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Thursday, August June 11, 6, 2020 2020

ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

inside

City Council challengers take primary

NEWS

Philbert report Students respond to the WilmerHale report detailing 20 years of sexual miscondut. >> SEE PAGE 2

Incumbents are ousted by candidates sponsored by mayor Chris Taylor, giving him a majority

OPINION

A reflection on the WilmerHale report

JULIA RUBIN

The University’s lack of action preserves a culture of abuse. >> SEE PAGE 5

Summer News Editor

Dominick Sokotoff/Daily

ARTS

Hozier reads poetry to you on Instagram The singer-songwriter’s ‘Poetry Fridays’ are >> SEE PAGE 7 surreal. MICHIGAN IN COLOR

Lebanon: where suffering meets resilience

Lebanon has another crisis and, like before, we have abandoned them. >> SEE PAGE 9

SPORTS

New schedule

The Big Ten’s release of the football schedule gets broken down for the Wolverines. >> SEE PAGE 10

NEWS .................................... 2 OPINION ............................... 4 ARTS/NEWS..........................6 MiC......................................... 8 SPORTS................................ 10

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A pandemic primary: How voters and poll workers experienced elections CALDER LEWIS & SARAH PAYNE Summer News Editors

As Ann Arbor received a rcord number of absentee ballot requests ahead of Tuesday’s primary elections, in-person voting dwindled. Throughout the day, The Daily visited multiple precincts and found few voters at many locations. Ann Arbor’s online Election Day line tracker reported little to no wait times. University of Michigan Law student Sam Rubinstein has been working the polls on election days since he moved to Ann Arbor in 2018. Administering an election for the second time as precinct chairperson Tuesday, he wanted to make sure the second precinct in Ward 3 ran smoothly and safely. The city of Ann Arbor worked with the University to use a bigger space for the polls in the Michigan League, which is otherwise closed. Rubenstein noted the city implemented protective measures like plexiglass between workers and voters; N-95 face masks and gloves for workers; and sanitizing voting booths after each use. “But obviously the biggest

difference is that there’s very few people here, because people have been encouraged to vote by mail, and it’s good to see people taking advantage of that even if it’s a bit quiet here,” Rubinstein said. Rubinstein said he doesn’t know whether the safety measures in place today will be sustainable in the general election when students are presumably back on campus and turnout is much higher. “It’ll be harder to sustain,” Rubinstein said. “I’m confident that we’re practicing good social distancing today, but it’s easy when you have such a small number of people.” Election workers outnumbered voters throughout the day at the League. By 11 a.m., four hours after polls opened, election worker Joan Lowenstein had only seen one voter, a Daily reporter who was at their 3rd Ward 1st Precinct station. Lowenstein said about 20 absentee ballots were sent out to the precinct, which is nearly all students. “We expected it to be pretty slow because of the big push for absentee ballots this year,” Lowenstein said. “... I know that each ward in Ann Arbor had more absentee ballots requested than total voters in 2018.”

Edward Golembiewski, Washtenaw County Director of Election, confirmed this rise in an email to The Daily, stating 101,807 absentee ballots were sent across the county and 34,519 have been issued for the city of Ann Arbor. Even though Ann Arbor resident Chris Vessels received an absentee ballot, he voted in-person because he was driving by the League. Vessels said he is also worried about bigger elections, but said the sociallydistanced voting didn’t affect his experience much Tuesday. “This would be a nightmare if there were a big line out the door, and I’m sure for the general election it’s gonna be kind of tough, but for something where you’re the only person in here it’s really not such a big deal,” Vessels said. Vessels said he voted for candidates who he feels will encourage more housing development in Ann Arbor. LSA junior Rima Rahman has volunteered in every election since the 2016 general election, starting as a high school student in Detroit. She was worried about safety when she first signed up

