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Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Ann Arbor, Michigan

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NASA asks Union board to rename south lounge

Group proposes ‘U’ honor Native American communities with new title DAILY WRITER

who has this position

Flint, Dearborn campuses push for University health services DESIGN BY MICHELLE FAN

1U members at all three campuses highlight socioeconomic differences, put pressure on administration for equitable distribution of resources CALDER LEWIS

Daily Staff Reporter

When Ali Darwish, sophomore at University of Michigan-Dearborn, found himself in the Henry Ford Medical Center emergency room in November of his freshman year, he was frustrated by the inadequate care he received compared to the University hospitals he went to as an Ann Arbor native. Because U-M Dearborn does

not have its own on-campus health clinic comparable to U-M Ann Arbor’s University Health Service, the HFMC across the street from campus was Darwish’s only immediate option. “They didn’t even figure out what was wrong, and it ended up stretching until 6 a.m. because no one saw me for hours,” Darwish said. “They wheeled me around in wheelchairs and left me in hallways for extended periods

of time, and at the end, I still had the pain and I just left with it. I had to come back to my U-M health doctor in Ann Arbor.” For most students at the University’s Flint and Dearborn campuses, however, finding health care is not as easy as a trip home to Ann Arbor. While the University offers free UHS care to all students at the Ann Arbor campus, U-M Flint and U-M Dearborn do not have on-campus health care clinics.

Instead, they refer students to health centers in respective communities, including the HFMC and the Genesee Health System in Flint. The U-M Flint and U-M Dearborn student bodies differ greatly from U-M Ann Arbor in terms of socioeconomic status. More than 40 percent of undergraduates at U-M Flint and U-M Dearborn are Pell Grant eligible, compared to under 20 percent at U-M Ann Arbor. See UHS, Page 3

Maitland Bowen, the chair of the Native American Student Association presented to the Michigan Union Board of Representatives on Monday evening about how the University of Michigan can help the Native American community feel more included and respected on campus. About 50 students and community members attended the event. Bowen proposed that the Union’s first-f loor south lounge be renamed to honor Native American students and community members. On behalf of NASA and their supporters, Bowen said that if the lounge were to be renamed, it would be one effort made by the University to recognize past offensive practices of the student organization, the Order of Angell, toward the Native American community. In 1902, thenUniversity President James Angell founded the

CAMPUS LIFE

Students in Former National Transportation Safety RC discuss Board chairman speaks on self-driven cars program Christopher Hart explores how technology has helped vehicles become safer requisites SARAH PAYNE

Half of Residential College participants drop after 2 years, cite language requirement FRANCESCA DUONG Daily Staff Reporter

Only one out of every two students who enter the Residential College graduate with a degree from the program, according to RC Director Catherine Badgley. Students The Daily spoke to who left the RC, which provides LSA students with a four-year interdisciplinary liberal arts program in the form of a livinglearning community, cited stringent degree requirements and financial stress as reasons for dropping. Badgley said about half of the students who enter the RC program drop within two years. “Over the last 20 years, there has been a very consistent rate of about half the entering class leaving the Residential College, but for a variety of reasons, and at different stages,” Badgley said. “Most of those departures occur after the first year, or in graduating seniors.” RC requirements include firstand second-year residency within East Quad, a first-year writing seminar, completion of RC SemiImmersion Foreign Language Sequences and an arts practicum in the form of an RC creative arts class. Students who are non-RC majors also have to take four additional RC classes. See RC, Page 3

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Christopher Hart, former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, spoke to 70 University of Michigan students and community members at the Ford School of Public Policy Monday afternoon about the innovation of autonomous vehicles. Hart is the chairman of the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission and the founder of Hart Solutions LLC. He has also worked for the National

Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Federal Aviation Administration and was nominated by both President Barack Obama and President George W. Bush to the National Transportation Safety Board. Robert Hampshire, associate professor in the Public Policy School, introduced Hart before his lecture and spoke of Hart’s vast experience. “I had the pleasure of serving on a panel with him last year at Princeton reunions ... and I figured that the Ford

School community could really benefit from hearing his sage advice and his years of experience and his career,” Hampshire said. Hart began his presentation by discussing the common misconception of the complexity between aviation automation and automation on the ground. “In aviation, automation has shown amazing safety benefits, productivity, operating efficiency, getting more airplanes through the airspace and reducing pollution all at the same time,”

Hart said. “And I think that the car automation scenario has even more opportunities for improvement, especially in safety.” Hart said many of the problems with autonomous vehicles stem from a lack of graceful exits in case of emergency or unanticipated circumstances. “When automation isn’t perfect, you need to have some graceful exits,” Hart said.

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UHS From Page 1 The One University Campaign (1U) launched in 2018 by a coalition of faculty and students to equip the U-M Flint and U-M Dearborn campuses with more resources. Achieving on-campus medical services in U-M Flint and U-M Dearborn is one of the campaign’s seven goals, which also include equalizing the Michigan Legislature’s per-student allocations and extending the Go Blue Guarantee to U-M Dearborn and U-M Flint campuses. Members of 1U from all three campuses continue to put pressure on the University’s administration to address these issues. At the Dec. 5, 2019 Regents meeting, 1U organizers and students involved in the Climate Action Movement addressed the Board of Regents about perceived inadequacies in funding and healthcare coverage, among other issues. The groups ultimately blockaded the entrances to the University Golf Course in protest against the University’s actions until they were moved by police. Tyrice Denson, a recent U-M Flint graduate and 1U organizer, said socioeconomic disparities between the campuses put U-M Flint students in a tough position when most of them work jobs to cover tuition costs and often have to choose between going to class or going to the doctor. “That can really burden students, even if, like, they have a really bad cold and probably shouldn’t be going to class,” Denson said. “Students have to decide whether they want to take a hit on their grade, force themselves to go to class sick or go to the doctor, get that doctor’s note

RC From Page 1 LSA senior Sage RenstromRichards is a computer science major who left the RC because she couldn’t fit the extra requirements into her schedule. She said it was difficult to handle the RC requirements since she had to fulfill LSA distribution requirements and the requirements for her major. “I wanted to have the freedom just to choose other classes that I was interested in,” RenstromRichards said. “Even if people have the room in their schedules to fit it in, just having a longer list of requirements makes the flexibility a lot more constrained.” The RC offers five intensive programs: Spanish, French, German, Russian and Japanese. However, students may choose a different language through LSA as long as it is not already offered by the RC. On top of meeting the LSA language requirement, RC students must complete an advanced readings course in that language. All RC intensive languages meet twice a day four

NASA From Page 1 According to the organization’s website, the Order of Angell is made up of “leaders from the many diverse corners of campus” and seeks to “promote interconnectedness at Michigan, develop leadership and engage in short and longterm leadership projects.” At the meeting, NASA asked the University to take appropriate action by renaming the lounge and designating it as a space for NASA to gather and exclusively reserve for community events. Bowen said she believes the new Union renovation presents an important opportunity for the University to begin to repair the harm done over the years to the Native American community by the Order of Angell. “What we are asking is for the same level of permanence and priority that has been placed on James Angell and the

Tuesday, February 11, 2020 — 3

housing, while U-M Flint and U-M Dearborn are mostly commuter campuses. Broekhuizen also wrote that given the high percentage of commuter students compared to the Ann Arbor campus, “most regional campus students already have wellestablished relationships with local health care providers and receive their care in that manner.” In a November 2019 interview with The Daily, University President Mark Schlissel said the U-M Flint and U-M Dearborn campuses receive less money from the state and their students compared to the Ann Arbor campus, leading to fewer available campus-wide resources. “I don’t think Flint and

Dearborn have less funding because their students come from lower socioeconomic communities,” Schlissel said. “I think they have less funding because they get less money from the state, they collect less tuition from their students, they don’t have nearly the philanthropy Ann Arbor has and instead of being 200 years old, with hundreds of years to develop the support that and the infrastructure the University has, they’re 50 years old.” Students on all three campuses, however, voiced concern about the lack of health resources on the U-M Flint and U-M Dearborn campuses. Darwish said many of his friends are out-ofstate or international students, which means they cannot always rely on healthcare providers in the immediate area to receive care. “Just because it’s a smaller school with a higher percent of people from the area, you can’t just generalize and exclude that other population of people that don’t have access,” Darwish said. “I couldn’t imagine being an international student and having an easy time finding health care here.” LSA senior Tyler Ziel, a transfer student from U- M Dearborn, researched the health disparities between the campuses last summer. According to Ziel, both U-M Dearborn and U-M Flint used to have formal referral partnerships with local healthcare providers, but they were discontinued due to low usage. As a student on both the U-M Ann Arbor and U-M Dearborn campuses, Ziel ref lected on the impact

healthcare can have on the student body. “Since we are a state university, our job is to provide for the local community and for students’ educations,” Ziel said. “But the students need to be able to survive and be healthy in order to actually get that education … There’s a moral duty aspect to provide for your fellow students because we’re all Wolverines.” Sara Alqaragholy, recent graduate of U-M Dearborn and organizer of 1U, said U-M Dearborn Student Government Representatives met with Amy Finley, dean of students at U-M Dearborn, last fall to present data on the need for medical services. “I’m very hopeful that if (the) administration thinks in numbers and we’re providing the data around our demographics and funding, and we display a need (of medical services), then they should be listening to us,” Alqaragholy said. “If so many students are in need of them, it just makes sense.” When asked about the low usage of past healthcare partnerships, Ziel and Denson pointed to poor advertising at both U-M Flint and U-M Dearborn. Denison said most students were not aware of the partnerships and the administration should not rely on low usage rates in the past when evaluating how to best provide health services for the future. “Regardless of what the numbers show how often something is used, it is clear to anyone that there’s a need here for Flint students,” Denison said. “The University really does have an obligation for services better than they currently are.” Reporter Calder Lewis can be reached at calderll@umich. edu

