,” it’s obvious throughout Nightfall that Little Big Town’s nights are largely long, quiet and contemplative. Nightfall is constructed to give the group’s strong harmonies the space to shine. Stripped-back instrumentals tend to build into bridges that burst into sparkling group revelations — like the moment
you’ve been staring at the sky just long enough to shiver. Still, Little Big Town recognizes that our haunting, late night thoughts aren’t always so syrupy. In fact, they oftentimes sting. On “The Daughters” Fairchild challenges commonly-held beliefs without blinking. “I’ve heard of God the son and God the
Nightfall Little Big Town Capitol Records Nashville
Father / I’m just looking for a God for the daughters” she sings. Songs like “Problem Child” and “Questions” explore the feelings of self-doubt and insecurity that tend to lurk in the early morning hours, whether they be about one’s identity or a past relationship. The standout “Sugar Coat” is
equal parts clever and gutting. A woman’s tendency to gloss over the ugliness in her life, like her husband’s infidelity, is made physical. The coat was “passed down” from her mom and Fairchild’s voice soars as she ends up wishing she could take it off. The atmosphere of Nightfall is a walk in the woods miles away from a corn field, bonfire bash. But Little Big Town has never been a stranger to wandering off the beaten path. In 2015, the band had their biggest crossover hit to date with “Girl Crush,” a love letter between women … about a man. In 2016, the group released the Pharell Williamsproduced Wanderlust. The group’s composition itself is noteworthy — very few successful country groups are fronted by women and even less by women over 40. What’s most remarkable about Nightfall then, is that it finds Little Big Town as clearheaded and wide-eyed as ever. Nightfall proves their staying power. Despite, or maybe because of, their wandering and “against the odds” makeup as a band, Little Big Town is triumphant on their ninth studio album, something artists in any genre are lucky to claim. Boasting a sound that’s funky and dark, simultaneously sleek and earthy, Little Big Town has never been very concerned with proving their country cred. Nonetheless, they’ve managed to make their own lane in the genre. It isn’t a dirt road, but it still has a worthwhile view.
The French-Canadian author Stéphane Larue has worked in the restaurant industry for most of his adult life — he’s now the part-owner of a bar in Montreal. In an interview, he described the progress of his career in the kitchen: “Dishwasher, kitchen helper. Then into the dining room: busboy, waiter, maitre-d’, manager.” Later in the same interview he comments that “the dishwasher sees everything, like a fly on the wall.” This easy familiarity with the lives of kitchen workers is clear in the pages of Larue’s debut novel, “The Dishwasher,” which was recently translated into English by Pablo Strauss. His novel places us in the teeming underside of nightlife in Montreal, peopled with the restaurant workers, bartenders and bussers that make it possible. His unnamed protagonist enters this world mostly out of desperation: after months of succumbing to his gambling addiction, he has exhausted his savings and the patience of his friends — Larue based his writing about gambling addiction on his own experiences, and so he depicts it with bracing intimacy. His exasperated cousin Malik loans him eighty dollars and gives him a lead on a job at a high-end restaurant, work that proves both punishing and rewarding, and begins, slowly and haltingly, to lift him from his initial pathetic condition. Larue writes in an unusually direct, immersive way, generally avoiding expository writing. He instead prefers to describe more or less every moment of his protagonist’s life for the first few weeks at his job. Nothing is skipped or bypassed; we nearly get to the level of seeing every dropped dish and scrubbed pan. His style feels exhaustive: each detail needs to be explained, itemized and followed to conclusions. This is especially apparent in the extended scenes of kitchen work early on in the book. To pick an example at random: “From that moment on I tried desperately to keep up as Bébert listed off the thousandand-one things I had to do. He tossed ten bags of spinach onto the stainless prep counter. My job was to pull off the stems and throw out any rotten bits.
He came back out of the walkin with two waxed cardboard boxes which he threw at the foot of the sink. I was to pick out twenty heads of romaine, and forty heads of leaf lettuce, pull off the leaves, wash them in ice-cold water, then dry them in an unwieldy salad spinner that I had to hold against my body as I turned.” It continues in this fashion for nearly fifteen pages. This description is both utilitarian (forty heads of leaf lettuce versus twenty heads of romaine, don’t make a mistake) and physical, sensory (“ice-cold” water, the salad spinner that has to be embraced). Larue seems intent on putting the reader into the head of his protagonist, making the reader inhabit the stress of the kitchen. This style is definitely an acquired taste. The plot is so tightly wound, so furiously coupled to the materials of existence, that it is both invigorating and exhausting to read. The intensity and detail of Larue’s writing feels appropriate for what he’s trying to convey about his subject, and it works well in
The Dishwasher Stéphane Larue Biblioasis Sept. 26, 2019
bringing his world to life. Rhythms start to emerge from this dense texture. The restaurant workers do grueling, difficult, fast-paced work night after night and then usually go to an after-hours bar to exhaust the remainder of their energy. The scenes in dimly lit dives are hazy and confusing, largely taken up by the protagonist struggling to understand what’s going on while eyeing the video lottery machines in the corner. These wild nights out become basically another method for the protagonist to distract himself from the thought of gambling, one that only sometimes works. He never really becomes a hero, and no one thing can necessarily keep him away from his vice. We
Taking a look inside HBO’s newest hit, ‘The Outsider’ JUSTIN POLLACK Daily Arts Writer
Over the last year, criticallyacclaimed shows such as “The Act,” “Unbelievable” and the recently released Aaron Hernandez mini-series “Killer Inside” represent America’s newfound fascination with the true-crime genre. Similarly, the popularity of shows such as “Black Mirror” and “Stranger Things” reveals the expanding market for horror. All factors considered, it was only a matter of time before the genres of horror, crime and mystery melded together on HBO to give us “The Outsider,” the televised adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name. Georgia detective Ralph Anderson (Ben Mendelsohn, “Ready Player One”) is called to investigate the most horrifying case he will probably ever work on — the violent death of a child named Frankie Peterson, who has been deformed in unimaginable ways. As any person would react in this situation, he rushes to find a way to get the monster that did this off the streets and to deliver
vindication to a community rattled by this unthinkable crime. Several reliable witnesses identify Terry Maitland
All factors considered, it was only a matter of time before the genres of horror, crime and mystery melded together on HBO to give us “The Outsider”
(Jason Bateman, “Arrested Development”), a universallyliked local, as a suspect. A
seemingly normal youth baseball coach, no one can imagine Maitland committing such a crime. However, the evidence points to another conclusion: A woman saw him helping Frankie into his van, a kid saw him come out of the woods with blood all around his face and he was spotted all over the area on security cameras. He even called a cab and made sure it was recorded. It’s almost as though Terry wanted to be seen. Encouraged by the District Attorney Bill Samuels (Michael Esper, “Ray Donovan”), Anderson publicly arrests Terry at a Little League baseball game. Without DNA evidence nor questioning, the police have publicly condemned Maitland as a child murderer. But, despite the overwhelming physical evidence that points to Terry being at the scene of Frankie’s death, there is video evidence that proves he was dozens of miles away at a literary conference at the exact same time of the murder. How can he be two places at once? It’s impossible to blame Anderson for his decision to implicate Maitland, however,
instead get the sense of someone buffeted around by forces largely outside of his control, remaining at the mercy of his own desires and fixations. To that end, Larue has a certain attention toward the surrender and decreation inherent in this lifestyle. The life of a restaurant worker starts to feel centrifugal and self-similar — hedonism erases frantic industriousness and vice versa. Work and play share a potential for dissociation, for a kind of destructive flow. The point is driven home by the protagonist’s taste in music — there’s a depiction of a metal concert that feels representative of the relationality that this book pursues. “She jumped into the melee, climbed over the swirl of bodies smashing into each other, then let herself be swept along by the crowd, tumbling over the human sea all the way to the foot of the stage.” Gambling feels like this, too: the narrator describes the “electric shocks” he feels when he’s tempted to relapse and the “euphoria” of winning. The protagonist thrives on momentum, and by the end of the book you can tell that he’s well-suited for the restaurant industry mostly because he needs to feel that “euphoria” in one way or another. As you might expect, Larue neither denigrates or romanticizes this life. The cooks and dishwashers have embarrassing, unromantic ailments: bad backs, limps, eczema, rosacea. They sweat over hot stoves, they cut themselves badly, they are too exhausted or hungover to function correctly. One can clearly see how burnout works in this world, how easy it would be to suddenly find oneself too spent to continue. There are moments, however fleeting, of solidarity — at one point the sous-chef looks at the protagonist after a particularly difficult moment “as if he had all the time in the world,” and there’s another moment where the protagonist’s coworkers fend off an assailant in a bar. The novel is generous to its subject and on balance ends up feeling compassionate underneath the intensity of its surfaces. It never feels like Larue wants to condemn or exalt any aspect of this world, instead seeking synthesis — resilience becomes the desperate material of life rather than a palliative; hope and struggle feed off each other.
T V REVIEW
HBO
the show makes it clear that
The Outsider Series Premiere HBO Sundays @ 9 p.m.
sometimes, the easy answer is not always the right answer.
The show also allows viewers to question Anderson’s integrity: Is his hasty push towards justice derived out of a concern for the community, or rather just a means to vindicate the loss of his own son, who died at a young age? Fans of the book might be slightly disappointed that the first 170 pages of the novel are rushed through at a breakneck pace in the pilot, but executive producer Jason Bateman is clearly more
interested in the action of the aftermath than the foreplay of the set-up. It’s hard to argue with this rationale, as the hook is good enough to distract from the sometimes dizzying pace of the show. By propelling us forward into the center of the narrative, “The Outsider” makes us more engaged than we would be if the show had taken its time.
Sometimes, the easy answer is not always the right answer.