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Democrats Lisa Disch, Linh Song, Travis Radina, Jen Eyer and Erica Briggs won Ann Arbor City Council seats in the 1st through 5th Wards, respectively, beating incumbents. All City Council seats will be held by Democrats. All five challengers were endorsed by Mayor Christopher Taylor, and these results will give him a council majority. Ward 1 - Lisa Disch Disch won Ward 1’s seat with approximately 68 percent of the vote against incumbent Anne Bannister. She has lived in Ward 1 since 2008 and is a professor in the Political Science and Women’s Studies Departments at the University of Michigan. According to her website, she is a “life-long Democrat.” Her goals for the future include making sure Ann Arbor has affordable housing options, restarting Ann Arbor’s commitment to recycling, pursuing renewable energy solutions, increasing pedestrian safety and strengthening relationships between citizens and the police. In a statement on Facebook, Disch noted how grateful she is for the opportunity to serve on Ann Arbor City Council and gave her thanks to the Ann Arbor community for supporting her. “Now the work begins,” Disch wrote. “But that does not mean that I disappear from the neighborhoods. As I said in my newsletter last week, you all will find me knocking on your doors again come Fall in support of the affordable housing millage--and I hope that anyone who has supported this campaign will join

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2 NEWS

Thursday, August 6, 2020 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Visualizing the data for online, in-person and hybrid classes LSA instructors prepare for a mostly virtual fall semester IULIA DOBRIN

Daily Staff Reporter

As the University of Michigan campus gears up for a “public health-informed in-residence semester” this fall, departments and instructors have had to decide how to hold their classes while aligning with University guidelines. For LSA, these guidelines means large classes over 45 will be fully online, and smaller classes have the option to be in-person, hybrid or fully online, according to LSA Dean Anne Curzan. According to University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald, faculty and leadership within their individual departments and schools are best positioned to decide the most effective way to deliver courses. “Each school or college will make the final decision on classroom capacity based on the needs of the class and the specific configuration of the space,” Fitzgerald said. “All this is being done, of course, to follow public health guidance of providing a minimum of 36 square feet of space per person in the classroom, with more space required for courses that require students to move around or be there for longer periods of time.” According to recent correspondence from University President Mark Schlissel, the Ann Arbor Registrar’s Office is working to post online information that indicates what mode of instruction individual courses will be taught in. Students will be able to adjust their course selections beginning Aug. 7. The Daily Web Team compiled data from the LSA Course Guide and found that, as of Aug. 2, nearly 68 percent of classes are listed as online courses, with approximately 18 percent being listed as in-person and 13 percent as hybrid. In an interview with the Daily last month, Prof. Marcus Ammerlaan, who taught the introductory lab

course Biology 173 last winter, expressed the difficulty of teaching a large lab class online. “The instructor, obviously, is going to be older than most of the students and that in itself is a risk factor,” Ammerlaan said. “So you don’t want to see an instructor getting affected by an asymptomatic student and then pass that infection on through GSIs (Graduate Student Instructors) and to other sections.” Lecturer Carly Nowicki, who will be teaching Biology 173 in the fall and is currently teaching it during the summer semester, decided to make the class online in the fall. According to Nowicki, there are about 700 students enrolled in the course and 17-18 GSIs each semester. Because of this large class size, she felt she could not wait until the last minute to make decisions. “It was me having separate conversations with the laboratory support staff,” Nowicki said. “Those are the people that are the frontlines. They’re the ones that are exposed to every lab, and so I had frank conversations with some of those people to get their thoughts on how they feel, outside of what any administration felt.” With the summer semester being the first time the course is running fully online, Nowicki said the class was rewritten to include a combination of students performing labs at home with simple household items, virtual lab simulations and watching videos. “Every video demo I’ve done has been in my own home because that’s where students are going to be performing (the experiments),” Nowicki said. Rackham student Annaliese Keiser will be a GSI in the Math Department for the fall semester. Though she doesn’t know what classes she will be teaching yet, she said she knows she will be teaching remotely, as the Math Department decided that all the courses typically taught by GSIs would be conducted remotely.