all of the RC requirements can be difficult for students who try to complete more than one major. According to statistics provided to The Daily by Charlie Murphy, director of RC Academic Services, 47 percent of students of the 2018 RC graduating class completed more than one major. “One trend that we have seen is that more and more students are either doing double majors or are doing majors plus a minor,” Badgley said. “That means they have many more course requirements in their concentration, and that may be putting pressure on the four course requirement for the Residential College if those courses are not in some way contributing to their concentrations.” Badgley also noted other professional schools at the University of Michigan have increased their undergraduate program offerings. Many of these programs, such as the Ford School of Public Policy, students are accepted during as sophomores and begin taking classes as juniors, and this could be another reason students drop the program. LSA senior Brandon Bond

plans to graduate with an RC degree. He said some people have beliefs about the RC that could make it a less attractive option for incoming students. “We have the reputation for being the ‘weird’ kids,” Bond said. “That goes a lot into the recruitment (and) retention. People don’t want to be associated with being the ‘other crowd’ or the ‘other community.’” LSA senior Kate Puca also plans on graduating with an RC degree and said she has heard of this stigma. She said the stereotype is often brought up when she introduces herself. “There is definitely that stigma that RC people are weird, and I think that discourages a lot of people from continuing with it,” Puca said. “Ross has a stigma, Engineering has a stigma to it. Depending on what your path is, people are going to label and stereotype you in a certain way.” Bond and Puca both disagree with this stereotype. Bond said he is extremely grateful for the RC program and he loves the community the program has built. “From my perspective, it’s just people who want to be as true

to themselves, and as honest and open about themselves as possible,” Bond said. “The RC does an amazing job at creating a community where people do genuinely feel comfortable expressing that.” Bond also said East Quad is a prime location for many students. According to Bond, many people choose to participate in the RC program because students know they are guaranteed Central Campus housing for their first two years. Puca said proximity to campus was one of the reasons she initially joined the RC program. However, she stayed because she found the intensive language program helpful towards her Spanish minor and enjoyed the community. “That’s why I originally did it too, to be honest … I know a lot of people (who did it for housing),” Puca said, “It’s just that East Quad is so close to campus, and they were afraid of being put on North Campus that they opted into RC and then dropped it.” Badgley said RC staff is working to fight the attrition rate by making some of the requirements more flexible.

“We are aware of students needing support within the language program, and we’ve increased the number of peer tutors who help students during these intensive languages,” Badgley said. “As far as the live-in requirement for the second year, there is a petition waiver, so it’s not an absolute. When a petition is submitted to waive that second-year requirement, the deciding body takes a close look at the student’s financial needs and other considerations. We’re trying to make it flexible.” Even though many students do not complete the RC program, Badgley said the RC program is still thriving. “The students who declare an interest in the Residential College and who actually arrive here have increased in the last two years, and they show every sign, this year, of increasing even further,” Badgley said. Reporter Francesca Duong can be reached at fduong@ umich.edu

Native American tribes ceded their land to the University of Michigan. According to Bowen, this treaty was the beginning of University and Native American relations. By renaming the south lounge, Bowen said she believes the University could take an important, relatively simple and cost-free first step in recognizing and appreciating the role Native Americans played in allowing the University to exist. “We are more than just our histories but we have to actually make changes so that these histories are not forgotten,” Bowen said. “This is in no way an easy presentation to give. Nobody, no student and no student organization should ever feel like they have to justify their place on this campus or in the Union.” In the following Q&A portion of the event, Bowen addressed the logistics of the proposal. Since the Union closed for renovation, NASA has struggled to secure a regular meeting space. According to

Bowen, multicultural rooms meant for many student organizations to use are often full and dominated by larger groups that meet more frequently. With the exception of November, which is Native American Heritage Month, NASA only books a meeting space a couple of times a month and doesn’t withhold study spaces from students. One question from the audience was geared towards the Board. In anticipation of the Union’s opening day in January, the Board invited NASA to be present at the ceremony. Later, the Board offered NASA the opportunity to present on what the Union could do to make NASA feel more included and represented. Amy White, director of the Union, said they invited NASA based on the need to recognize the history of racial discrimination associated with the Union. “Knowing the history of Michigamua in this space, and the harm that has been done over the years … that was what

was behind the invitation — to acknowledge that a great deal of harm had been done to the community,” White said. Audience member Alan Haber also spoke up at the event. Haber, who enrolled in the University in 1954, is an activist and was the first president of Students for a Democratic Society which first met in Ann Arbor in 1960. Haber said the act of renaming would be representative of a restorative deed. “Land that belonged to other people was taken as our own, us being settlers,” Haber said, referencing early colonization in America. “It seems important not only restoratively, but symbolically in the future to have some piece of land ceded back to the Native American community.” Haber reiterated Bowen, stressing the need for a place on campus where Native Americans can celebrate their culture and be recognized by the University. White closed the event,

thanking Bowen and NASA for the presentation and working with the Union to establish better relations. The Daily spoke with Bowen following the presentation. Overall, Bowen said she was pleased with how engaged and invested the Board was in creating a better environment where every student can feel represented. Bowen also thanked the students and community members that came to support her and NASA. “I’m glad that we had so much community support,” Bowen said. “This is an issue that is incredibly important to so many people and I’m glad that (the Board) seemed to hear it and take it very seriously. I’m looking forward to working with them to get this done.” At the end of the presentation, the Board did not give a final verdict and did not address when they would release a decision. Reporter Lily Gooding can be reached at goodingl@umich. edu

and now have to deal with the medical bill.” With median family incomes around half that of U-M Ann Arbor students, Darwish said the lack of University-sponsored healthcare on the U-M Flint and U-M Dearborn campuses is hard on many students. “In Dearborn, everybody is trying to support themselves and when it comes to healthcare issues, money just gets in the way,” Darwish said. “In Ann Arbor, not only do students have easy access to on-campus healthcare, but the population is a lot more wealthy so it’s a lot easier for them to get access and probably not work a job and focus more on their education.” Denson connected the demand for more equitable health resources to the campaign’s broader mission. “One University as a whole is about providing more equitable resources for all University of Michigan students,” Denson said. “We are one of the most prestigious universities in the world, and there are certain things we should just provide for our students. If students in Ann Arbor are provided these resources, then students in Dearborn and Flint should be as well.” On Jan. 31, U-M Dearborn’s student government unanimously passed a resolution supporting the 1U campaign and its platform, including a demand for student medical services. Amanda Saleh, vice president of U-M Dearborn Student Government, wrote to The Daily that students at U-M Dearborn do not have access

to an exclusive medical professional or a nurse practitioner, which limits access to mental health and sexual health services like those available to students at the Ann Arbor campus. Saleh also wrote in an email that the resolution is a step in the right direction given U-M Dearborn’s “history of being shy when it comes to demands.” “We hope that this resolution urges the

conversation within administration to look further into the need of health services for our students,” Saleh wrote. “With health care services on our campus, students will not only have access to much-needed resources, but they will be able to do so independently of their parents’ insurance, which is crucial for folks who would not be able to receive help otherwise.” University spokeswoman Kim Broekhuizen responded to The Daily’s request for comment on 1U’s medical services with information from the University website. The University’s website says the student fees charged to each student on the Ann Arbor campus support UHS. “It’s not clear that

days per week to provide students with an immersive experience, including mandatory language lunch tables to help students build their communication skills. According to Badgley, students may choose to leave the program early primarily due to the cost of housing and the intensive language program requirements. “The folks leaving after the first year are often leaving because the residency requirement requires an expensive commitment to both the housing and the meal plan,” Badgley said. “That’s difficult for people depending on their family budgets. Some students do not wish to complete the intensive language requirement, although LSA also has a language requirement, but it’s not as intensive as it is here in the Residential College.” Badgley also said graduating seniors often forget about or decide not to complete the four course requirements for non-RC majors. Badgley noted many RC classes satisfy the distribution requirements for LSA. For that reason, she said she doesn’t consider it a heavy burden. However, Badgley said finishing Order over the years,” Bowen said. In addition to Angell Hall named after Angell, a plaque outside the Union’s entrance commemorates the former University president. However, there is no place on campus dedicated solely to Native American students. Bowen discussed initiatives of other universities to acknowledge their Native American student population. Colleges including Michigan State University, University of California Berkeley, University of Minnesota and others all have spaces dedicated to the Native American community. “Clearly, it is not irregular to have a physical space for native and indigenous students on campus, especially at a university as large and as endowed as Michigan is,” Bowen said. Bowen also spoke about how Native Americans were instrumental in founding the University. In the 1817 Treaty of Fort Meigs, also called the Treaty of Fort Rapids,

students at UM-Flint and UM-Dearborn experience the same level of need on their campuses to support these efforts through added fees they would incur,” Broekhuizen wrote. Broekhuizen also highlighted differences between the campus’s student bodies. She noted that Ann Arbor is a residential educational community with nearly 100 percent of its freshmen living in campus

“In Dearborn, everybody is trying to support themselves and when it comes to healthcare issues, money just gets in the way. In Ann Arbor, not only do students have easy access to on-campus healthcare, but the population is a lot more wealthy so it’s a lot easier for them to get access and probably not work a job and focus more on their