Arts
6A — Wednesday, January 22, 2020
FILM NOTEBOOK
PARAMOUNT PICTURES
The zany glory of ‘Clue,’ more than 30 years later KARI ANDERSON For the Daily
In the first ten minutes of “Clue,” writer Jonathan Flynn (“My Cousin Vinny”) tells you exactly what kind of movie you’re in for. As Miss Scarlet (Lesley Ann Warren, “Victor/ Victoria”) and Professor Plum (Christopher Lloyd, “Back to the Future”) drive up to the mysterious mansion that serves as the setting for the story, their car stops near the gate. After a dramatic flash of lightning, Miss Scarlet asks, “Why has the car stopped?” “It’s frightened,” whispers Professor Plum. Jokes like these demonstrate that “Clue” is not only a whodunit mystery, but a film that is eccentric, cheesy and an overall delightful experience. When “Clue” was first released theatrically in 1985, I have to assume that people were confused. Why, one might ask, would someone take a board game with no distinct plot and turn it into a movie? In the number of times I have played a game of Clue, I have never thought, “Man I wish
this board game had a fulllength feature film based on it.” Yet, such a film exists and has entertained, as well as perplexed audiences for 35 years. Every time I watch “Clue,” I
Why, one might ask, would someone take a board game with no distinct plot and turn it into a movie?
find it funnier than the last time I watched it, as I pick up on the crass jokes that went over my head when I was younger. For this reason, I was excited to see that the Michigan Theater was
showing “Clue” as part of their “Whodunnit Wednesdays” series this month. The film’s premise stays true to the game, including the same six main characters: Miss Scarlet, Colonel Mustard (Martin Mull, “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman”), Mrs. White (Madeline Kahn, “Young Frankenstein”), Professor Plum, Mrs. Peacock (Eileen Brennen, “Private Benjamin”) and Mr. Green (Michael McKean, “This Is Spinal Tap”). A semblance of plot is added through additional characters, specifically Mr. Boddy (Lee Ving, “Flashdance”) who blackmails each character with sensitive information, and Wadsworth (Tim Curry, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”), the archetypal butler, who brings the group together with the intention of exposing Mr. Boddy’s scheme. Due to the limiting nature of the source material, the plot feels forced at times, filled with heavy-handed attempts to remind you that, yes, this movie was based on a board game. For example, when Mr. Boddy hands each character one of the iconic weapons from the
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
game (a rope, a wrench, a lead pipe, a revolver, a candlestick and a knife), we shouldn’t be surprised that he is almost immediately murdered. Beyond the somewhat ludicrous plotline, there are a number of redeeming qualities that make “Clue” truly enjoyable. The all-star cast, for example, does an excellent job using the witty dialogue to their advantage — Curry in particular, whose rapid-fire recreation of the night’s events near the end of the film is an incredibly funny sequence that is made all the better by the comical music accompanying the scene. Another is the costumes — Miss Scarlet’s dramatic coat and Mrs. Peacock’s bejeweled cat-eye glasses add a touch of extravagance and flair to the film. The real star of the film, however, is its wit and dark humor. There’s a reason “Clue” has been a cult classic for so long: It follows the typical “Whodunnit” format while filling the time between murders with physical gags, clever quips and satirical subversions of the genre. If “Clue” ignored the oddness
The real star of the film, however, is its wit and dark humor.
of its premise, it would have been a movie that took itself too seriously; instead, “Clue” embraces everything that is weird about it, and the effect is delightful.
DAILY DIY COLUMN
Learning from the ‘indie’ trap RYAN COX
Daily DIY Columnist
When I was in middle school, my introduction to music was the Indie Rock Radio station on Pandora. Up until that point, I didn’t really put much effort into finding new music to listen to. I was either listening to South Florida’s Number One Classic Rock Station, 98.7 FM - The Gator, or a compilation of greatest hits CDs that my parents had accumulated throughout the years. When I first learned about this thing called indie music, I didn’t really know exactly what the word ‘indie’ meant. I interpreted it to simply mean less well-known, or something along those lines. It wouldn’t be for another few years when I heard the word used in front of other art forms, like films and games, that I would decide to look into the actual meaning of the word. When you google the word ‘indie,’ the search engine politely tells you that the word, when used as an adjective, means “not belonging to or affiliated with a major record or film company.” When I first heard this definition, I interpreted it to mean something similar to what I now interpret DIY to mean: independent. I thought of albums put out by bands that were only able to afford making the album after playing at their local bar dozens of times, or maybe a small group of friends helping out a community of bands that they like in order to promote and produce their music. But later, I started to notice that this definition was changing a bit. When I found an older playlist put out by Spotify of the top indie tracks in 2015, I was a bit confused. There were tracks put out
by bands that were signed to multi-million dollar record companies, which to me seemed to go against the meaning of the word indie entirely. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not dismissing the quality of that music at all — Sufjan Stevens, an artist that I greatly admire, was pretty high up on that playlist. It simply seems as though the word indie has shifted from referring to an independent project to becoming a synonym for alternative. Indie rock now seems more like an offshoot of alternative rock. And now, it seems like this is starting to happen, albeit slowly, with the word DIY. Thankfully, I haven’t heard of any band signed to a record label that began as a twenty million dollar joint venture being referred to as a DIY band. However, more and more each day, it seems like the adjective is thrown around to describe the sound of bands instead of the background of those bands. Bands with a lofi, alternative sound are increasingly being referred to as DIY bands, regardless of how much of the work they’re actually doing themselves. I’m not trying to be a gatekeeper of the word DIY — I truly want as many people as possible to be aware and involved in the DIY community. I don’t want to pretend to be some sort of authority on what is and isn’t DIY. I absolutely don’t have the experience or knowledge to make that claim, and I don’t believe any one individual does. What I do know for certain is that this community is important. The passion that runs through the DIY community is truly inspiring and is something I hope everyone gets a chance to experience. I just don’t want DIY to be known for anything besides that passion.
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Release Date: Wednesday, Janury 22, 2020 22, 2020 Release Date: Wednesday, January
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Construction guideline 5 Pitfalls 10 Bible book that chronicles the conversion of Paul 14 Rake prong 15 Soprano Fleming 16 Fluctuate 17 500 sheets of paper 18 “I’m on __!” 19 Access, as a computer program 20 Combat 23 Characterized by 24 Provide parenting for 27 Art Deco icon 28 Compel to land, as a plane 32 Massage therapist’s employer 34 Penn. neighbor 35 Handling the situation 36 Lilly of pharmaceuticals 39 Coffee cup insulators 42 Texting format, for short 43 “Boogie Nights” actor Reynolds 45 Night school subj. 46 Fashion plate 48 Red or white unit 51 Put one over on 54 Islamic denomination 55 Oregon city near the mouth of the Columbia 58 Speaking Spanglish, say ... or a hint to what’s hidden in 20-, 28and 48-Across 62 Competent 64 Suck-up 65 Afrikaans speaker 66 Shiraz’s land 67 Make one’s case 68 Cupid’s wings 69 Anti-DUI org. 70 Tango moves 71 “This is for you”
DOWN 1 Guitar support 2 Missouri River capital 3 Fill with affection 4 Fixes in place 5 Activist’s handout 6 Install new shingles on 7 Quote book abbr. 8 Ill-gotten gains 9 Move for money 10 Guacamole ingredient 11 Underwriting? 12 Roman three 13 Many a crossword clue: Abbr. 21 Ocean trenches 22 Fury 25 Enjoy the pool 26 Tonsillitis-treating MDs 29 Former “Entertainment Tonight” co-anchor Nancy 30 Make growl, as an engine 31 Sheet music symbol 33 Actor Baldwin 36 Goes back out
37 Humdinger 38 Like a rock-solid contract 40 Language suffix 41 Start of civilization? 44 Constantly 47 Bureaucratic bigwig 49 Impersonated 50 On the injured list 52 Camden Yards player
53 One-dimensional 56 Eye annoyances 57 Be on the same page 59 Share-a-ride pickup hrs. 60 Microsoft Excel command 61 Compensation 62 Crossbow wielder’s asset 63 Maidenform garment
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WHISPER “Kevin takes 27 minutes to write and delete an email.” puzzle by sudokusnydictation.com
“Kevin is out of pocket!”
01/22/20
“Make a sale, Kevin.”
By Jared Tamarkin (c)2020 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
01/22/20
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, January 22, 2020 — 7A
Upperclassmen stepping up and making an impact for Wolverines TIEN LE
Daily Sports Writer
The seniors were chatting at the back of the bus. Last weekend, the flight to State College didn’t go exactly as planned. It got redirected to Harrisburg, Penn., and from there the Michigan hockey team had to bus two hours to its rightful destination of State College. While the Wolverines were en route, the seniors all sat together in the last rows and talked about their play. Defensively, they had things locked down. Offensively, they had to find a spark. “We’re like ‘Oh, all we need is just kind of start clicking on offense, and we’ll start taking off,’ ” senior forward Nick Pastujov said. Eleven goals were scored over two games against Penn State — leading to a 6-0 win Friday, and a 4-4 tie and double-overtime win Saturday. Seniors accounted for four of those goals. They had pieced it together. In addition to scoring, they accounted for five assists. The seniors had ignited the offense. “Some of the younger guys are still overperforming and playing really well,” senior forward Will Lockwood said. “But it’s nice to see some of the leadership from some older guys step in and you know, get some credit on this.” It was a crucial component the team felt had been missing all year. After the onslaught of goals,
the seniors looked at each other and said: “Hey, we kind of called it.” It was a big turnaround from the early scoring struggles Michigan faced in the first half of the year. But in the second half the team — seniors in particular — have come with a vengeance. Entering the season, there were certain expectations for the upperclassmen. Their leadership role wasn’t meant to be exclusively vocal. They needed to demonstrate it in their play too. And while they seemingly succeeded in the former, the latter was a glaring issue. They just couldn’t convert. “I think it’s good that we’re finally starting to click and put up points,” Pastujov said on the seniors. “... It’s huge that once we started clicking offensively, especially just the way that Penn State (and) Notre Dame played where if we just keep rolling over on them in their own zone, they just can’t sustain the same way that we can.” It was a dominant performance that led the way to more than just wins. For the upperclassmen to take charge, pave a lead and ultimately win the game, it showed the younger players the template for what the Wolverines are capable of doing. Sometimes, all it takes is seeing that it’s possible before believing that it can be done on a consistent basis. “I think with us to have that
Oh, all we need is just kind of start clicking on offense.
Some of the younger guys are still overperforming.
ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Senior forward Nick Pastujov was part of a key conversation among Michigan’s seniors on the back of the bus from Harrisburg to State College last weekend.
hot start I think it did lead into like, other guys because even the second game, like Granowicz was scoring, Beecher scoring,” Pastujov said on seniors leading by example. “Lot of these young guys kind of get the confidence that next game, where, ‘Yeah, they are Penn State. Yeah, they are sixth, but yeah, we can roll over on them. We can also play with them and kind of dominate them.’ “So I think that’s what helped us that second game, kind of stay in the game and keep that confidence up where no one was ever really doubting whether we’d come away with the win.” It was senior forward Jake Slaker that opened the floodgates with a snipe from a left-side rush Friday. Pastujov followed suit. And then the younger players took charge — much to the upperclassmen’s
relief. The seniors aren’t necessarily burdened by the stigma that they should be scoring, but the assumption can bear down on them at times. “Even as an older guy, where you kind of do feel that weight,” Lockwood said. “And that pressure of okay we got to be the ones that score. Just having those guys score is huge. Seeing that confidence that they get from it.” It’s lead by example, and when the younger players do find success, it’s just as exciting for the seniors as it is to them. For the upperclassmen, it was only a couple years ago that
they were in those shoes. “I remember when I was younger and I had my upperclassmen who had my back through tough times and then were there for me and excited for me when I had success,” Lockwood said. “And now I can flip roles and be the guy who is excited for another guy like Granowicz.” Added Slaker: “Even thinking back to my sophomore year, seeing (Cooper Marody) and (Tony Calderone) and (Dexter Dancs), just consistently producing, gave you confidence that like, not necessarily, even if I don’t score they’ll score, but it’s like, ‘We
Even as an older guy, where you kind of do feel that.
can do it you know like they’re a team that we can be like, they can be beat pretty much,’ and so that’s huge to see as a young guy like coming up.” Marody, Calderone and Dancs were the key players that manufactured a late-season run to the Frozen Four two years ago. What once was a showcase to the young Slaker, Lockwood, Pastujov and other then-underclassmen, is now a blueprint they’re aiming to follow. In what has thus far been a tumultuous season for the Wolverines, their veteran core stepping up to contribute offense doesn’t only set an example for the younger players, but it can potentially set the stage for a second-half run. And through four games, that certainly seems to be the case.
Pacific breeze Michigan sweeps through West Coast trip, beating Washington on Friday and Oregon on Saturday AIDAN WOUTAS Daily Sports Writer
Eugene was unfamiliar territory to the Wolverines on their first away trip of the spring season for Sunday’s match against Oregon. Nonetheless the No. 17 Michigan men’s tennis team (2-1) took on their new opponent in stride with a 5-2 win in both singles and doubles. The Wolverines’ West Coast trip proved to be a successful one on the heels of a tough loss at home to North Carolina State last week, with another dominant 7-0 win over Washington on Friday. “These are Pac-12 teams with a tough schedule and they’re used to playing top teams,” Michigan coach Adam Steinberg said. “So we knew they were going to make a run, but we withstood it and it was a great win.” The Wolverines’ two doubles pairs made quick work of the Ducks, who were the highestranked doubles opposition they’ve faced this season. After an initial 4-0 run, the duo of sophomore Andrew Fenty and junior Mattias Siimar withstood a four-point Oregon comeback to ultimately come away with a 6-4 win. In the second set, freshman Ondrej Styler and senior Connor Johnston were tied with Oregon before taking the last three games and securing the win, guaranteeing Michigan the doubles point. “Having a great team stems from having great doubles,” Steinberg said. “So especially on the road, to get the doubles point was a big lift for us.” Singles play was more mixed. Styler, still new to the college tennis circuit, put on a confident performance against Oregon’s Emmanuel Coste with wins in two straight sets. Senior Nick Beaty brought the Wolverines’ lead to 3-0 with another straight-sets victory over Luke Vandecasteele. Mattias Siimar won both sets as well to solidify
Michigan’s singles’ victory. Juniors Harrison Brown and Kristofer Siimar ultimately fell to Oregon after dominant wins in their first sets. “I’m glad we won all six first sets in singles but then we let them back in, which is something we have to work on,” Steinberg said. “If there was one negative, it’s that we have to work on keeping our foot on the gas like I know we’re capable of doing.” Steinberg was particularly impressed by Styler and Beaty’s performances, given how little they’ve played this season. “Ondrej had a great weekend and his wins were a big lift for us in terms of his spirit as well as
getting used to playing college tennis,” Steinberg said. “Beaty really stood out as well with his win, and given he hasn’t played as much in his college career so it was great to see.” Given Michigan has never played at Oregon before as well as the difficult time they had against the Wolfpack last week, Steinberg found this win to be particularly uplifting. “I think it challenged the team to start the schedule like this, going out west to play in these tough environments in a place we’ve never been before,” Steinberg said. “So I think it got us much more match-ready going forward.”
We have to work on keeping our foot on the gas.
PAARTH SHARMA Daily Sports Writer
After a disappointing loss in its season opener to No. 23 North Carolina State, the No. 17 Michigan men’s tennis team (2-1) headed to the Pacific Northwest in search of its first win of the season. The team bounced back in dominant fashion, notching wins over a pair of undefeated Pac-12 opponents. Last Friday, Michigan blew the doors off a then-undefeated Washington (2-1) team, going 6-0 in singles matches and 2-0 in doubles. Just two days later, the Wolverines headed south to face off against Oregon (3-1), and once again won the match decidedly, winning four of six singles matches as well as both doubles matches. In an effort to prevent a repeat of the team’s opener, the Wolverines’ underclassmen
stepped up, with sophomore Andrew Fenty and true freshman Ondrej Styler combining 4-0 against the Huskies, winning a singles and doubles match apiece. Notable was the team’s sweep in doubles matches, which have emerged as Michigan’s strength. The combination of Fenty and junior Mattias Siimar is 3-0 this season and is currently the fifth-ranked doubles team in the country, giving the Wolverines a big edge in the doubles game. Michigan has won the doubles point in all three of its regular season matches this season, and twice clinched the point early. “It all stems from our energy in doubles,” Michigan coach Adam Steinberg said. “I thought we played really well both days and that set the tone for us. We came out, won the doubles point, got up in some matches in singles and started feeling
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Sophomore Andrew Fenty is coming off a historically strong freshman season and won both his doubles matches this weekend, at Oregon and Washington.
comfortable. That’s what happened in Washington.” The team’s usual dominance in the doubles game was accompanied by an especially strong singles performance. Five of the six singles matches were won in straight sets, with Nick Beaty taking care of business with a 6-2, 6-1 performance. With the strength of their doubles team and a wealth of experience, a return to the NCAA tournament for the fifth straight year seems likely given the wealth of young talent the Wolverines have at their disposal. There’s Fenty, who had one of the best freshman seasons in Michigan tennis history. The Washington, D.C.-native took home the ITA Freshman of the Year and Big Ten Freshman of Year awards, was voted FirstTeam All-Big Ten and compiled a 27-7 record in singles play. Then there’s Styler, the team’s only freshman. Hailing from the Czech Republic, Styler was a force on the junior circuit, reaching a No. 13 world ranking and winning the Junior French Open. While the transition from junior tennis to the college level is always difficult, Styler appears to be transitioning into the game right in time for the Wolverines’ regular season. Looking ahead, the team will look to build on the momentum from the two wins, heading to the ITA Kick-off Tournament next weekend, where they look to potentially face off against No. 13 Illinois in a preview of what could be an important conference matchup down the road. “The guys responded really well on the road,” Steinberg said. “These are two very tough teams, and coming off a loss it’s not easy. Especially with the schedule we have, it’s tough every single match, so I know how big it was that we won at Washington and then had a great win yesterday against Oregon.”
8A — Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan must protect home court A
sk any coach or player right now and they’ll tell you how hard it is to win a road game in the Big Ten. “With this league, seven years in it, there is no place we go where it’s CONNOR not raucous, BRENNAN loud and filled-up with passionate fan bases,” Minnesota coach Richard Pitino said after the Golden Gophers beat Michigan on Jan. 12 in Minneapolis. “We’ve gotta have a great home crowd. I’m very appreciative of every fan that comes to the games. Everywhere we play is a madhouse. That’s why the Big Ten is awesome.” “I think it’s just the crowd,” freshman guard Cole Bajema said on Tuesday. “Obviously it gets loud when other teams get on a run. When it gets loud, it’s difficult to hear play calls and other types of things. I mean, as the record shows, home court plays a big role so far.” That might even be an understatement. Six weeks into conference play and road teams are a combined 9-42 in Big Ten matchups. What’s more, no one’s been immune to the road woes — No. 17 Maryland is 1-3, No. 19 Iowa and newly-ranked Rutgers are both 1-2. Just last week, Michigan State was drubbed by 29 points at Purdue. Michigan, meanwhile, is 0-4 away from Crisler Center. Its opponent on Wednesday night, Penn State, despite being 13-5 overall, is 0-3. Those last two figures underscore the larger point: Back home, the Wolverines need to win their next two games — the first against the Nittany Lions and the second
against Illinois on Saturday. Michigan, which has lost three of its last four, currently sits 11th in the Big Ten standings at 2-4. While it’s only mid-January and it has fourteen opportunities remaining to improve that position, residing amongst the likes of Northwestern and Nebraska — both slated to miss the NCAA Tournament according to Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology projections — is not ideal. As much as Michigan coach Juwan Howard maintains that his team is focused solely on the next game and that the NCAA Tournament “hasn’t even crossed his mind,” the Wolverines’ standing becomes a lot more precarious if they continue to lose Big Ten games. And, given their struggles on the road thus far, protecting their home court seems like the simplest way to avoid such a situation. “Right now, we’re focusing on Penn State,” Howard said. “We’re controlling what we can control and that’s coming out and playing with a lot of energy and effort. We know we’re going to have a home crowd here that’s looking forward to seeing some Michigan basketball in Crisler, so our guys are juiced up and excited about this opportunity.” From a sheer numbers perspective, beating the Nittany Lions and the Fighting Illini would clearly boost the Wolverines’ resumé. 13-6 is better than 11-6, or the other alternatives. 4-4 is better than their current mark of 2-4. Certain things are remarkably intuitive. Even more important is what back-to-back victories would do for Michigan’s confidence. The recent skid has seemingly shaken the spirit of a team that won the Battle 4 Atlantis just two months ago with relative ease. “I think (emotion) is some-
MEN’S GYMNASTICS
Wolverines take first
at the Windy City Invite BRENDAN ULANCH For The Daily
RUCHITA IYER/Daily
Juwan Howard says he hasn’t worried about the NCAA Tournament.