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‘A culture of silence’ Students respond to the WilmerHale report of Philbert’s misconduct JULIANNA MORANO Daily Staff Reporter

Friday morning, the University of Michigan community awoke to an email announcing the release of the WilmerHale report, sent to students, University officials, the Board of Regents and the public simultaneously. The investigation, conducted by the WilmerHale law firm, uncovered decades of allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment against former University Provost Martin Philbert, as well as numerous instances in which University administrators were made aware of allegations prior to when the investigation opened in January. Many students have reacted to the findings of the investigation with anger, frustration and disappointment — but many are not surprised, they told The Daily. Public Policy senior Nora Hilgart-Griff referenced a string of alleged abusers from the University’s recent past — from the late athletic doctor Robert Anderson to former Music, Theatre & Dance professor Stephen Shipps — as she discussed her own lack of surprise at the contents of the report. She said the years of allegations against Philbert reassert the University’s disappointing progress toward creating an environment free of sexual harassment and violence on campus. “We want to see these things as maybe part of an ugly past or part of a different culture,” Hilgart-Griff said. “Colleges and

universities have maybe come a long way, but they’re still by and large institutions of privilege … (and of) wealth and whiteness and maleness, and I think that can’t help but show. So I am horrified and unsurprised at the same time, which I think is a really frustrating conjunction of emotions.” The report arrived six months after University President Mark Schlissel first announced the University had received allegations against Philbert and had placed him on leave. Some students saw the public release of the WilmerHale report as a step in the right direction, while others pointed to inconsistencies between the claims to transparency and the contents of the report itself. LSA and Music, Theatre & Dance junior Andrew Gerace voiced skepticism about the University’s efforts toward transparency. “The University is very comfortable using the term ‘transparency’ when they’re saying things like, ‘Oh, we have sent this report to you … as part of our commitment to transparency’ — however, everything that the report documented was nontransparent,” Gerace said. LSA junior Emma Sandberg similarly noted that other institutional barriers to transparency remain. Sandberg is the founder of Roe v. Rape, a nonprofit advocacy group for survivors of sexual assault on campus that works to challenge several of the University’s existing sexual misconduct policies. “I really appreciate the University’s transparency in this case; it’s so important that they

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The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for $2 per issue. Subscriptions for September - April are $250, and year-long subscriptions are $275. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. Subscriptions must be prepaid.

Thursday, August 6, 2020 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

NEWS 3

Two decades of misconduct from Philbert uncovered WilmerHale investigation finds several ‘U’ officials knew about accusations against former Provost CALDER LEWIS & KRISTINA ZHENG Summer News Editors

Students and administrators talk effectiveness of petitions

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Community members have different views on activism efforts JULIANNA MORANO Daily Staff Reporter

On Sept. 2, 2019, The Daily reported on the University of Michigan University Health Service’s controversial move to discontinue coverage of sexually transmitted infection testing for students to be included in tuition. Two days later, an online petition demanding reinstatement of coverage for STI testing was in circulation — and already at 1,400 signatures. Two days after that, the University announced its plan to reverse its policy and reinstated coverage for the testing. In a matter of four days, the student organizers’ demands had been met. While petitions and student activism are not rare at the University, this example of swift administrative response to the demands of a petition is relatively atypical. With multiple petitions currently in circulation concerning the University’s plans for the upcoming school year that have yet to be addressed, it raises questions about what makes student petitions effective. In a 2019 interview with The Daily, E. Royster Harper, former