Opinion

4 — Tuesday, February 11, 2020

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

OWEN STECCO | COLUMN

A need for local action on employment discrimination

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ISABELLE SCHINDLER | COLUMN

Using education to combat hate

s we grapple with a divided nation and increasing instances of hate and tribalism, we need to increase our commitment to education about the past to create a more compassionate future. On Jan. 27, the world marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day. This year was especially poignant as it was the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the AuschwitzBirkenau concentration camp and the end of one of the darkest periods in modern history. In honor of this day and as a reaction to recent acts of anti-Semitism, the House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill called the “Never Again Education Act” to help encourage schools to teach Holocaust education. This bill grants $10 million to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum over a five year period. The museum must provide educators with resources and materials in the hopes of counteracting the rising tide of anti-Semitic violence around the world by teaching students. This bill is an important first step that should serve as a launching point for larger efforts to integrate teachings about the Holocaust and other genocides, such as the Armenian genocide, the genocide in Darfur and the current situation with Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. The decision about whether to teach about these events is largely up to individual teachers or school districts. Only 11 states, Michigan included, have any requirement that information about the Holocaust be taught in schools, and only 15 states require some education on the Armenian genocide. Failing to effectively teach youth about these issues can lead to a shocking lack of knowledge about these events. In the case of the Holocaust, recent research has proven this to be frighteningly the

case. A study from 2019 found that 41 percent of millennials believe around four million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, drastically less than the six million actually killed. Additionally, 66 percent of millennials cannot explain what Auschwitz was nor what it did. This is extremely concerning because, without an accurate understanding of what happened in the past, people cannot work to avoid the same mistakes in the future. How can we say “never again” with confidence if many people do not know what happened in the first place? As the years since the Holocaust and other genocides pass, it can be easy to get complacent. We begin to forget the true horror of these events, and we slip back into certain “us versus them” mentalities that lie at the root of these tragedies.

We all have a duty to do our part and create a passionate community. Over the past few years, we have seen a rapid increase in hate crimes, whether it is antiSemitic attacks, anti-LGBTQ+ community attacks or increases in white nationalism. For many University of Michigan students, these issues are personal. We are an extremely diverse community with students of different races, religions, backgrounds and sexual orientations. It is undeniable that education is not a foolproof solution to these problems. The visceral hate and anger that fuels attacks such as these cannot be solved simply through education. However, education about genocides

and other tragic events where hate led to conflict help us to understand the fragility of society and the importance of constantly cultivating a culture of inclusiveness and respect. Through learning, we can see the danger of fear, prejudice and hate and we can recognize how everyday people can choose to stand up to forces of hate and bigotry. I was fortunate to grow up in a community and attend a school where education about the Holocaust and other atrocities was extremely comprehensive. My school tried to integrate this education into multiple facets of our educational experience. Not only did we learn the facts in history class, but we read first-hand accounts, such as the book “Night,” in English class and had discussions about hate and discrimination in various settings. This teaching style was so effective because it allowed us to see these events not simply as a piece of history but as something that needed to be constantly addressed and understood. This is especially important for young people for whom the events of past tragedies feel far removed from many of their lives. As students, we have an obligation to continue to try to foster a culture of tolerance on campus and beyond. Whether it is by accepting the differences of others or voicing support for legislation similar to the Never Again Education Act, we all have a duty to do our part to create a compassionate community. We should also commit to increasing our understanding of these events. Whether it is reading about past genocides or raising awareness about current atrocities, we all have a part to play in becoming more educated and contributing to a more inclusive environment. Isabelle Schindler can be reached at ischind@umich.edu.

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ith the Equality Act (H.R.5) stalled in Congress and a combined lack of political will, local action on LGBTQ+ employment discrimination is imperative. Currently, 44 percent of the LGBTQ+ population lives in states without LGBTQ+ protection policies despite exclusionary workplaces holding economies back. The Judiciary has shifted to the ideological right under President Donald Trump, resulting in the elimination of a route for employment protections. In lieu of federal action on the issue of employment discrimination, state and local governments must act to safeguard LGBTQ+ individuals and promote economic development. The federal government and 26 states do not have employment protections for LGBTQ+ individuals, resulting in secondclass status for LGBTQ+ citizens. One in four LGBTQ+-identifying persons reported experiencing workplace discrimination in 2016 and too often they stand unprotected and vulnerable. The community feels vulnerable due to the frequent targeting from majority groups and a lack of protection under the law. With nearly one-third of transgender individuals living in poverty, 40 percent of homeless youth identifying as LGBTQ+ and one in five members of the community falling victim to hate crimes, the national government is failing. Local protections for LGBTQ+ individuals are the best route toward safety and equality in the absence of federal action. With protections in place, everyone benefits from a healthy and productive workforce. The push for LGBTQ+ employment protections in Michigan for state employees was progressed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer after signing an executive order, but it did not extend to all employees in Michigan. With a Republican majority in the Michigan Legislature, Whitmer is limited in her ability to enact policies. Therefore, local governments must step up or a massive recall must take place in the coming elections to supplement the lack of unilateral power Whitmer holds.

In either scenario, the conversation for protections of LGBTQ+ individuals in the workplace must take place in neighborhoods and over the dinner table to be reflected across the state. Currently, 20 Michigan cities have added LGBTQ+identifying individuals to the list of protected groups in cases of employment discrimination. This group of Michigan cities sits alongside the less than 300 other cities and counties with ordinances protecting LGBTQ+ individuals from workplace discrimination. This coalition is largely concentrated in states with existing protections but provides safe environments for LGBTQ+ individuals. Despite the progress made, many of the cities with local protections have religious exclusions and allow for discrimination by religious organizations. Religious exemptions create hierarchical structures where LGBTQ+ individuals feel vulnerable and ostracized by spaces traditionally deemed safe and welcoming. Critics often cite moral and religious arguments against inclusion in the workplace for LGBTQ+ individuals but ignore the economic benefits. The exclusion of LGBTQ+ people in the workplace causes harm to economies; The addition of legal rights for LGBTQ+ individuals is associated with higher levels of economic development. On top of economic benefits, visibility and familiarity with the LGBTQ+ community in the workplace leads to acceptance, supporting work communities. As the Equality Act remains untouched by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the protections that LGBTQ+identifying individuals rely on in the workplace must be implemented from the bottomup. This bottom-up strategy relies on voters to focus on down-ballot races and pay attention to the candidates that have committed to protecting and uplifting at-risk groups like the LGBTQ+ community. It is imperative for voters to exercise empathy and protect their neighbors from discrimination in the workplace to ensure equal opportunity under the law.

In addition to all the races voters must pay attention to, the focus also must shift to the courts and how the Senate and White House dictate the makeup of the Judiciary across the country. Many ignore the power that the Executive has in appointing judges and justices from Appellate to Supreme Courts. Trump has now nominated and received confirmation by the Senate on over 187 lifetime judges resulting in one in every five circuit judges being Trump-nominated. In line with the need for employment protections, the conservative majority Supreme Court of the United States is in the process of deciding on a trio of cases pertaining to employment protections for LGBTQ+ individuals at the federal level. The lineup of lifetime appointed conservative-leaning judges and justices across the country is a cause for concern for employment activists due to the closing of the avenue so often used for minority groups. Voters must recognize that up and down the ballot, they have responsibilities to vote for values and vote for their LGBTQ+ neighbors, friends and families while the war on the community wages on. It is important to be educated on the severity and responsibility of every office on the ballot but to also vote for your principles rather than focusing on candidates at face value. Many voters are trapped in the mindset that candidates matter more than their politics, but those threatened by a lack of action aren’t afforded this privilege. LGBTQ+ individuals feel the effects of political inaction everyday inside and outside the workplace as their day-to-day lives are threatened. Local ordinances and protections are just the starting point for LGBTQ+ individuals, rather than the destination. With integrated workplaces and stronger coalitions at the local and state level, pressure in the form of advocacy will implore the federal government to act. While Congress remains in gridlock, LGBTQ+ lives and careers must be protected at local levels to ensure equal opportunity and economic prosperity. Owen Stecco can be reached at ostecco@umich.edu.

REID DIAMOND | COLUMN

Boyan Slat’s work needs media coverage

he conversation around the climate crisis in the United States lacks substance and instead focuses on sensationalized activism. Social activists are receiving more coverage and popularity than the engineers and innovators designing real solutions to the existential problems we face. While Greta Thunberg was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year in 2019 for her social activism, Boyan Slat is receiving little recognition for single-handedly taking on the responsibility of cleaning up 90 percent of the plastic pollution in the Pacific Ocean. Slat designed the world’s first maritime plastic cleanup system, The Ocean Cleanup, yet Thunberg and her celebrity activism take center stage in the realms of media and politics. Real innovators should be championed and celebrated. Boyan Slat is solving one of the most complex problems of our generation despite few knowing about him. Plastics and derivative microplastics have accumulated in dangerous quantities throughout the ocean, having an adverse impact on the health of complex marine ecosystems, and consequently, humans. Most of this plastic pollution is concentrated in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a massive area now twice the size of Texas. Undoubtedly the consequence of human negligence, the monstrous rate of world pollution is only getting worse. Higher-income countries have successful waste management systems and therefore contribute less to the pollution in the oceans. Ninety percent of ocean plastic pollution comes from just 10 rivers, eight of which run through Asia, bordering poorer villages that lack the proper waste management infrastructure. Many countries are at a stage in development where people are wealthy enough to consume plastic goods or goods wrapped in plastic, but there isn’t sufficient waste infrastructure to deal with the situation effectively. People dump their waste into the local rivers because it’s the easiest method of disposal. With high densities of people around major rivers, trash accumulates and

flows through these arteries into the ocean, where the plastic ultimately remains. Importantly, it isn’t that people don’t care about the environment or are somehow less civilized. The reality is there is a large number of people consuming plastic goods while there is no infrastructure for effective disposal. Little has been done to address plastic waste in the Pacific Ocean or the efficacy of waste management until recently; few know of its existence. Boyan Slat is taking the issue head-on and plans to permanently end plastic pollution in the oceans. Slat’s approach is two-sided. While Slat is working to clean up the existing plastic pollution in the ocean, he is also working to address the issue at the source with “interceptor” systems that catch plastic at the river source. Currently, with working prototype systems, Slat plans on expanding his fleet of ocean cleanup systems to 60 in order to reach his goal of reducing the amount of plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in half by 2025. Slat’s company, the Ocean Cleanup Project, is saving the ocean, and can’t even gain an audience. In such a dysfunctional political climate — where little environmental legislation has any chance of enactment — such technological innovations should be championed and celebrated, but they aren’t. Climate change is a political issue and it attracts a lot of media and political attention. But this attention is focused around superficial ideas and moral activism instead of coverage of the practical solutions to the very real problems we face. Slat’s lack of fame isn’t a fluke; It’s a symptom of sensationalized news and token climate activists getting more coverage than those on the ground fixing the problems of our generation. This is not to say that celebrity climate activists such as Leonardo DiCaprio or Greta