thing that we need, something that we lost during the course of the season,” freshman forward Franz Wagner said on Friday after a 90-83 loss at Iowa. “... I think that’s part of the game. You’re confident in yourself, you’re trying to win and you’re trying to stand up for your team.” Added Bajema: “Getting two home games in a row definitely can get our confidence back up again before we go back on the road. It definitely helps.” A more nuanced approach to dissecting the Wolverines’ losses must include the fact that they’re still without junior forward Isaiah Livers. By now, the effect of his absence due to a groin injury has been well-documented — Michigan sorely misses his on-court presence and scoring. If he were to return soon and lead the Wolverines to a string of victories, the committee would take that into account. Further, none of Michigan’s losses fall into the category of “a bad loss.” When viewed individually, tasting defeat at Illinois, Michigan State, Minnesota and Iowa is somewhat
understandable. When considered as part of a pattern, a different story emerges. All that is to say, the Big Ten is deep. “The beauty of this conference is you’re going to get Quad 1 win opportunities every single week,” Pitino said. “You can look at this conference top to bottom and you can make a case right now, and it is mid-January, you can get 12 teams in (the NCAA Tournament).” Given the Wolverines’ home-court advantage in the next two contests, victories over Penn State and Illinois would actually fall into the Quadrant 2 bucket. Nonetheless, with the Nittany Lions receiving AP votes and the Illini ranked 21st, they’d be quality wins. Wins they need. “A lot of home teams are winning and we want to keep that up,” senior center Jon Teske said. “We want to protect home court and play hard, play smart and we’ll see what happens.” Brennan can be reached at conbrenn@umich.edu or on Twitter @ConnrBrennan.
After coming in second in the Windy City Invitational last year, the Michigan men’s gymnastics team came into this year’s edition with a mission and a swagger unbounded. “We are the best team in the Big Ten,” Michigan coach Kurt Golder said. His confidence showed on the scoreboard — with a team score of 400.00 to close out the meet, the Wolverines took home first place against a field that included Big Ten opponents in Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois. Starting off strong is important in any sport, but especially in gymnastics where the smallest movements can make or break a meet. Junior Cameron Bock was ready to take his moment and run with it. Beginning on vault, Bock scored a career high 14.75 and Junior Nick Guy added a 14.45, coming third overall, to give the Wolverines the lead after their first event with a team score of 70.70. On the parallel bars, Bock lead the charge again with a team-high 14.10, good for second overall in the event. Senior Mitchell Brown was the next highest scorer for the Wolverines with 13.60. Despite the high individual scores, Illinois captured the lead after a strong performance on vault for its second rotation. Facing the lead change, Golder made sure to alert his squad to keep their guards up. Like a welloiled machine, the Wolverines followed his advice all night. On their third rotation, high bar, junior Jonathan Liu flipped his
way to a career high 13.75 and won the event overall while freshman Paul Juda contributed a strong 13.60. With those performances, Michigan regained the lead, carrying a team total 204.15. With Minnesota and Illinois not too far behind, the Wolverines didn’t waver. Through the fourth rotation, on floor, Bock again gave a stellar performance capturing second overall and scoring a team high 13.80. On the fifth rotation — now with over a two point lead for the Wolverines overall — Bock dominated the event with a 14.00. The next closest opposing score on the pommel horse was a 13.75. “(Bock) just sets a good standard,” Golder said. “(He) does it daily (and) hasn’t had a bad practice this year.” As Michigan held a 1.60 point lead heading into the last rotation, Juda put in a 13.30 performance with senior Thomas Paul and Bock each adding 13.20. After obtaining a 65.60 on rings, the Wolverines secured the victory with a team score of 400.00, holding off Minnesota’s 398.75. Along with the team win, Brock achieved second in the all-around and Michigan won four out of six individual events while seven Wolverines made their collegiate debuts. Even with the strong start to the season, Golder still saw room for improvement. “Hit routine percentage is our focus,” Golder said. “ (We) can only control the controllables. Hopefully we can get our (injured) guys back in (and) strengthen our lineup (because) we’re not that deep.”
(Bock) hasn’t had a bad practice this year.
Robbins out with ACL Where Michigan goes without Kayla Robbins BRENDAN ROOSE Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan women’s basketball team has lost a key player in senior forward Kayla Robbins, who announced via Twitter on Tuesday that she tore her ACL in Sunday’s game at Nebraska. “Unfortunately, I have suffered an ACL tear that will keep me out for the remainder of my senior season” Robbins said in a statement posted to Twitter. “As much as it pains me that I will never get to play in a Michigan jersey ever again, I know that God has a plan for me and my future. This season I have accomplished more than I ever thought I could with my teammates and wouldn’t trade it for the world. I have great teammates, coaches, and staff that have been there every step of the way since I’ve been a freshman and continue to support me. Injuries will test you physically and emotionally, but know that I am strong enough to undergo my road to recovery. I am ready to help and support my team as we finish out the season. This will not be the last time you hear
my name be called. Forever, Go Blue!” The Nebraska game was her last as a Wolverine, as it is too late in the season to qualify for a medical redshirt. Robbins was the team’s second-leading scorer, averaging 11.6 points per game. Without her, Michigan will have a major hole to fill offensively. Her quick shooting release and agility off the dribble made her lethal when driving the lane and opened up space for teammates to create opportunities away from the hoop. She also provided a tough defensive presence, with eight blocks and a team-leading 29 steals. In her first three seasons, Robbins was a consistent producer off the bench, appearing in at least 33 games each year. This season was her first as a starter. As one of just two seniors on the team, Robbins took on a leadership role this year, providing scoring when the team desperately needed it during droughts. But the Wolverines will need to look elsewhere for that stability for the remainder of the season.
KENT SCHWARTZ Daily Sports Writer
From the first possession, senior forward Kayla Robbins wanted to make the game hers. Answering an early 3-pointer from Nebraska, she drove to the basket and drew a foul. Robbins made the first freethrow and missed the second — but corralled her own offensive rebound. The game plan Sunday was clear: Get the ball to Robbins. It worked, she was set up for another monster game. And then, on that same possession, she found herself open behind the defense, a clear look at the basket. The ball flew over the defender and Robbins caught it in the air. She landed awkwardly, a shout ringing out — her right knee buckling. Just like that, the Michigan women’s basketball team lost its best defender, its second-leading scorer and one of its most capable rebounders. Her ACL torn, the senior’s breakout season was finished. Her career, over. “Unfortunately, I have suffered an ACL tear that will keep me out for the remainder of my senior season,” Robbins said on Twitter Tuesday evening. “As much as it
pains me that I will never get to play in a Michigan jersey again, I know that God has a plan for me and my future.” From the very start of the season, she established what would come in her first year as a consistent starter. Scoring 17 points and playing 35 minutes in the seasonopener against Western Michigan, she led the team in scoring while locking down any offensive threat she guarded. “(Robbins) goes so hard, and she’s gone so hard throughout her career that she hits the wall,” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said after that game. “She does such a great job and then she doesn’t sustain, so I really challenged her, and Kayla and I spend a lot of time talking about this, ‘Kayla you’ve gotta be able to push through and continue because we’re gonna need you to play more minutes than you’ve ever played before in your life.’ ” Despite Barnes Arico’s concerns, Robbins didn’t show signs of slowing down, displaying her ability to keep up energy regardless of minutes or opponent. On Dec. 5 against Syracuse, Robbins proved she was a force to be reckoned with, scoring 23 points — a huge chunk of those coming in
ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Senior forward Kayla Robbins tore her ACL on Sunday at Nebraska in a 74-71 loss for the Wolverines, ending her season and career at Michigan.
the fourth quarter and overtime. Robbins, almost single-handedly, saved that game for the Wolverines, suffocating defenders and diving on loose balls, all with four fouls. Entering league play, Robbins’ name was arguably listed right below sophomore forward Naz Hillmon’s on opposing coaches’ scouting report. That didn’t stop her from playing big minutes and contributing big point and rebounding totals. For Michigan, though, Robbins’ biggest contributions came as a leader on the court. One of two senior captains, the team looked up to her as an example of what to strive for. “Kayla brings a spark every single day,” junior forward Hailey Brown said after a Dec. 31 victory over Penn State. “Every single day at practice as well, which does not go unnoticed. She’s willing to sacrifice her body for anything and she’s very aggressive on ball defense and she’s always there for help side. She always brings that extra energy and also pushes us to play at that next level.” Now, sidelined for the rest of the season, Robbins will have to transition into a leader off the court, where her voice will lead the way instead of her play. The Wolverines will also face a difficult transition on the court, with nothing to compensate for the loss of experience. “It’s just going to be difficult without an experienced person and that’s part of the worker she is,” senior guard Akienreh Johnson said. “She’s just not going to be on the court, so my leadership role is definitely going to have to change. “Mine is going to have to change, but also everybody else — (Hillmon) is going to have to step up, be a more vocal leader. (sophomore guard) Amy (Dilk) is going to have to step up, I think (sophomore guard) Danielle (Rauch) did a great job during that game of being a vocal leader.” Replacing Robbins’ on-court production, similar to filling her voice, will also be by committee. Michigan’s bench has struggled to make a significant impact on games, and while in Sunday’s matchup Rauch played a solid 31 minutes filling the void, more players will
need to produce in bigger ways. “(Robbins) is not the type of person you can replace, like there’s no one on our team that can replace (Robbins), but I think all, collectively, we’re going to have to step up,” Rauch said. “I think that a lot of the time when I’ve gotten in, I looked to like pass a lot and I think I’m going to have to start being a little more aggressive in that aspect.” While Rauch will have to step up, presumably replacing her starting spot, so will Robbins’ fellow starters like Johnson, Brown and Dilk. Johnson and Dilk will try and match her potent ability to drive to the lane, while Brown will need to try and space the floor like Robbins did. Sophomore forward Emily Kiser and freshman center Izabel Varejão will also play big roles in the paint in future games — with Kiser’s smooth, 49.1 percent shooting percentage a plus, spacing out the court and giving Hillmon more room to work. There were glimpses in Sunday’s game of the team coming together to try and replace Robbins — Johnson and Brown had some of their highest scoring games in recent memory with Brown nearly doubling her average point total and Johnson scoring four more than her average. Varejão looked dangerous for the first time in months for a short spurt in the second quarter, scoring eight. But it still wasn’t enough to procure a road win in Lincoln, and for Michigan to achieve its goals this season, those players will need to do even more. The Wolverines lost one of their most explosive players, someone who can — and has — changed the outcomes of games for them. That, though, wasn’t the thought running through Barnes Arico’s mind as she turned Robbins over, fear and worry plastered on her face, watching her captain writhe in pain. It wasn’t going through the team’s mind as they watched from afar, hands over mouths. It wasn’t in Johnson’s mind as she turned back from the timeout huddle, looking once, twice and thrice as she watched her roommate helped down the tunnel.