vice president for Student Life, commented on the varying success of student activism following the STI testing petition’s favorable outcome. Harper highlighted the many factors University administrators weigh when making decisions, including both financial decisions for the University and the needs of the student. “I think usually when the University makes a decision, there are multiple things that they are trying to get accomplished,” Harper said. “In this case, (those factors were) money and making sure the students get good health care … So what the University is weighing is, when we consider everything, where do we need to be? Sometimes what we decide is, we can’t change. This is not one of those, because when we put everything together, it makes sense to change.” University alum Hoai An Pham, one of the authors of the petition to reinstate coverage for STI testing, said part of what made that petition particularly effective in rallying student support especially was its clear identification of individual student’s stake in the decision. As a digital organizer and author of multiple petitions in her time at the University, including petitions demanding fair contracts for lecturers and opposing Richard Spencer’s request to speak at the University, Pham reflected on the

effect of privilege on student support for different activist efforts. “I think that at times, the privilege of the student body in general, and the privilege of being a university student in general … creates a barrier for students to understand their role in certain issues, and the specific action they can take to be pushing towards any kind of resolution or justice,” Pham said. Despite these and other limitations, including the critique that signing petitions can merely serve as virtue-signaling, Pham also emphasized the accessibility of petitions and other digital forms of engagement. “Oftentimes I think people view petitions as standalone, which is I think how they do get the reputation of like, signing the petition won’t do anything,” Pham said. “(But) there is an ableist component of that … As a disabled organizer I’m always like, ‘Well, digital organizing is really important, and there’s a lot of power that we can build behind it.’” LSA senior Morgan McCaul, an organizer at the University who focuses on students’ rights regarding Title IX policies, also emphasized the role petitions play in digital organizing. McCaul authored a petition demanding the University commit to survi-

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WilmerHale released its 88-page report of its independent investigation of allegations of sexual misconduct by former University of Michigan Provost Martin Philbert Friday. The report found “significant evidence” that Philbert violated the University’s Sexual Harassment policy. It identified numerous times when University personnel and administration received information about Philbert’s sexual misconduct. “Two things are clear: First, there is significant evidence that Philbert engaged in a wide range of sexual misconduct, including sexual harassment, for at least fifteen years,” the report reads. “Second, neither OIE (Office of Institutional Equity) nor the senior leadership of the University understood the seriousness or the pervasiveness of Philbert’s misconduct.” WilmerHale began its independent investigation in January 2020. After six months, WilmerHale investigators interviewed 128 people, some multiple times, including current and former employees, former students and current and former University administrators. The report finds that Philbert normalized his inappropriate behavior and intimidated women who may have sought to report him. “Philbert had expressly threatened some of them—one witness, who in fact was in a relationship with Philbert, told us that he said: ‘If you ever tell anyone about us, I will make sure you go down. I will destroy your career,’” the report reads. The report alleges Philbert sexually harassed multiple members of the University community while

he was an assistant professor, an associate dean, School of Public Health dean and provost. In his early years at the University, Philbert allegedly harassed women who worked in his research lab, making comments about their bodies, redirecting conversations toward sex and insisting on getting hugs. The report found Philbert engaged in simultaneous sexual relationships with at least two University employees, and sometimes more, during his tenure as Provost. He stored nude photos of these women on Universityowned devices and had “sexual contact” with them in University offices often. The report was released to both the University and the public at the same time. In an email to The Daily, University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said the University is reviewing the results from the report. “We have just begun to carefully review the full report and take all of its findings into account,” Fitzgerald wrote. “Yet, it is clear in the executive summary that the WilmerHale report – released publicly today at the same time it was shared with university officials – contains a shocking description of improper and unacceptable behavior by a university officer as well as failings by this institution. We will do everything in our power to prevent such misconduct from ever happening again at the University of Michigan.” In 2003, a male lab employee, Tom Komorowski, was terminated by Philbert. He reported to University officials he was fired over a female lab employee because of her and Philbert’s close, personal relationship. A senior Public Health School faculty member questioned Philbert about the alleged relationship and did not

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4 OPINION

Thursday, August 6, 2020 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

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Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s Editorial Board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.