Thunberg don’t play a critical role in enacting change. In fact, Thunberg addressed heads of state at the United Nations and inspired four million people to participate in the largest climate demonstration in history. She captured the frustration and anger of the millions of young people who carry the burden of inheriting dysfunctional governments in the face of the global climate crisis. That being said, Thunberg’s activism has made little substantive change in international climate policy as many governments still don’t care enough, especially the U.S. Rather than being seen as a climate activist pushing for rapid reform, Thunberg has become adopted as a political lightning rod. The political left uses her as an anti-Trump totem while the political right uses her to support their “crazy socialist” narrative. The result of all this sensationalized coverage is that token activists get more coverage than those on the front lines treating the symptoms of the climate crisis. Slat, and many like him, need media coverage to promote investment. This is precisely where social activism and innovative problem-solving overlap. To promote innovative solutions, we need to start championing the designers and the engineers just as much, if not more than the lead social activists. The climate crisis needs real solutions. Activism has a key role to play in saving the climate and protecting human wellbeing, but it won’t get anything done unless it’s targeted towards concrete solutions. Instead of carrying a sign that claims the world is burning — even though it is — carry a sign that points to a solution. “Invest in Boyan Slat” is tangible and can be echoed by the media or addressed by politicians. It would also look great on a picket sign. Reid Diamond can be reached at reiddiam@umich.edu.

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Arts

Tuesday, February 11, 2020 — 5

FILM REVIEW

COMMUNITY CULTURE REVIEW

‘Horse Girl’ gallops nimbly from hilarity to horror ANDREW WARRICK Daily Arts Writer

COURTESY OF SARA DRIVER

Jarmusch collaborates on live score for short films BEN VASSAR

Daily Arts Writer

Anyone who’s ever improvised a piece of music, character bit or comedy skit knows it’s mind-over-matter magic when it works. This seems to be what gets acclaimed director Jim Jarmusch onstage with producer pal Carter Logan in the formation of SQURL, an enthusiastic-if-intermittent two-man act. The two visited the Michigan Theater last Tuesday to perform a score featuring drums, electric guitar and a range of synth and reverb devices over ’20s short films by the surrealist Man Ray. Jarmusch was the main draw for most folks. His movies have captivated U.S. audiences with their seemingly foreign glimpses into American life. His suave appearance and triangular prism-shaped hair indicate a young, metropolitan sensibility, hiding any trace of his rural Ohio upbringing. Considering his films and music, though, it makes sense that such an upbringing would be used as fodder. “Stranger Than Paradise” is a minimalistically-compact demonstration of our inability to ever connect to one another. A 20-something New Yorker, his friend and an initially unwelcome younger cousin spend days idly running errands, watching TV and sharing thoughts. The cousins warm to each other in subtle ways as they commit to breaking from their daily malaise, but end up even further apart by film’s end.

This lack of understanding could also be what draws Jarmusch to Man Ray’s surrealist films, which feel like automatic manifestations of his subconscious mind. Newspapers rustling in the wind, an indistinguishable man tucking a woman into bed, a closeup of some fibrous material splitting down the middle. All these interrupted by intermittent slides of stream of consciousness thought: “if the flowers were in glass,” “a throw of the dice will never abolish chance.” Sitting through them puts you in a trance, unable to grab onto any one detail over another until the screen reads “You are not dreaming” and you snap out of it. At the end of the live show, Jarmusch explained that these shorts were never scored and typically supplemented by jazz tunes of their time. Though both art forms were experimenting with improv and chance, he and Logan saw much more potential for the films in the powerful combination of analog and digital music tech. Really, though, they saw an opportunity to have the same fun Man Ray did in making his films. With nothing too literal on the screen, it seems hard to make mistakes. Logan explained their process after the show: one initial watchthrough to internalize a reaction, and several more with instruments to establish maps of where to change keys and so on. For the three minutes of eclectic moving shots of clocks, nails, and paint splatter that is “Le Retour a la Raison” (The

Return to Reason), Logan pounded his bass drum while adjusting some static-inducing knob. Jarmusch sent long notes off his electric guitar into the ether. The slower-burning “Les Mystères du Château de Dé” professed to be about two Parisians’ visit to a castle in the countryside. This “castle” was really just a Le Corbusieresque Modern home Man Ray dubiously labels “prestigious.” The plot is just a group of characters playing in the pool and with various toys they find throughout. They often roll dice to decide whether or not to do something. The effect really strips the meaning of much of what bourgeois living was about. As this film, the last of the show and the longest at 27 minutes, played, Jarmusch often turned to face the screen on his guitar. Completely absorbed in visuals and sound, he lunged back from the screen, openly reacting. “Music is a real release for me,” he said at the end of the show. The meaning-stripping done Tuesday night is a theme in Jarmusch’s body of work. For the next three Tuesdays, the Michigan Theater will be featuring some of his most acclaimed films: “Down By Law” on the 11, “Gimme Danger” on the 18, and “Only Lovers Left Alive” on the 25. Though often deadpan and desolate, these films acknowledge the difficulty of representing the multitudes contained within their characters, and leave an impression on audiences well after their reels have run.

TV REVIEW

NBC

‘Nine-Nine’ wraps up with genuine character growth BRENDON CHO For The Daily

This review contains spoilers. You may find that shows as long-running as “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” tend to be formulaic, often forcing their protagonists to go through radical changes or obstacles that ultimately force personal growth onto them. “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” is no

different, but the season seven premiere offers a refreshing twist compared to the development of the protagonists during the previous seasons. In the season six finale of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” Captain Raymond Holt (Andre Braugher, “Bojack Horseman”) finds himself demoted from the rank of officer to beat cop. Initially, you might find this shift in power to be less drastic compared to the incarcerations

of Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg, “Palm Springs”) and Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz, “Bob’s Burgers”) during the season four finale. Yet the removal of a father-like figure from his position of power presents a window of opportunity: Have the other protagonists of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” changed and matured enough to handle the vacuum of power that has remained constant over the previous six seasons?

Everyone knows a horse girl. They stash their homework in colorful horse folders, gallop their way through recess and talk about equestrian practice at every opportunity. It’s such a stereotype that Urban Dictionary has twenty six definitions of the term. However harmless this teasing may seem, though, “Horse Girl,” the new film from Jeff Baena (“The Little Hours”) and Allison Brie (“Glow”), shows that one never knows what might lurk behind those tacky horse T-shirts. “Horse Girl” begins by exploring the quirky life of Sarah, the titular Horse Girl, played by Brie. She works at a craft store, where the fantastic Molly Shannon (“Superstar”) plays her boss. Then Sarah goes to Zumba class, hangs around a stable (where she neither works nor takes lessons) a little too often and spends her nights alone watching Purgatory, a cheesy television show somewhere between “Criminal Minds” and “Supernatural.” On her birthday, Sarah is pressured by her roommate, played by Debby Ryan (“Insatiable”), to go on a date. The expected Horse Girl hijinks ensue as Sarah gets drunk, gallops on the dance floor and gets a nosebleed, yet somehow still woos the boy. However banal all of this may seem, the fact that Sarah’s favorite show is called “Purgatory” is an early hint for what is to come. Sarah, like many people in America today, lives on a razor

thin line between innocuous tedium and deranged chaos. Soon, this balance begins to fall apart. Sarah hears voices at night when nobody is home. She wakes up in strange places with no recollection of how she got there. She becomes certain that people from her dreams are trying to tell her something in real life.

Sarah, like many people in America today, lives on a razor thin line between innocuous tedium and deranged chaos Reasons for this are hinted at, but to say any more would be a spoiler. As Sarah loses control, the narrative follows suit, with comedic tropes falling away to insane, terrifying surreality. “Horse Girl” has a remarkable shift from light comedy to headspinning psychological thrills that most films wouldn’t be able to pull off. It’s a risky move, but it succeeds because of Brie’s performance. She is entirely convincing in every scene and, no matter how unhinged Sarah becomes, Brie’s acting keeps the viewer invested. What at the beginning seemed

quirky and awkward about Sarah becomes tragic and alarming, and one increasingly feels guilty for laughing. By the end, viewers will likely have no idea what in “Horse Girl” was real and what was in Sarah’s incredibly fractured head. Yet the film’s chaos has an ever-present subtext of meaning, pointing towards how mentally-struggling people in modern America are isolated, joked about and misunderstood, left on their own to sort through the debilitating consequences of their conditions. “Horse Girl” is more than just another movie making fun of a current meme. It’s a hilarious, bizarre, heart-wrenching film that shows how everyday life can quickly fall apart and leave nothing but unanswered questions. The movie leaves so much up for interpretation that most people will probably find it a waste of time. Yet for those looking for something insanely innovative that also has something to say about America, there’s nothing better than “Horse Girl.”