statement T H E M I C H I G A N DA I LY | JA N UA RY 2 2 , , 2 02 0
Why destruction is the new American pastime PHOTO COURTESY OF VERITY STURM
2B Wednesday, January 22, 2020 // The Statement
statement T H E M I CH I GA N DAI LY | JA N UA RY 1 5 , 2020
Managing Statement Editor Magdalena Mihaylova Deputy Editors Emily Stillman Marisa Wright
Designers Liz Bigham Kate Glad Copy Editors Madison Gagne Sadia Jiban
Associate Editor Reece Meyhoefer
Photo Editor Keemya Esmael Editor in Chief Elizabeth Lawrence Managing Editor Erin White
The voices we value
BY MEGHANN NORDEN-BRIGHT, STATEMENT COLUMNIST
their turn in the depersonalizing spotlight of the 24-hour news cycle. Yet, somehow, each time one of these stories highlighting the lack of female voices breaks, it triggers a familiar response in me — lots of complicated emotions, but primarily deep-seated, visceral disappointment. Lack of representation for female artists is not a new phenomenon, and I’m obviously pleased that these situations are getting called out. Why, then, does this subject continue to feel so fundamentally upsetting? Over this past winter break, my mother talked me into attending a jazz concert in which some acquaintances from high school were playing. I was less than thrilled about the prospect of attending for a multitude of reasons: an ex-boyfriend would be there, I hadn’t seen most of these people in years. Yet something else about the idea of attending — something PHOTO BY KEEMYA ESMAEL that I couldn’t quite put my finger on — made me uneasy. n the past few weeks of January, I went, subject to my mother’s pleading, news headlines, social media and essentially every aspect of my digital and because I was quite frankly bored by media sphere seem to have been dominated this point of break and had exhausted all my by Oscars news. Even for someone who con- hometown entertainment options. The band siders herself relatively removed from the was good, predictably — a conglomerate of world of cinema, it’s impossible to ignore students and recent grads from prestigious the buzz. Discussions about whether the music schools across the country. Around Netflix Original “Marriage Story” deserved me, the primarily male crowd bobbed their its nomination, if a remake of Bong Joon- heads in time to the music, contributing ho’s “Parasite” would be inherently Western enthusiastic “yeah”s and “alright!”s if a soloculture-centric and therefore ill-advised ist played a particularly intricate lick. — and, perhaps the most prominent story — Sitting in the corner, I felt myself unable the conspicuous absence of nominations for to engage with the energy around me. My women in major categories. attention fixed on the bass player — a young Lack of female voices in creative fields is woman remarkably good at staying on the by no means a new development — in Octo- beat and capturing the intricacies of diffiber of 2019 when the Museum of Modern cult chord changes. I watched as she bit her Art expanded its holdings to represent 28 lip and squinted at the music, her foot tappercent of works by female artists, this was ping and fingers plucking away at a steady seen as a major improvement in gender pari- rhythm. I knew her vaguely — my sister had ty. Many stories in this same vein have taken roomed with her at a jazz camp and she was
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studying at a well-renowned conservatory. Her presence on the stage fascinated me. She was one of two women in the sixteenpiece band, with the other playing trumpet in the back row. How must she feel, surrounded by men to every side of her? More interesting to me — how had she even made it onto the stage in this performance? In high school, I played piano in my school’s jazz band. Freshman year, when a boy a year older asked me to join his combo, or small jazz ensemble, with five other people, I jumped at the opportunity. I played at gigs, a few of them even paid, and went to jazz camp in the San Jacinto mountains during the summer. I was a jazz person, I decided. This was my niche, at least for the moment. Yet I found myself unwittingly beginning to occupy a particular role in this world I’d entered. The boy who asked me to join the band called me “sweetheart,” insisting he’d tutor me in the aspects of jazz I was still uncomfortable with. The few girls in the jazz ensembles I played in were relentlessly bombarded with male attention, and not the wanted kind. The dynamic in our school band was clear: The boys were there to be musicians and improve and the girls were there to make the band look more visually appealing. My high school band director didn’t do anything to dispel this notion, emphasizing his preference for women to wear “classy dresses” rather than pantsuits for performances and egging on boys in their pursuit of girls in the class. When I went to jazz camp during the summers, not a single instructor was a woman. I watched my male peers laugh at instructors’ jokes, saw the gleam in their eyes as they watched the instructors perform and knew that my friends were seeing all the possibilities of who they could become. I never had the opportunity to see any of that for myself. Sure, I’d never intended to be a serious jazz musician. But could my aspirations have been changed if I’d felt that I had a real place in the field? Jazz never felt as if it was made for me. It was made for the men around me, the boys following in their footsteps. I was just lucky if I got to tag along for part of that ride. Watching that bass player in the performance venue, all I could think about was all
the times she must have been called “sweetheart” or hit on in some other weird and insulting way, all while trying to do her job or perform the music she loved. I imagined all the times she’d been asked to wear a flattering dress for a performance. I thought of her taking master classes with the almostexclusively-male teachers, having nobody to see her future self mirrored in. In the 92 years the Academy Awards have existed, five women have been nominated for the Best Director category. Five — in almost a century. This statistic also doesn’t even begin to touch upon the discrimination toward women of color in the industry: In 2020, only one woman of color was nominated for any category, Cynthia Erivo for Best Actress. It’s also worth noting this nomination is for Erivo’s portrayal of Harriet Tubman — which, as Vox aptly addresses, feels a bit too much like a bad joke. I can’t help but wonder if those women in the film industry, in their directing classes or internships or workshops, were also called “sweetheart” by peers. If they also had almost exclusively men to look up to. If they also were painstakingly aware of the space they occupied in any given room, surrounded by men who never had to doubt their place there. If the continued lack of female representation feels simultaneously deeply familiar and fundamentally unsettling to me — a woman who has but dabbled in the creative fields — what must it feel like to women for whom this is their profession, their life? It’s clear that creative industries around us inherently value male voices more than female voices. That these are the projects, the films, the solo performances that society uplifts, at the expense of their female peers. I wish there had been more women, particularly women of color, nominated for the Oscars, but that’s such a small piece of the story. Before the films are made, a woman has to decide she wants to be a director and pursue a future in the industry. She has to practice her craft, to apply for tough jobs and internships, to decide this is her space and she’s going to climb her way to the top of it. And if the atmosphere surrounding the film industry is anything like the jazz sphere — and I have a nasty feeling that it is — women have a long, unpleasant road ahead before we get anywhere close to gender parity.