Horse Girl Netflix Now Streaming

NETFLIX

You’ll find that in the first episode of season seven, “Manhunter,” Jake Peralta becomes a full-fledged, competent detective capable of leading a manhunt — a vast improvement compared to his lazy season one counterpart who is constantly berated by his superiors. In stark contrast, Holt finds himself in a depressive rut due to his demoted rank. During the manhunt of an assassin, Holt attempts to commandeer his former protégé Jake’s investigation, finding himself unable to swallow his own pride and follow the orders of his former subordinate. Holt’s subordination leaves him to follow his intuition, which runs contrary to Jake’s conclusion that leads to the arrest of the accomplice of the murder. Holt’s intuition ultimately leads to the arrest of the true assassin alongside the assassin’s accomplice. Through the arrest, Holt and Jake both learn that trusting their respective talents, skills and intuitions is far more important than the arbitrary label given to their relationship within the hierarchical police force. You hope that the upheaval of Holt’s relationship to his subordinates might lead to a positive reflection and change in his own character. Yet those hopes are dashed in the second episode of season seven, “Captain Kim.” Captain Kim (Nicole Bilderback, “Staged Killer”), has been brought in to replace the former Captain Holt for the duration of his year-long demotion. The

childish antics of Jake and Holt, who are convinced that the benevolent Captain Kim has ulterior motives, make you question whether Holt or Jake have learned anything from the previous episode. Ultimately, Captain Kim requests an immediate transfer away from the 99th Precinct. The captain’s responsibility then falls on the next highest ranking commander — Lieutenant Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews, “John Henry”).

Brooklyn NineNine Season 7 Premiere NBC Thursday 8:30 p.m. EST

Terry Jeffords’ arc during the events of “Manhunter” and “Captain Kim” provide a perfect complement to the front seat antics of Jake and Holt. In “Manhunter,” Terry’s insecurities about receiving increased responsibility in the

light of Holt’s demotion is played to comedic effect — he assumes that everyone is talking about his inadequacies behind his back. Terry ultimately accepts at the end of “Manhunter” that his best efforts matter as much as his leadership, regardless of whether his efforts are imperfect. Yet in “Captain Kim,” Terry’s run-in with a former convict who he convicted reveals that he still has much to learn even as a leader — namely that of trust and empathy. Terry’s weaknesses as a leader are laid bare in the form of social embarrassment as Terry fails to hide his suspicion that the former convict might poison Terry. Though Terry’s embarrassment is portrayed in a humorous light, you wonder about the writers’ intentions for the relationship between the ex-convict and Terry. Are the writers attempting to underscore society’s unwavering disdain toward formerly incarcerated individuals attempting to integrate within society through humor? You remain unsure because Terry’s negative reactions and embarrassment toward the convict are secondfiddle to the outlandish antics of Jake and Holt. With the departure of “The Good Place”, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” sadly remains the only Michael Schur written comedy currently on the air. However, the season seven premiere provides the promise of continued positive character development for your beloved characters at the 99th precinct.

Arts

6 — Tuesday, February 11, 2020

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

BOOK REVIEW

ALBUM REVIEW

‘The Beauty of Your Face’ timely in a nation divided were “kicked and shoved (...) at the supermarket” and called “raghead” at the gas station for wearing headscarves. As a young girl, Afaf is forced to be hyperaware of her Palestinian roots as she faces everything from microaggressions and ignorance to outright and intentional racism. She suffers heartbreak and hardship when her deeply unhappy sister, Nada, disappears without a trace and her parents succumb to the emotional burden of sadness that descends upon the family. Afaf’s difficult childhood makes her story all the more inspiring as she finds her way out of the spiral of misery that her parents surrendered to

EMMA DOETTLING For the Daily

A GILLARDI PHOTO

Lone Bellow’s ‘Half Moon Light’ threads life, death KAITLYN FOX Daily Arts Writer

Folk music is rooted in stories, a tradition that’s been passed down over many generations but constantly evolves as it takes the shape of modern society and culture. Folk artists pride themselves in maintaining this evolving folk tradition, writing music that tells the story of their lives and remains authentic to the narrative-centered roots of folk. The Lone Bellow follow this tradition in their new album Half Moon Light, dedicating the project to the small, often unnoticed details of the story of their lives, and extracting wisdom from these moments. The fifteen-song album is cathartic in nature, a space for the trio to soothe their brokenness and the brokenness they see in the world. “Let it break you / Let it help you lay down what you held onto,” the group pleads in “Count on Me.” The somber undertones in many of the songs point to themes of death and loss. “I Can Still Feel You Dancing,” is a eulogy for lost relatives and the piano interludes

throughout the album — “Intro,” “Interlude,” and “Outro” — are recordings from the funeral for lead singer Zach Williams’ grandfather. Despite the album’s heaviness, the trio’s musical performance is life-giving. Anyone who’s listened to a Lone Bellow album or has seen them perform live knows that their harmonies are unmatched; The passion the trio possesses allows

Half Moon Light Dan Deacon Domino Recording Company

their stories to come alive. The band offers moments of life in songs like “Good Times,” urging their audience to embrace the lives they have while they’re still around. As they chant “Let no good time slip away,” the trio creates a sense of community that mimics a summer night, singing songs around a campfire with the people you love.

I got to witness the magic of The Lone Bellow at their recent performance at Ann Arbor Folk Festival when the group performed a short set comprised of their older songs as well some songs off the new album. After listening to the new project, I was surprised to find that the tracks on the album sounded nearly identical to their live performance. With its stripped back vocals and guitars, Half Moon Light allows the musical talents of the group to shine through in their simplicity. Half Moon Light, in its soulful, folksy nature, is a celebration of life itself. Clearly The Lone Bellow have weathered highs and lows since their last album release, and the way they approached Half Moon Light as a space to let go of all the pain they’ve hung onto is a testament to the way music can heal. Like their prior albums, Half Moon Light preserves folk tradition through its story-telling and capacity to reach people at a personal level. The Lone Bellow embraced the opportunity to open up about their own lives, and now they’re taking us with them as they try to cope with and understand the moments in life we all struggle with.

Breaking news: school shooting. Too often, these words flash across the screens of homes all over America. Listening to the atrocities recounted on TV, it all seems too horrific to be true. Surreal clips of crying family members and mourning communities unveil before our eyes, and disbelief permeates every inch of our being. It’s hard to ignore the unwelcome feeling of morbid curiosity that our imagination sets into motion. What must it be like to attend a regular day at school, only to have it end in such tragedy and horror? What were the victims’ last thoughts? What was the shooter thinking? Sahar Mustafah’s upcoming novel “The Beauty of Your Face” gives us a glimpse into the terrifying realities of a school shooting, and the circumstances Sahar Mustafah that bring about this all-toocommon incident. The story W. W. Norton & follows a Palestinian-American Company woman, Afaf Rahman, as she Apr. 7, 2020 navigates faith, family struggles and the unshakeable racial prejudices in American society leading up to and following 9/11. Afaf’s narrative is told through two alternating timelines. The bulk of the novel focuses on her through perseverance and her life growing up in the suburbs discovery of Islam. After 9/11, Afaf faces a new set of Chicago, while a present-day encounter with a school shooter of hardships as the underlying frames the story. “The Beauty current of xenophobia in America of Your Face” details Afaf’s crystallizes into a misguided fear journey from a scarring youth to of terrorists. This fear and hate a meaningful adulthood, in which is inevitably directed at Afaf and she works as the principal of an her family solely because they all-girls Muslim school in Chicago: are Muslim. The headscarf Afaf donned with pride in her late the Nurideen School for Girls. With profound insights and teenage years becomes a symbol glittering words, Mustafah of terrorism in the eyes of ignorant explores the realities of growing American nationalists. In a up in a community that rejected heartbreaking exchange between Sudoku Syndication Afaf’s Palestinian immigrant Afaf and her daughter Azmia family. Chicago in the 1970s and about recent terrorist attacks, ‘80s was a world where women Azmia asks her mother, “How

The Beauty of Your Face

can they do that? Aren’t they Muslim too?” to which Afaf has no good answer except “They’re not true muslimeen, habibti.” It is impossible not to share Afaf’s disbelief and frustration at the undeserved abuse she endures just because overseas terrorist groups use her cherished religion in the name of evil. The story is told mostly from Afaf’s perspective, but her narrative is periodically interrupted by chapters told from the point of view of the shooter. The shooter’s mind is a world of twisted fantasy, fueled by online chat rooms where anyone who isn’t white or born in America poses a threat to his existence. His perspective is both haunting and disturbing, as his initially cold and hateful voice gives way to a deep sense of loneliness. Though at times hard to read, this unconventional perspective highlights the depth of the divide between the xenophobic shooter and the students of Nurideen School for Girls. Mustafah seems to suggest that so much of the violence and hate in this country stems from this fundamental lack of understanding between people. “The Beauty of Your Face” is a complex generational novel that is all too relevant in today’s divided America. The underlying plea of the characters, “We are a religion of peace, not terror. We are Americans too,” echoes urgently through the pages of the novel. Afaf tries to bridge the gap between her and the shooter, urging him, “Tell me about your pain,” but it’s too late for him to see past their differences. Afaf and the shooter’s lives and experiences have led them to this point, and her small act of recognition can no longer put an end to the events that are unfolding. Nevertheless, the message rings loud and clear. Maybe violence could be avoided if people took the time to http://sudoku understand other people’s pain and find commonalities in their shared human experience.