Wednesday, January 22, 2020 // The Statement
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The truth behind “sorry” BY ELI RALLO, STATEMENT COLUMNIST
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he loud music, dim lighting and cheap liquor blurred my surroundings in Rick’s American Cafe, an underground hideaway for most seniors at the University of Michigan. It was the beginning of another interminable Thursday night. It took me a few seconds to notice that a man had slid into the sticky upholstered seating next to me. He was inches away from my bare arm and lightly bumped into me, giving himself away. “Sorry,” I said, moving a bit closer to my friend, “My bad.” Instead of backing away, he leaned in closer: a stranger with dark features. “Don’t be sorry, hi,” he replied, too close to my face now — I leaned away again. He was right, I shouldn’t be sorry, he’d bumped into me. He proceeded to mercilessly hit on me — asking questions, prodding me with compliments — and didn’t seem to pick up on my lack of interest or desire. I acted politely, trying to both respond nicely yet appear uninterested, but it was no use. I continuously turned my back to him, facing my friends, and he poked at my exposed shoulders, asking for a phone number I had already told him I didn’t give out. When he failed to receive the affirmation he sought, he began to berate me and made me feel bad for being uninterested. Some of my friends got involved, politely asking him to leave me alone. Finally, before relocating to another bar, I said “I’m sorry, I’m just not interested right now. See you around.” I’m sure many women in Rick’s and other bars like it had similar experiences on that night, in past nights and will have them in the nights to follow. I couldn’t understand what gave him, a stranger, the agency to speak to me in a derogatory, patronizing way. Furthermore, the interaction triggered a thought: What would happen if women spoke to men in this way –– refusing no for an answer, calling a stranger “baby,” “sweetheart” or “sexy” and subsequently getting angry at them when they appear uninterested. What if women did this to men at bars or otherwise? Would they apologize to us politely as I just had, even when being harassed? Probably not. We would be labeled “psychopath,” “crazy” or even “bitch.” Though it may seem trivial, the difference in communication style between men and women, especially when they communicate with each other, is a much larger issue than just a run-in at a college bar. One could argue that these gendered behaviors permeate everyday life for women in both social and professional spheres. Along with the tolerance for the misbehavior of men toward women. In 2014, Jill Abramson, editor in chief of The New York Times, was fired on an unknown basis. Many speculated she was let go due to pushy and abrasive tactics in the newsroom: the way she spoke to employees. However, the widely agreed upon reason for her firing was that Abramson brought the issue of unequal pay –– between herself and her predecessor Bill Keller –– to the attention of The New York Times and was subsequently fired. Whatever the true reason, gender has been closely linked to the case and many women in the newsroom have decided it was a driving reason for her getting fired. Situations like this one showcase subtle sexism and
“bossy,” “cruel,” “mean-spirited,” “combative,” “rude,” “impossible” and “brusque” — to name a few terms — how many fewer women will seek out positions of power for fear of being called bossy or worse by their male counterparts? The gendered issue of stark communication differences trickles down to everyday life. Women are taught implicitly by society to make themselves smaller in large lecture settings and even small discussion sections in universities — to be spoken over or spoken at, opposed to in conjunction with. We apologize if we inconvenience a man, even if it isn’t an inconvenience; from bumping into someone on the street to declining sexual or romantic advancements. The patronizing way in which women are spoken to by men and the way women have been conditioned to speak has become such a prevalent issue that it has caught the attention of brands like the creators of Barbie, Mattel, Inc. Barbie’s new online vlog forum, Mattel Inc. released a vlog called “The Sorry Reflex.” In the video, Barbie teaches young women how to navigate social and professional spheres without using the word sorry when it isn’t necessary to say it. In the vlog, Barbie says, “I think there’s a bigger issue with the word sorry. Especially with girls. We say it a lot.” Eventually, “Sorry is a learned reflex.” The issue of gendered communication is clearly prevalent if Barbie, a brand of dolls targeted to 3-to-6-year-old girls, is addressing the issue to toddlers. Behind everyday language lies expectations of behavior and persona in the workplace and otherwise: When women are assertive and bold, it doesn’t fit what is expected of us. We teach girls to physically shrink themselves smaller, to always say yes, to lead with grace and sweetness and to be flirtatious and coy. At the same time, we are not to be too assertive and cannot give too much away. Conversely, we teach boys to fight, to be aggressive and bold and to claim leadership. The way in which men speak to and treat ILLUSTRATION BY TAYLOR SCHOTT women is important. The question remains: In The other workplace bias of prescriptive stereotype the grand scheme of issues troubling our nation, should takes shape when women hold positions of power this be at the forefront of what we’d like to change? The formerly or commonly held by men. These women are answer is yes. Though many of us do not think before then seen out of their prescribed place in society and are we speak, communication affects the entire structure judged for not acting compassionately. Male counterparts of our society and how women are spoken to on a daily and media will then label her as a “bitch” whereas a man basis further supports the patriarchy. Women have been conditioned to acquiesce, because if we don’t there will would be lauded for the same behavior. Traits that are received positively in men in positions be consequences ranging from something as minor as of power — even abrasive and commandeering tactics — name-calling and embarrassment in a crowded college are received negatively in women and oftentimes lead to bar, to something as extreme as being fired from a job. Saying “sorry” to the man in Rick’s and feeling guilty them being called a bitch by coworkers and the media, rather than a powerful, erudite force to be reckoned with. about declining his advances isn’t a groundbreaking Abramson, Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright and experience. Unfortunately, it’s rather common. But what even Ruth Bader Ginsburg have all been subject to such it does teach us, albeit subliminally, is that as women, we name-calling and disrespect because they’re motivated, are expected to be subordinate to men in every situation. ambitious figures of authority. Perhaps they don’t An unwarranted “sorry” at a bar or club quickly turns into showcase soft femininity in the ways they’re “supposed” this behavior at work, in intimate personal relationships to, but that does not warrant the offensive and inaccurate and beyond. We must teach our sons to treat women with respect as the equals we are. We must teach our term “bitch.” Deborah Tannen, a linguist at Georgetown University, daughters that it is okay to be the bossy Barbie — to be actively studies what she’s coined the “Hillary Factor.” fierce and bold and authoritative. Next time, instead of She’s interested in how unfeminine leaders are perceived saying sorry, say thank you for understanding. in society. If women are being called things like the microaggressions toward women. These types of microaggressions have been studied by social scientist Madeline E. Heilman who splits this type of gendered workplace bias into two forms. The first is the descriptive stereotype, which preemptively allots different characteristics to women such as emotional, soft, sensitive and sweet. Heilman describes the result of the descriptive stereotypes in the workplace as a woman being treated differently due to a “lack of fit,” meaning a woman’s supposed-personality not fitting with the needs of the role, one which would be typically held by a man. Conversely, men are seen as objective, assertive and rational in positions of power in the workplace and can behave as such within flexible boundaries. If a woman speaks in a bold tone — one that a man could exert in the same position of power — it would be seen as unfit to her stereotypically feminine, soft nature and result in a firing like Abramson’s.
4B Wednesday, January 22, 2020 // The Statement
Wednesday, January 22, 2020 // The Statement 5B
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Why destruction is the new American pastime BY VERITY STURM, STATEMENT CORRESPONDENT
e don’t wanna just throw the axe at the board. We wanna throw through the board. Whatever it takes.” Anthony Taylor, the bearded and tattooed co-owner of Axe Ventura, Ann Arbor’s newest and only axe throwing venue, is giving me a pep talk. My friend Emily and I have been chucking axes at the wall for the past 15 minutes, and I can’t land a stick (Emily, for the record, stuck her second throw). I assume position: toes on the line, axe in front, left hand over right. I raise the weapon above my head, arching it backward until the butt of the blade kisses my spine, and try to think the sort of thoughts that might send my axe not at but through a solid wall of wood. I take a step and release, hoping I’m right. The axe hits the bullseye, but with the wrong end — the flat one — which I didn’t know was possible. It clatters to the floor, where I retrieve it timidly. Anthony indicates for me to try again by pointing to a blue line on the floor with his right crutch. He recently tore his ACL and meniscus playing flag football. When I walked in half-an-hour earlier, he was throwing on crutches, single-handedly. “Okay, good. Again.” he evolution of axe throwing from a noun-verb pair to a continental pastime spans back to Toronto, 2006. According to an interview with Red Bull’s lifestyle magazine, Matt Wilson was “crushing beers at (his) friend’s cottage … kind of bored,” when someone pulled out a hatchet and taught him how to throw it. Wilson “just thought it was a lot of fun” and started a backyard axe throwing league among his buddies to keep the vibe alive. Sprinkled with a little entrepreneurial fervor, Wilson’s hobby leveled up to the Backyard Axe Throwing League, otherwise known as BATL, Canada’s premier axe throwing franchise and a founding member of the International Axe Throwing Federation. Wilson himself never replied to my emails or LinkedIn DMs — perhaps he was too busy drumming for his basement rock band. The most unprecedented element of Wilson’s story, though, is in its wake. Over the past decade, axe throwing has swept through the urban continent like a recreational contagion. Canadian chains like BATL and Bad Axe brought the pastime to the U.S. around the mid-to-late-2010s, spurring the rise of rivaling domestic franchises like Urban Axes as well as local independent ranges. Axe throwing venues tend to aggregate and thrive in the usual suspects — New York, Chicago, Denver, Atlanta — as well as any municipality that mildly gentrifies in the Midwest or mid-Atlantic. This includes Louisville, the inspiration for Ann Arbor’s own Axe Ventura. Shannon Kozyra, Axe Ventura’s co-owner and former high school classmate of Anthony’s, managed to give me the origin story over the fond din of clanging
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and banging that characterizes her new venue. “We went to Louisville last New Year’s, and this one guy we talked to was like, ‘There’s this new axe throwing venue,’ and you have to understand this, he...” She paused to point accusingly at Anthony. They were wearing identical t-shirts emblazoned with the title “AXE MASTER.” “... is good at anything you put in front of him. … So, in my mind’s eye I was like, ‘Great, another thing I’m gonna lose at, just gotta have a good attitude about it.’ … But we go and do this, and I stick my first one, and I was like,” she stepped back, her mouth making an ecstatic “O.” I turned to Anthony. “Did you stick your first one?” “I did not.” “In fact, I beat him, the first time we ever played,” Shannon continued, adjusting her blond curls under a Nike ball cap. “But it’s kind of like one of those beginner’s luck things, because I haven’t since.” The two were hooked and began bouncing ideas around for Axe Ventura on the drive back from Kentucky. “Because we loved it, we looked into doing it here and noticed that the closest place was Novi and we’re like, ‘That won’t do.’ So, then we just spent the next 11 months making it happen,” Anthony explained. Making it happen turned out to be quite the feat. Axe Ventura took over the lease of Gold Bond Cleaners, a family-owned dry cleaner that operated on Maynard between Frank’s Restaurant and Madras Masala for 40 years. Anthony, Shannon and co-owner Connor Duggan “SharkTank-pitched” the owners for the rights to the space then labored for months to get it up to code. They had to figure out the whole process, “from commercial real estate to business to funding.” It took a bit longer than expected because Anthony and Connor are students at the University of Michigan. “Wait, what? You guys are undergrads?” I interrupted. “How do you have time for this?” “Right,” Anthony replied, deadpan. They’re military veterans, too. Anthony, who studies kinesiology and was in the Coast Guard, and Connor, who studies economics and was in the Air Force, would attend classes Monday to Friday then put in 40 hours each weekend building the place: the bathrooms, the throwing stalls, the soundproofing panels spray-painted with their custom logo and Instagram handle (@ Axe.Ventura). “Yeah, it’s not for the faint of heart,” Shannon added, regarding the process. But the effort is evident. The likes of 332 Maynard have been transformed into full post-industrial chic: corrugated sheet metal lines the throwing stalls, massive LED lights hang from the ceiling by wires and minimalist metal stools wait by bars constructed of unfinished wood (liquor
license ETA: three weeks). When we walked in on Saturday afternoon, “Loser” by Beck was blaring from a Bluetooth speaker ziptied to a galvanized chain-link fence. The only trace of the dry cleaner remaining is an unfathomably heavy, authentically industrial safe behind the front counter, now used to store axes. So far, the space has mostly attracted clientele of similar chic — think bachelorette parties, corporate events and team-building forays. But they’re working on student outreach. “We might run a student league, give students a chance to come in here for a different rate,” said Shannon. Renting a stall for an hour currently runs at $35 a person. “I want to start an axe throwing club at the University,” added Connor. “I think it would be cool … to get people into it younger, because I feel like the demographic right now is, like, 30 and up.” I asked Connor why he thought that was. “Because they have time, you know.” He explained. “They have time, they have money. They have time for hobbies. We don’t have time for hobbies.” eventually got my stick. You have to realize, a first stick in the axe throwing world is like a first communion, a first menstrual period. It’s an initiation rite. I could hear it in my audio recording — an unceremonious thud recontextualized by immediate whooping and hollering. I think someone clapped me on the back. “You see how that felt. Now you understand,” Anthony told me. “The first time I stuck one, I was like — ” he clenched his fists and mouthed “FUCK YEAH.” This euphoric first stick phenomenon seems to be the lifeblood of the axe throwing industry. It’s a hot, instant nostalgia that, once tasted, keeps the interest — and its capital — flowing through business doors. “The biggest thing I hear people saying is, ‘I can see it as a novelty, do it once, just to see what it was like, then I come and do it, and I just want to do it all the time.’ They just want to come back and do it again, do it again and do it again. It’s just that much fun,” Anthony told me. You may recognize this as the logic of a gateway drug. And there’s certainly an abstract element of addiction going on here, a hyper-focused and wholly competitive striving for exactness in repetition, again, again, again, goddammit. But I don’t think I have it. Maybe it’s because I was technically on assignment, or because my friends were watching me flounder, or because I was dead sober, but I didn’t share Anthony’s “FUCK YEAH.” I looked at my axe, wedged in the second or third ring from the target’s center, and felt blank relief. That being said, I’m also not the type of person who would return from the Air Force and decide that the thing to do is to plan, build and operate an independent axe throwing venue while simultaneously pursuing an economics degree and prepping
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for both the civil service exam and the LSAT (Connor, you inhuman beast, I salute you). There’s a certain sort of extreme that this activity self-selects for, it seems, and to get down to the bottom of it, I decided to start at the top. am Carter is the current IATF axe throwing world champion. “I was an arborist before doing all this, and my girlfriend saw (a venue) was opening up in Charlotte, where I was living at the time, so I was instantly like, ‘Well, hell yeah, let’s do that,’” Carter said in a recent Facebook phone call with The Daily. After returning to the Charlotte venue two to three times a week, Carter responded to a hiring notice and began working for the franchise. This was in 2017. Today, Carter is the general manager at their WinstonSalem location. “Wait … so you’re telling me that in two years you became the world champion?” I interrupted. Sam paused. “Yeah … I mean, it’s just for fun, I mean, it sounds like a lot, but it’s not. I mean, it’s axe throwing. It’s just, like, a bar sport,” he replied in staccato, slightly f lustered. The status of axe throwing as a sport is an evolving story, but ESPN3 did broadcast the 2019 championships live. Official recognition as the best in the world is exceptional, whether it’s for checkers, steeplechase, quiz bowl or axe throwing. It implies years of diligence, a childhood prodig y story or some ungodly combination of the two. Sam Carter, on the other hand, good-naturedly rolled into a “hell yeah” and casually popped out number one. I was drawing another blank, feeling on the outside of some larger understanding, not unlike the experience of my bathetic first stick. I asked Carter what had hooked him about it in the first place. “I don’t know, it’s just fun to throw a sharp object,” he said. “You get to do it all the time, and people let you do it. ‘Cause when I was a kid, I used to go steal my dad’s axe and throw it at a tree and then put it back after two throws because I thought I was gonna break it. Now I do it for a living.” When you stick the word “venue” on it, axe throwing becomes more than the simple indulgence of a primal thrill. It’s suddenly organized, perhaps professional. Instead of throwing at a tree for the hell of it, you’re aiming at a target. The thing you snuck out to do as a child is sanctioned with the three concentric circles of a bullseye. You’ve paid to do it. As Sam said to me, “people let you do it.” The space to openly engage with taboo is a heady permission, but is it enough to spawn a world championship trajectory? It seemed too simple to me. But fascination with the forbidden appears to be an affecting entry point to the sport for world champions and weekend enthusiasts alike. An activity that requires you to sign a waiver is kind of sexy. University seniors Ryley Verde and
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AJ Arons frequently go axe throwing as a partners’ activity and talked to me about their comparable affinity for the sport over coffee last week. “It’s so satisfying when you split a board and then you have to literally replace the board because you destroyed it,” said Ryley. Both she and AJ have split multiple boards in their throwing careers. “Have you ever used an axe for anything besides axe throwing?” I asked. Ryley thought for a moment. “Like camping axes, but not like for splitting wood. Other than that, I don’t really have a use for an axe in my daily life.” “I think that’s part of the fun, though,” AJ added, “because it is a weapon. It’s not just throwing something and hitting it well. Tennis is great, hitting overhead is fun, but you’re throwing a weapon at something, and that is so satisfying.” My ears perked at AJ’s response. They used the word “weapon” with the same mysticism as “first stick.” here is a place where you are permitted to use weapons without the pretense of a bullseye. It’s called the rage room, and its history as a payto-participate pastime runs near-parallel to that of axe throwing: The first rage room opened in Japan in 2008 before spreading to Europe and the United States with gusto, becoming a burgeoning urban industry and cultural fad. But its premise is even more basic. There is a wall of weapons and a room of junk. Upon payment, the application of the former to the latter is sanctioned. Be free. Since everybody else in this story seems to have touched the sublime via recreational destruction, I decided the rage room was worth a shot. The “first stick” exactness game was a bust, but maybe I’m just more into the weapon side of things. I’ve always been a theory girl. So last Saturday, my boyfriend Jacob, roommate Sophie and hungover-friendin-the-kitchen Gibby all piled into a sedan and drove 20 minutes north to Destruction Depot in Whitmore Lake, one of the three rage rooms in the state of Michigan. It was one of those cold, drizzly afternoons where the sun sets at 4 p.m. When we pulled into the parking lot, Jacob pointed out a correctional facility across the street. The imagery was grim indeed, but it brightened substantially with the warm welcome and stylish shoes of Rachel Crawford, former school counselor and current co-owner of Destruction Depot alongside her husband, Matt. “This business is my husband’s baby,” Rachel told us on a tour of the Depot. Her t-shirt, along with a variety of signage and merchandise throughout the business, proudly displayed their slogan: “ALL ABOARD THE RAGE TRAIN.” “He’s an army veteran, he was blowing stuff up for a living when he was with the army and thought he wanted to have a place to go to where he could destroy things when
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he got out.” The four of us nodded. We could picture it. “So, when we went on our first date, six years ago … he talked about building a rage room, and I was like, ‘well, that’s crazy, but okay,’ so here we are.” Destruction Depot is fitted with three rage rooms — two doubles and one partysized — built by Matt, Rachel and her father in 2018. Clients pay $20 per person for room access and safety equipment, without a time cap. They are then escorted to the “inventory room,” where “breakables” — random electronics, collectibles and glassware of varying size, design and quality — are hand-selected, labeled and priced by Rachel herself. She sources them from a local e-waste company and then, weeks later returns their destroyed debris. “This is my creative outlet,” Rachel told us while we perused her wares, which included a large milk crate of wine bottles labeled “Mommy is ‘TIRED.’” Clients may purchase as many of the Depot’s “breakables” as they wish and/or bring up to three of their own, free of charge. While every client has their own personal taste, Rachel told us that overhead projectors, guitars and printers tend to get snatched from the inventory room as soon as they arrive. “And obviously glass, people love glass,” Rachel added. “Mugs are my personal favorite, so I put some of those in your room, too.” We thanked her. Destruction Depot attracts a similar group clientele as Axe Ventura — birthday parties, corporate events and student groups, for the most part — although Rachel found herself surprised by the demographics of her individual clients. “I thought that we’d have a bunch of angry men in here a lot of the time, and it is not … we are primarily women. Women are by far our number one customers,” she told us. Destruction Depot is also happy to arrange custom room setups if clients have something special in mind. “We had a woman who wanted to surprise her husband, an accountant, at the end of tax season. She wanted his room set up like an office, so we sourced a desk, a computer and all of that kind of stuff. At the end of tax season, he came in and went crazy and loved it.” The four of us, seniors about to graduate and enter the workforce, moved our winces into smiles. In an attempt to either change the subject or make a connection between motivations, Jacob asked her if people ever get political in the rage room. Rachel laughed. “Elissa Slotkin is our congresswoman, when she was getting elected a year or two ago some of her campaign workers would come in, and they …” She paused to laugh again. “They would just, like, scream.”