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Release Date: Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

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DOWN 1 Serious attempts 2 Thin fragments 3 August birthstone 4 Cry of success 5 Table salt, to a chemist 6 Look at rudely 7 Skyrocket 8 Once, once upon a time 9 Some govt. lawyers 10 Priest’s title 11 __ Roosevelt, first lady for 12 years 12 Celebrity status 13 Respectful bows 18 Curbside cry 22 Like Mindy’s alien husband 24 Covert missions 25 Inhalation 27 “The Office” star Steve 28 Without vigor 29 Miscellany 32 Swedish singer Larsson with the Top 20 hit “Never Forget You”

34 Called balls and strikes 35 Snobby 36 Portuguese lady 37 South Seas wrapped garments 39 “The A-Team” actor 40 Randy Newman song played at Dodger Stadium 41 Formally request

42 Hostess sponge cake 44 Joins the flow of traffic 46 “Just gimme __!” 50 Wild West Wyatt 51 Practice boxing 52 A beret covers it 53 “__ Tu”: 1974 hit 56 Tiger Woods’ org. 57 Sandwich meat

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Sports

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Storako pitching as ace T op of the seventh, last chance for Georgia State. Sophomore right-hander Alex Storako trotted out and took her place inside the circle. With 13 strikeouts under her belt, she was NICHOLAS just two away STOLL from tying her singlegame record of 15 set last season against Michigan State. Skylar Mosel stepped up to the plate for Georgia State. Four pitches later, she was heading back to the bench after swinging for the third strike — 14 strikeouts. Sofia Tunon took her turn against Storako. And once again, Storako got another Panther to swing and miss for a third strike — 15. Two outs. Gracie Kittrell was Georgia State’s last chance. Seven pitches in and Storako and Kittrell were locked in a full count. Storako sent the ball over the plate. Kittrell swung, but like those ahead of her, she found nothing but air — 16, a new career-best. That was how Storako started her season. With emphasis. “I just had all my pitches,” Storako said.

She stamped Michigan softball’s season opener, a 6-1 win over Georgia State, with a performance that made a statement about her year to come. She went on to contribute in three of the other four wins, helping the Wolverines improve to 5-0 on the season. There was no debate over whether Storako was going to be a starter after coming off a successful freshman campaign that ended in a 14-6 record and a 2.02 ERA. She and junior left-hander Meghan Beaubien were locks in the pitching rotation entering the season. But Storako’s performance in the Wolverines opening weekend at the USF-Rawlings Invitational warrants a new question: Does Michigan have a clear No. 1? The short answer: no. When asked, Michigan coach Carol Hutchins praised both pitchers, not naming one ace, but rather treating the two as a pair. Beaubien was the first pitcher in last year’s rotation. After all, Storako was only a freshman and Beaubien was coming off a campaign that saw her win Big Ten Freshman and Pitcher of the Year. And over the weekend’s games, Beaubien in no way played poorly. She finished with an ERA of 1.75 and a 1.13 WHIP. But Storako excelled. This was her weekend, and Storako showed just how good she can be.

“Well, I thought our team had a great weekend and Alex certainly was a big part of that,” Hutchins said. “Last year, at this time, she couldn’t get through entire games, and now she’s doing a heavy load for us. I’m very pleased with that.” Storako pitched in four of five games over the three-day slate, only sitting against South Florida. This included her record-setting start against Georgia State, a relief performance against Illinois State, a zero earned-run outing against Fresno State and a complete game against the Wolverines’ best opponent of the weekend — No. 7 Florida — where she held the Gators to just two runs on six hits. “I think it speaks for itself,” Hutchins said. “Now she’s carrying the bulk of the load and she’s someone that we count on to be consistent and to be competitive.” Storako came out of the weekend boasting a 1.00 ERA and 1.10 WHIP, while averaging 1.81 strikeouts per inning and 12.67 per game. “I felt really good,” Storako said. “I was able to throw one pitch at a time.” It’s a small sample size — just three starts and four games — but the numbers don’t tell a lie. Storako dominated. Her pitching took over each game, paralyzing opposing offenses. Out of the 23 players she let on base over four games, 20 were stranded. Storako came out this weekend and pitched like an ace. Like a true number one Hutchins trusted with the first game, last game and hardest game of the weekend. At the same invitational last season, Hutchins noted Storako surpassed then-sophomore Sarah Schaefer as the No. 2 pitcher in the rotation. This year, Storako made her case again — this time for a share of No. 1.

ALEC COHEN/Daily

Stoll can be reached at nkstoll@ umich.edu and on Twitter @nkstoll.

Alex Storako showed this weekend that she can be a second ace for Michigan.

Tuesday, February 11, 2020 — 7

Notebook: Faceoffs, line chemistry, penalties important for Wolverines ROHAN KUMAR Daily Sports Writer

The past two weekends — more than any others — exemplified the importance of winning faceoffs for the Michigan hockey team. The Wolverines won a couple key faceoffs, at home against No. 13 Ohio State and Wisconsin, that helped fuel wins. In Friday’s game against the Buckeyes, a crucial faceoff victory came late in the second period. The score was tied at one a piece and sophomore forward Jimmy Lambert got ready to take a draw at the right circle of the offensive zone. Lambert won it and quickly sent it behind him to freshman defenseman Cam York. York hustled toward the left circle and found a window between defenders to rifle the puck into the net. That goal came at a turning point for the eventual 3-2 victory. Then Saturday against the Badgers, senior forward Nick Pastujov won another important draw early in the first period of a then-scoreless game. Pastujov won the faceoff at the right circle of the defensive zone and soon connected with freshman forward Eric Ciccolini who sent it to freshman defenseman Keaton Pehrson near center ice. Pehrson did the rest, putting Michigan on the board in a 5-3 win that secured the weekend sweep. These plays show just how much of an advantage winning a faceoff can be. It puts the opposing players on their feet, as they have to quickly get set in a defensive position and figure out what they’re going to do. A split second hesitation from the opposing defense in making that transition is all it takes to spur an offensive burst. And that was the case the past two weekends. There’s plenty of room for the Wolverines to improve on faceoffs, as they’ve won 49.8 percent to date. That said, the results from

the weekend could provide Michigan enough of an incentive to bear down on the draws. When it comes to the drop of the puck, Pastujov is the Wolverines’ most talented player. He has taken close to 22-percent of his team’s faceoffs and is winning nearly 57 percent of the time. Slaker, Lambert, Granowicz line finding success With freshman forward Johnny Beecher out during last Friday’s game due to a one-game suspension, the lines were changed up a bit. For the first time, the combination of senior forward Jake Slaker, freshman forward Nick Granowicz and Lambert found its way onto the ice. “I thought that we were good on the forecheck,” Lambert said of the line. “We were just going to the net. A lot of the times, the goals are scored just within 10 feet of the net and that’s where we scored pretty much all of them, so we clicked well, but we were skating and we were moving it and communicating and that was big out there tonight. ” And it worked for Michigan. The line helped churn three goals in the 8-4 win. “I’ve been playing with Jimmy on and off for the last two years, so we have good chemistry,” Slaker said. “It was our first night with (Granowicz) and we had really good practices this week. We kind of went in with a game plan and it ended up working out.”

Despite Beecher’s return to the ice on Saturday, the Wolverines stuck to what worked — letting Slaker, Lambert and Granowicz continue to stick together. And once again, the results were positive. In the 5-3 victory, the line was on ice for two of Michigan’s goals. Lambert left the game in the third period due to an undisclosed injury after sliding into the boards. If he can make a timely recovery, though, he and his new linemates could help the Wolverines continue their offensive strides that they’ve searched so long to find. Penalties dwindling away While hosting Wisconsin, Michigan significantly limited its penalties. Heading into the weekend, the Wolverines were averaging 8.96 penalty minutes a night. That figure wasn’t too much of an issue due to the group’s skillful penalty kill unit. But in the two games against the Badgers combined, Michigan served just six total penalty minutes. “Honestly, I think it’s just the point in the season,” senior forward Jacob Hayhurst said of the drop. “It’s late. Everyone knows what the refs are gonna call and what they’re not gonna call. I think there’s gonna be a little more leeway each night, just because it’s getting that much closer to playoff hockey.” However, if such improvement is here to stay, it could pay dividends down the road.

NATALIE STEPHENS/Daily

Senior forward Nick Pastujov won key faceoffs in Michigan’s weekend sweep.