See DESTRUCTION, Page 6B
6B
Wednesday, January 22, 2020 // The Statement
PHOTO COURTESY OF VERITY STURM
From Page 5B
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achel escorted us to the gear room, instructing us to suit up in full-length coveralls and plastic face shields. We emerged resembling a very skinny third of BROCKHAMPTON and met her by the weapons, a towering wall of recycled compressed wood hung with baseball bats, crowbars, frying pans, sledgehammers, wrenches, golf clubs, hammers, hockey sticks and mallets. Gibby grabbed a large wrench, Sophie an orange mallet. Jacob took his time choosing a baseball bat and I selected a long yellow crowbar. After taking our picture in front of a large marquee sign, she made to spell out “DESTRUCTION DEPOT WELCOMES THE MICHIGAN DAILY,” Rachel led us to the party room. In it, she had graciously pre-arranged a printer, television, car door, stack of plate ware and collection of aforementioned coffee mugs for our smashing pleasure. She ran us through the two rules — don’t purposefully destroy the room and don’t smash with the door open — and respectfully left us to our literal devices. I will never be sure about what happened in the rage room. But I had left my pocket voice recorder on from the interview with Rachel, and thus happened to capture our experience in the party room on audio. A few days after our visit I listened through the whole thing, curious about exactly when and how the four of us ended up on the rage train, full swing. Turns out we boarded almost immediately upon Rachel’s departure. After a few shy wisecracks about “The Purge” and the chorus of Drowning Pool’s “Bodies” playing on the loudspeaker, someone made the first smash, inviting all hell to break loose. At this point in my recording, the conversation between the four of us fragmented into brief, robotically inexpressive remarks about the destruction we were inflicting or planning to inflict, erratically punctuated by ear-splitting shatters, cracks, bangs and blasts. Eventually, we all began to sound the same. I want to try the bat / I want to smash this / I love the bat
/ Just toss it up and I’ll smash down / The sledgehammer is so powerful / Wait can I do something really destructive / Is that really what the inside of a TV looks like / Maybe a different weapon / I want the case to pop open / We should all get bats / Can someone push down on that / Okay we’ll get more bats. We were operating on pure instinct, each of our individual characters dissolving in the simple adrenaline of the task at hand. At one point, without any discussion or stated agreement, the four of us converged on the stubborn inner machinery of a TV that refused to yield to our crowbar and began to methodically pull it apart by hand. It felt good, then, to be an animal. It feels more complicated now. I stepped into the hallway for a moment to take some photos of the rampage through the party room’s single window. With each click of the shutter, each second away from the room, I became more aware of what I was looking at: Through the plexiglass of the window through the lens of my camera, my boyfriend and my roommate were systematically smashing a car door with baseball bats, back and forth, thud THUD, thud THUD. I lowered my camera, confused. I’m still confused. Were they mad? Was I mad? Am I mad now? And … why? Time worked strangely in the rage room, the way an inopportune nap can leave you paranoid that you’ve slept the day away. After what felt like hours, we-insingularity decided the deed was done and retreated to the gear room to become ourselves again. My pulse was high, hands trembling slightly. Rachel arrived with complimentary bottles of water. I asked her how long we had been in there. She said 30 minutes. t’s a bad thing. Our research shows that people feel good after venting, and because venting feels good, they assume that it must be working. But it feels good to take street drugs, too, or eat chocolate.” This is the input of Dr. Brad Bushman, Social Psychology Ph.D. and Professor of Communication at Ohio State University. Dr. Bushman has spent the majority of his
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career researching aggression and spoke to The Daily in a recent phone interview about the rise and impact of recreational destruction — specifically, axe throwing and rage rooms. “It’s like using gasoline to put out a fire, it just feeds the flame,” Bushman said. “How do you become an angry, aggressive person? Practice, practice, practice. And what do you do in these rooms? You practice how to behave aggressively. You throw axes, bash, break things, hit, kick, scream, shout, whatever.” Initially, I was with Dr. Bushman. The morning after the rage room I picked up an empty mug at Sweetwaters and had an involuntary impulse to hurl it across the cafe. Objects became contextually unfixed. Jacob went home and immediately noticed the arena that was his home: piano, television, speakers, Xbox. “My brain doesn’t usually work in units of breakable or not breakable, you know,” he told me. But after some time, the academic perspective seemed more and more myopic. The coffee mug ceased to feel like a projectile after 36 hours, and I began to think a little more about what was sending people to these establishments in the first place versus what was happening in their heads upon arrival. During our coffee chat, AJ emphasized the accessibility of the activity — how anybody can do it, and how improvement is only a simple adjustment away. In two years, maybe you will be the axe throwing world champion. The primal thrill of a first stick or weaponin-hand is basic enough to satisfy virtually anyone to some extent. We are human, after all. And in a world of increasingly complex algorithms, politics, barriersto-entry and interpersonal interactions, where else is success so simple? So physical? So clear? And then Ryley hit upon the social element, describing it as “a really great way to connect physically” with those around you. I’ve seen this firsthand, in the friendly and generative competition between Shannon and Anthony and the singularity achieved between myself, Gibby, Sophie and Jacob in the rage room. In an age of Tinder alienation, the idea of throwing an axe or smashing a television with someone seems, somehow, more profound. There’s a desperation in there, maybe, but it checks out. We are desperate. I didn’t share the exact euphoria of all the first sticks and weapon-wielding of my peers, sure, but I have also never served in the armed forces or worked tax season as an accountant. I was thinking about this at yoga the other day, then realized what I was doing in yoga: paying a dumb amount of money to do something totally primal and taboo — roll around like an animal in a pool of my own sweat — in a dark, hot room washed in a shade of red light I describe to my friends as “feeding frenzy crimson.” I started going to yoga when my work and my studies began to intensify in a way that gave me somatic anxiety. I often describe it with the adjective “cathartic.” The rage train has been shuttling between money, stress and serotonin for years, speeding up every time you have to learn a new programming language or explain what you really want to do with your life. The recreational slinging of weapons did not arise in a vacuum, and looks more to me like a symptom than a cause. There are enough interest and capital right now for physical rage to be having a moment as its own enterprise. Let’s cash in. All aboard. So long as we are stressed and have bank accounts, we will pay to cope. And the harder we work, the harder we cope. Whose fault is that? Back in Axe Ventura, I had asked Anthony why he thought axe throwing was so trendy right now. “It’s different, something new,” he told me. “Other than that, I don’t really know. I didn’t invent it, I just kind of got on board.”
The timelessness of “Little Women”
7B Wednesday, January January16, 22,2019 2020////The The Statement 7B Wednesday, Statement
BY CHELSEA PADILLA, STATEMENT COLUMNIST
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hen I was 10, my mother gave me my first copy of “Little Women” in the middle of summer. It was a bright pink paperback with a monochrome drawing of a woman’s skirt and shoes, simple and minimalistic. As a little kid who was used to the detailed, flashy covers of “Harry Potter” and “Percy Jackson” books, I was less than intrigued. Eventually, I got past the cover. Even then, I found it difficult to be interested in the book. The language felt old and foreign, and the characters lived in a world that seemed completely different from mine in the 21st century. Why was I supposed to care about these sisters living in the 19th century if I had more contemporary books at my disposal? As I continued to turn the pages, the novel started growing on me. Marmee and the March sisters were all heartfelt and familiar, but one character stood out to me the most: Jo March. I identified with her. She was the girl I’d always wanted to be: smart, bold and fiercely independent. Above all, she loved to read and write, just like I did. Her journey to becoming a writer also fascinated me. In the book, Jo often scribbles away in her room, dressed in a black pinafore so she can carelessly wipe her ink-covered hands. As a young girl, she’s constantly working on stories, exploring the plethora of worlds she creates. Yet, at the same time, the writing process isn’t romanticized. When she goes to New York, Jo’s main motivation is money — she sells drama-filled sensation stories for her earnings. Plus, Jo faces all the normal things a female writer might struggle with. Publishers don’t take her seriously. Inspiration only comes to her in bursts. Mixed reviews frustrate her. Somehow, none of this dissuaded me. In my free time, I wrote my own stories in my colorful, flowery notebooks and hoped that I would one day be like Jo. Nine years after my mother gave me “Little Women,” I found myself stuck in a biography writing class. I was supposed to pick a subject for the course’s final paper, and initially chose Jane Austen. A writer, I figured, was a subject that I’d easily be interested in, and Austen was the first name I thought of. As I was writing my proposal paper, though, something felt off. Austen wasn’t right. For whatever reason, she just didn’t click with me. I went back to the drawing board. I still liked the idea of writing about a writer, so I stuck with it. I researched more writers. After hours of mindless scrolling through
brief lists and biographies, I landed on a name that resonated with me: Louisa May Alcott, author of “Little Women.” To me, Alcott’s life was immediately interesting. Thanks to her Transcendentalist father, she grew up among the likes of Hawthorne, Emerson and Thoreau. Even more interestingly, I found that Alcott hadn’t even wanted to write “Little Women” in the first place. The novel had actually been her editor’s idea, and she had
with writing. I knew how it felt to not be taken seriously, or to dislike the words I’d written. I knew that as a young woman, this struggle would prove more difficult than it is for my male peers. Just as Jo had to fight for fair compensation and the respect of her work, women today still grapple with gaining recognition for their art — including Greta Gerwig, the director of the newest film adaptation of “Little Women,” who wasn’t even nominated for this year’s Academy Award for Best Director. But I also knew how it felt to love writing, to find joy in crafting lives on paper. When I turned in my final biography, I bought myself a new copy of “Little Women” as a reward. It’s a light purple paperback and much more modern in appearance than my first one. As I held it in my hands, I felt much more connected to the book and the woman who created it. At the beginning of a completely new decade, I sat in one of the cramped seats of the Annex in the Michigan Theater. On the screen, a film that I had anticipated watching since the trailer dropped was playing: “Little Women.” Unlike the seven other adaptations of the novel, Gerwig’s creation offers a different retelling of “Little Women” than the others — one that is nonchronological and one that draws on modern feminist themes, like women’s economic rights, independence and the idea that domesticity, is, in fact, its own feminist choice. Hers acts like a love letter to Alcott, writing and all the pains and joys that come with it. Alcott still supplies the need. Her work resonates with readers to this day, thanks to the lively simplicity of the adventures of the March sisters. The years of penny pinching during the Civil War, dances with boys, lessons with Marmee, writing plays and stories for the family — they all tell raw truths about women through uncomplicated storytelling. This is arguably what makes “Little Women” so powerful: It doesn’t play into stereotypes, it doesn’t have to overdo the characters’ narratives and it doesn’t have to have some sweeping, dramatic feminist message. Its mere existence as a multidimensional dive into women’s lives makes it inherently meaningful and important. The showing in the Annex was the third time I’d seen Gerwig’s “Little Women.” ILLUSTRATION BY MAGGIE WIEBE Each time I’ve seen it, it has seemed deeply believed the first chapters she’d written all, is semi-autobiographical. Louisa May personal, probably because I now have this were boring — even “dull,” as she said in a Alcott’s life bleeds into Jo March’s life and tight, almost inexplicable bond to the story. letter to her editor. Yet, she continued when vice versa — and both their lives have began It has become some kind of constant, timeshe realized her novel might have a larger to bleed into mine. less entity in my life, reminding me of why Nine years after I’d started writing in my I write and why what I write is important. purpose. “Lively, simple books are very much notebooks, I knew how it felt to struggle In some ways, it has become a part of me. needed for girls,” Alcott wrote in her journal, “and perhaps I can supply the need.” With that, “Little Women” re-entered my life. Unlike the first time, I picked the book apart from the perspective of its author. I poured over every letter of Alcott’s that I could find to understand her own role in the story. In the end, I realized that I was drawn to Alcott in the same way I’d been drawn to Jo. They practically shared the same lifeblood. “Little Women,” after
8B Wednesday, January 22, 2020 // The Statment
NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDENS TR AIN SHOW PHOTOS BY ALLISON ENGKVIST