Fresh faces Freshmen lead Michigan past Cleveland State in dominating, 16-9, win DREW COX

Daily Sports Writer

Five minutes into the first quarter, freshman midfielder Jake Bonomi glided across the left side of the field, tucking his crosse to his side as he face-dodged past a flurry of defenders. With his hands free, Bonomi then smoothly placed his shot right past the left shoulder of Cleveland State goalkeeper Gareth Haigh to net the Michigan men’s lacrosse team’s first goal of the 2020 season and his first goal as a Wolverine. Alongside Bonomi, who recorded one other goal and one assist on Saturday, fellow freshmen attackman Josh Zawada and defenseman Dylan Gardner, who both found the back of the net twice, had impressive debuts as the Wolverines (1-0) defeated the Vikings (0-1), 16-9, in their season opener. With senior midfielder Avery Myers out due to injury, three freshmen found themselves in the Wolverines’ starting offensive rotation: Bonomi, Zawada and midfielder Jacob Jackson. And they all proved why they deserve to be starters, seamlessly integrating themselves into a fierce unit of goal-scorers that includes junior attackman Kevin Mack and sophomore attackman Bryce Clay. “Playing alongside Kevin and Bryce, I have to work off them,” Zawada said. “Every time they dodge, I’m there. I gotta just know my place and what to do. Everything will fall into place after that.” “We have some firepower with our offensive unit, but it’s more about leadership,” Michigan coach Kevin Conry said. “It’s just the quiet confidence in this group that they know that they have the ability to go on some of these runs.” Bonomi and Zawada’s goals were paired with a set of opportunistic goals from junior midfielders Alex Buckanavage, after a man-up possession, and Steven Schnieder, following a lengthy ground ball scrum. By the end of the first quarter, Michigan

extended its lead to 4-1. “It was more about just understanding and knowing that they could do it,” Conry said. “It’s great to see them actually perform. They’ve had such good preseasons that we weren’t very surprised.” Three minutes into the second quarter, Vikings’ attackman Tristan Hanna found teammate Ryan Haigh streaking through the Wolverines’ defensive unit. Haigh then fired a shot past senior goalkeeper Matt Trowbridge to cut Michigan’s lead to two goals. But just two minutes later, Clay bulled his way through a Vikings’ defenseman and fired a shot past Haigh to re-extend Michigan’s lead to three. The Wolverines didn’t look back from there. Highlighted by a ferocious time-and-room goal scored by fifth-year senior Rocco Sutherland and an open-net goal from near midfield by Gardner, Michigan piled on four more goals throughout the quarter. At halftime, the Wolverines stood tall with a commanding 9-3 lead. In last season’s contest against Cleveland State, Michigan found

itself in a similar situation, up 7-0 halfway through the second quarter. The Wolverines let the Vikings back into the game and barely escaped with a victory, 10-8. This season, although Michigan was able to hold onto a healthysized lead throughout the second half, Cleveland State never folded and scored twice as many goals in the second half as it did in the first. Led by Hanna, who scored two of his three goals in the second half, the Vikings capitalized on a young Wolverines’ defensive unit’s miscues on transition defense and positioning several times. “You have to look and give Cleveland State a lot of credit,” Conry said. “Tristan Hanna is slippery. He’s got incredible hands and moves really well off the ball. A lot of it is the speed he was working at. … You look at those guys who are all freshmen getting back in the hole. A lot of times you get back in the hole, you rest. (And) you can’t rest. So that’s really the message that we have to continue to hammer into them.” Despite occasional lapses, Michigan’s defense stood its

ground for the most part and took advantage of numerous missed opportunities ceded by the Vikings. In addition to his two goals, Gardner scooped up seven ground balls and caused one turnover. Sophomore defensive midfielder Andrew Russell and sophomore defenseman Drake Schaffner each picked up three ground balls to award the Wolverines’ offense the possessions they needed to maintain their lead. In spite of Cleveland State’s offensive efforts, its defense was unable to contain Michigan’s offensive weapons throughout the second half. Forty-five seconds into the third quarter, Jackson netted his first goal as a Wolverine. Following an unreleasable unnecessary roughness penalty by the Vikings, Buckanavage and Mack scored goals within a minute of one another to extend Michigan’s lead to eight, 12-4. Whenever Cleveland State was able to score, the Wolverines had an answer. And on Saturday, that was all they needed.

MAX WADLEY For The Daily

Saturday, the Michigan men’s lacrosse lineup was missing some familiar faces. Seniors Avery Myers — a starter in the midfield last season — and Finn Goonan were out with injuries. So, Michigan coach Kevin Conry turned to his youngest players. They did more than heed his call. Freshman midfielder Jake Bonomi broke the seal for the Wolverines with his first career goal. Scoring within the first five minutes of play, Bonomi set the tone for the offensive core, and finished the game with two goals and one assist in a 16-9 win over Cleveland State. “He’s a missile,” Conry said. “He’s like the Energizer Bunny coming out of the box. We knew that we could surprise some

people. The key with Jake is to continue to develop and keep playing as hard as he does.” Bonomi is not the only weapon in Michigan’s offensive unit. Sophomore attackman Bryce Clay led the team with three goals and junior attackman Kevin Mack put up two goals. With Myers — who was second in goals last year — set to return any week, the offensive unit will be a balance of upperclassmen who can lead the team and young players with a lot of potential. “We have some firepower with our offensive unit, but it’s more about the leadership,” Conry said. Freshman attackman Josh Zawada had an impressive start to his career as well, leading the team with three assists and putting up two goals, matching fellow freshman defensemen Dylan Gardner in scoring. “It felt awesome,” Zawada said. “It’s a dream come true wearing the Michigan uniform and wings on our helmets.” “ … I get a lot of support from the upperclassmen. Every time I don’t know the plays and I don’t know where to go on the field they guide me through it and then the next rep I know what to do.” The Wolverines hope leadership and team chemistry will lead them to a strong season. The team struggled last year to a 4-9 record overall and went 1-4 in the Big Ten. And considering how injuryprone the team was last season, being able to rely on younger players that have the ability to step up and perform will be important for Michigan. Veteran Wolverines have now seen they can trust the freshmen to hold their ground at a high level. “It’s huge,” Clay said. “We know they can play, and that’s why they’re on the field.”

They can play, and that’s why they’re on the field.

BECCA MAHON/Daily

Freshman attackman Josh Zawata had three assists and two goals in his Michigan debut as the Wolverines beat Cleveland State, 16-9, in their opener.

Sports

8 — Tuesday, February 11, 2020

‘M’ blows out Gophers on road, 77-52 KENT SCHWARTZ Daily Sports Writer

Two weeks ago, against thenNo. 23 Northwestern, Michigan learned a hard lesson: In the Big Ten, if you don’t start well, you don’t win. In their three games since then, the Wolverines have taken that lesson to the max — establishing dominant leads in the first quarter of every game. Monday’s matchup in Minnesota was no different as Michigan (16-7 overall, 7-5 Big Ten) leapt out to a nine point lead over the Golden Gophers (15-9, 5-8) and never looked back, winning 77-52. With freshman guard Maddie Nolan starting her second game in a row due to a hand injury to sophomore guard Danielle Rauch, Minnesota swiftly targeted her with its own freshman guard, Jasmine Powell. Making her fifth start of the season, Powell caught fire early, dicing up Nolan on the way to the rim. Powell proved to be a daunting task for any defender, however, hitting a trio of first half 3-pointers and slicing through traffic for quick layups. Her 17 first-half points proved a thorn in Michigan’s side, teasing the idea of a comeback should it make a mistake. The Gophers, though, couldn’t

get anyone else going. Only two other players scored points, leaving them limping into the half deeply frustrated. “(Powell) had a great first half and she had 17 points, and we were a little upset about that, but considering we held their team to 26, we were really happy about that,” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said. “I thought our post did a tremendous job on their post play, just a great job defensively.” The Wolverines’ four most experienced players quickly found themselves in foul trouble, all getting to three apiece midway through the third quarter. On a roster with just nine healthy players, foul trouble threatened to bring down the game plan like a house of cards. Michigan’s house, though, stood strong no matter what the Gophers threw at it. Foul trouble aside, every single player that dressed put together a performance that left Minnesota in the dust. Starting with assists, the Wolverines achieved a seasonhigh 25, with Dilk dishing out eight and sophomore forward Naz Hillmon and Nolan each contributing five. All that while tackling a focus area of cutting down on turnovers — having just seven. “That’s outstanding, that’s

obviously a season high for us for sure, and I thought we did a tremendous job of taking care of the ball,” Barnes Arico said. “That’s something we’ve been trying to get better at through the course of the year, and I thought it all started obviously with our point guard Dilk. She led the charge, she was tremendous tonight, she did a great job for us.” Dilk and Hillmon, exhibiting their tag team at its most dangerous, also contributed 22 and 21 points, respectively, despite being given discounted minutes in the blowout victory. “When you have a teammate like Hillmon who draws so much attention to her, and she’s able to score out of that or pass out of that,” Dilk said. “I don’t know how many assists she had, but she’s been averaging a lot because she can pass. And we have guards like us that can cut off that, so that’s what we did tonight, and we found it to be very successful.” A blowout that happened because Michigan was able to close the game out. Unlike the previous three games, the Wolverines wrapped an ironclad grip on the victory, shutting down any chance for Minnesota to find a way back in the game. Michigan’s role players set the perfect harmony for its stars’ melody. It started well and it finished even better.

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily

Sophomore guard Amy Dilk had 22 points and eight assists in Michigan’s 77-52 win over Minnesota on Monday.

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Brooks’s perimeter ‘D’ a highlight CONNOR BRENNAN Daily Sports Writer

A few weeks back, as Juwan Howard fielded questions from the media following a loss at Iowa, he wanted to make one thing clear — Eli Brooks was not in a slump. “He’s been working extremely hard throughout the season,” Howard said. “At times, I know he’s been getting a lot of media attention and a lot of negative press. Unfortunately, at times some of it has been disrespectful I would say and it’s been unfair.” The junior guard had been a consistent scorer for the Wolverines through the first two months of the season, but scored just 15 points on 7-of-23 shooting over three games to begin January. But whatever plagued Brooks against Michigan State, Purdue and Minnesota from an offensive perspective was turned on its head against the Hawkeyes, as Brooks exploded for a career-high 25 points and shot 5-for-11 from deep. But, as much as Howard commended Brooks for his offensive production that night, he made even more of a point of lauding Brooks’ defense. “The beauty of it, which doesn’t show up on the box score, is Eli’s been one of our best defenders,” Howard said. “Usually if you have a guy who doesn’t make shots, they forget about playing defense on the other end because they get so frustrated because the shots not going in. “Eli’s been the competitor that we’ve asked him to be. He’s shown he’s dependable. So, I’m very happy with Eli. He’s one of our leaders.” Howard’s endorsement that night in Iowa City has rung true in the 22 days since, but was no more evident than when Michigan faced the Spartans on Saturday at Crisler Center. In the teams’ previous

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily

Junior guard Eli Brooks has stood out for his defense in recent weeks.

meeting in early January, Michigan State’s All-American point guard Cassius Winston dominated the Wolverines with 32 points and nine assists en route to an 18-point thrashing of Michigan. Saturday, though, things were different for both Winston and the Spartans. Brooks was a major reason why. Michigan coach Juwan Howard switched the defensive assignments ahead of Saturday’s rematch, handing the task of guarding Winston to Brooks — arguably the Wolverines’ best perimeter defender — instead of senior guard Zavier Simpson. “Honestly, I think (Zavier) did a great job of handling it because that’s the little matchup battle,” Livers said. “But Cassius guards Eli, so it was like, ‘Eli, why don’t you turn around and guard Cassius?’ Make it simple. And Eli, man, he’s a pest. He’s a really good defender.” In addition to 11 points and nine boards of his own, Brooks held Winston to just 20 points on 18 shots. In stymying Michigan State’s maestro, the Wolverines disrupted the Spartans’ offense as a whole — holding them to an offensive rating of 94.4, down from 114.5 in their previous matchup, per KenPom. “I know in the last game Cassius was very comfortable,” Howard said. “I went back and watched film of our last

game. I just wanted to give him a different look. I knew Eli — defensively, he’s a very disciplined player, very technical. He’s not gonna make many mistakes. “I thought he did a really good job staying front of Cassius, making every catch tough for him, as well as challenging every shot without fouling.” Like Howard, Brooks’ teammates weren’t surprised by his play against Winston, noting how he prides himself on the little things defensively. “A lot of people overlook Eli,” Livers said. “I honestly hate when he guards me in practice. You can’t come off any ball screens, you can’t drive. He doesn’t give up any angles. He told me his dad taught him that at a young age, so that’s why he’s so excellent at it now.” While Brooks is undoubtedly a capable scorer, his offensive numbers have ebbed and flowed at times this season. What hasn’t fluctuated is his effort defensively. With Livers, Michigan’s leading scorer, back from injury, Simpson scoring doubledigits in seven of his last nine games and the emergence of sophomore forward Brandon Johns Jr., Brooks doesn’t need to be a go-to guy offensively. But on defense, performances like Saturday’s are always welcomed.

Omaha stakes

In intrasquad scrimmage, Michigan shows talent to fill holes created by draft departures from last year’s CWS roster JACK WHITTEN Daily Sports Writer

It was closer to a live batting practice session than a scrimmage, let alone a playoff game. Omaha, Neb. was hundreds of miles and many months in the rearview mirror. But watching junior righthander Blake Beers and the large portion of the No. 8 Michigan baseball team that participated, it was easy to wonder whether this event had more importance than what met the eye. Perhaps it did. Former starters Tommy Henry and Karl Kauffman teamed up for 254.2 innings last year. Gone too are heart-of-the-order mainstays Jordan Brewer and Jimmy Kerr and their combined 123 RBI. Junior center fielder Jesse Franklin and his 51 walks will not be available for at least two weeks as he continues recovering from a skiing-related injury. Short-term or long-term, these are roles that need filling, and Sunday’s intrasquad scrimmage gave many Wolverines a chance to make a case for themselves. A few took notable advantage of the opportunity. Beers, the first pitcher of the afternoon, stared in at each hitter with indiscriminate intensity. He often brushed the rubber off with his foot, although there was no dirt to get rid of on synthetic ramp that served as a mound. The gesture drove home just how seriously he took the experience. “There’s plenty of stuff there,” Michigan coach Eric Bakich said. “For him, it’s just doing it against another jersey, and he certainly has the look of a much more confident kid and the ability to do that this year.” On Sunday, Beers did it against batters wearing his own jersey. He occasionally struggled with control — issuing back-toback walks at one point — but allowed few hard-hit balls over several innings of work. “He’s certainly a guy we could

look at as a potential starter, a potential long reliever, a potential high-leverage reliever, a potential closer,” Bakich said. Beers’ long, downhill stride and traditional arm slot — along with a relative lack of pinpoint accuracy — do not make him a likely candidate to be a situational, one-out reliever. Without a niche role, Beers will be one of a dozen pitchers looking for innings in Michigan’s deep bullpen. His focus and drive, then, should hardly come as a surprise. Next up was sophomore lefthander Jack White. His fastballs exploded in the catcher’s mitt, speeding up bats against his

Jimmy can hit, and he hits the ball just as hard as Nwogu and Franklin. secondary pitches. “(Pitching coach Chris) Fetter’s been working with me a lot on my curveball,” White said. “Just being able to throw that for strikes. He’s been a huge help developing that pitch.” White also found swing-andmiss success with his offspeed pitches. When junior outfielder Jordan Nwogu drew a walk — one of the few to reach base against White — he promptly stole second and third base. Working out of the stretch, White ended the inning by making senior Dominic Clementi flail at a breaking ball in the dirt. The tennis-match quiet was interrupted; the Wolverines behind the backstop were momentarily beside themselves in disbelief of the filthiness they’d just witnessed. “What he did today — he’s got a good fastball, we’ve even seen it in the low 90s, with a good breaking ball,” Bakich said. “All

the makings are there of a guy that has a chance to get some outs for us in relief.” At and behind the plate, freshman Jimmy Obertop exhibited a variety of skills with the game-mode deadpan of Beers. His swing keeps the barrel in the strike zone for a long time, in part due to quick hands getting the handle out in front. Offensively, he provides a viable alternative to junior catcher Joe Donovan. “Jimmy can hit,” Bakich said. “He hits the ball as hard as Nwogu and Franklin. His exit velos and what he’s capable of — he’s a serious power threat.” In two at-bats, Obertop demonstrated his potential to become a three true outcomes hitter — a batter who ends a significant portion of his plate appearances with either a walk, a strikeout or a homer; the kind of offensive threat that analytics has proven to be very productive. While he went down on strikes against White, his second trip to the plate saw him line a pitch up the middle, a no-doubt extra base hit if not for the cramped dimensions of the field house. He demonstrated savviness, if not speed, on the basepaths: After staying put during two straight balls in the dirt, he successfully stole a base by running on delivery. By luring the defense into complacency after resisting the temptation of taking a chance on one of two potential passed balls, Obertop maximized his chance of success. His bat will force him into lineups, but his defensive versatility makes the decision to start him easier. “Good catcher, can play first base, could play the outfield if we needed him to, or DH,” Bakich said. “I expect he’ll be in there, somewhere.” That last line is one that Beers, White and Obertop would all like to have applied to their names. Thanks to their scrimmage performances, that dream may have inched a little closer to reality.

ALEC COHEN/Daily

Junior outfielder Jordan Nwogu has developed into one of Michigan’s best power hitters out of the leadoff spot.

AIDAN WOUTAS Daily Sports Writer

Beach balls. That’s how former Michigan outfielder Jordan Brewer excitedly described the pitches coming toward him when he launched a grand slam over the left field wall as the Wolverines trounced Manhattan College, 23-2, last March. His description speaks to a mentality that drove Brewer toward consistent dominance at the plate last season as Michigan utilized its offensive power to make a World Series run. But Brewer won’t be back in Ann Arbor this year. As the 2020 season begins with higher expectations than ever before, the team has lost many key hitters, particularly on the front end of last year’s lineup. Brewer, in the three-hole last year, went on to be drafted by the Houston Astros in the third round of last June’s MLB draft. Jimmy Kerr, whose eight postseason home runs were crucial in the Wolverines’ run to Omaha, was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 33rd round. And junior outfielder Jesse Franklin, who batted second and posted a .477 slugging percentage with 13 home runs and 55 RBI, will miss at least the first two weeks of the season due to a collarbone injury sustained while skiing.

But Michigan’s lineup isn’t without options. Their leadoff hitter, junior outfielder Jordan Nwogu, appears prepared to stay in that position in the lineup. “I like the tone it sets, having that strapping dude walking up to the plate to lead off the game with a double or a homer,” Michigan coach Erik Bakich said. “He’s done well in that role and he poses a totally dynamic speedpower threat, so I like him up there in the top of the order.” Nwogu, who was named to the Preseason All-America first team by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, doesn’t seem too worried about the team’s ability to adapt. “I don’t see my role changing this year,” Nwogu said. “We have a lot of great guys that came in, as well as guys who have been here and stepped up — like Danny Zimmermann and Jimmy Obertop — who are power guys, so I don’t think we’re really going to feel too much of a loss from last year.” Nwogu’s mention of Obertop, a freshman catcher expected to start at designated hitter in Michigan’s College World Series rematch against Vanderbilt on Friday, underscores how much attention he has drawn during the preseason for his hitting ability. “Jimmy can hit, and he hits the ball just as hard as Nwogu and

Franklin,” Bakich said “He’s got big juice in his bat and can put in a double or extra base hit at any time, so he really put the charge into the ball which is really impressive for a young kid.” Bakich seemed confident in the team’s offensive dynamism, but noted how hard it is to predict how the offense will settle. “We had so many different guys perform so well at various times throughout the year, but remember offense is (different) than pitching,” Bakich said. Hitting indeed requires a different approach than pitching. A team can do a lot right at the plate and still not have much to show for it. Michigan has long crafted its at-bats to allow scoring quickly, early and often, as well as crafting a versatile lineup that can sustain a range of pitchers. This strategy doesn’t seem destined to change in spite of its personnel losses. In yesterday’s intrasquad scrimmage, the coaching staff’s emphasis on inflicting quick damage was clear. Despite the losses, Bakich isn’t worried about how his team will craft its offensive identity. Last year, there were plenty of questions coming in, too, and he saw how that ended up. “There were a lot of lumps that we took,” Bakich said. “But in doing so, we got better because of it and we got back up every time.”