From The Daily: On consumerism

ith the death of George Floyd on May 25 and the coinciding protests across the nation, came a rather desperate leap from companies to align themselves with the Black liberation movement. Sporting hashtags including #BlackLivesMatter and #JusticeForFloyd, many large brands or organizations responded to the collective unrest of the nation by posting messages of solidarity.

ike — a brand comfortable affiliating itself with social justice movements — was among the first to post on social media platforms, which likely encouraged other companies to follow suit: Netflix tweeted, “To be silent is to be complicit. Black lives matter;” Disney tweeted, “We stand against racism. We stand for inclusion;” Ben & Jerry’s — also very comfortable with being political — tweeted, “4 years ago, in the wake of Ferguson, we felt compelled to support the #BlackLivesMatter movement. We’re heartbroken those words are just as relevant today. These racist and brutal attacks against our Black brothers and sisters must end.” However, many ask what tangible impact might come from these online posts and what quantitative support they’ll provide in the enduring fight against systemic racism and oppression. Publicly voicing support for the Black Lives Matter movement and pursuing anti-racist action is an acceptable first step, but allyship must extend far beyond online performativism or statements of solidarity. Cephas Williams, founder of 56 Black Men, states, “Now is not the time to be silent, neither is it the time to jump on a bandwagon. It’s a time for real reflection and care with regards to how a brand and its leaders stand by the Black community at this time and move forward with real steps to end racism and injustice globally and not only on the streets but in their organizations too.” These verbal promises and public recitations need to

translate into actual change within companies and communities, the first step of which can be examining harmful environments and systems. Taking care of employees who have been harmed from these structures, offering reparations and advocating for their financial, physical and mental well-being is the next step. Contemporary marketing theories implore brands to associate themselves with current topics and movements that people care about. This means creating space for themselves where individuals commonly congregate on social media platforms, keeping up with trends and engaging in societal chatter. Even in times of tragedy, where companies undoubtedly have larger influence and resources than civilians, brands post the same captions and images as the rest of the social media population, filling feeds with black squares or graphics now seen hundreds of thousands of times. This templated action among brands rushing to show where they stand, without enacting longterm solutions or staying involved, creates uncertainty for consumers beyond a slightly greater recognition of a progressive presence and a lingering sense of virtue. As consumers, we have a certain responsibility to wield our spending power for the greater good of society. This looks like spending our money with intention. The average individual does not properly understand — because it is designed this way — the magnitude of control that capitalism and consumerism have on our

nation. This uncertainty consequently feeds capitalist power; when we are unaware, and therefore dismissive, of the impact of our dollars, they fail to benefit us and in many ways, they begin to oppress us. When the companies who rely on our dollars stop receiving them, it can inspire a great period of reflection, demand and readjustment in the way our economy, environment and society function. These companies build their success off of catering to the consumer, so when the consumer remains complicit in a company’s participation in the use of prison or child labor, underpaying employees, donating to ethically-disturbed organizations or people, or involvement in other oppressive or dehumanizing systems, it is our responsibility to not feed that company anymore. Similarly, if a company’s infrastructure is void of cultural, age-based, race and gender-based diversity, but benefits from these same people, it is our responsibility to not feed that company anymore. Closing the racial wealth gap demands creating and ensuring opportunities for Black individuals to enter and gain traction within industries that have been heavily and disproportionately dominated by white people. However, if we — the consumer — are not disturbed by the disproportionately white environment, and we remain seemingly satisfied with the way the company functions, change will not occur. This has been proven to us. Slavery is a conversation often assumed to be spoken on with historical

or traditional practices in mind — where millions of Africans were stolen from their families and their homes and brought to the Americas through the transatlantic slave trade. Society at large thinks of chattel slavery and dehumanization as something of the past, something centuries away from us all. Slavery is not a historical event. It exists in many forms today — it is ingrained in our existing social system. Whether it be America’s incarceration system, debt bondage, child labor — in manufacturing, domestic and sex work — or global slave trade through methods of human trafficking, slavery was never effectively abolished as so many have the privilege to believe. We as consumers have been completely complicit participants in this slavery. From our phones, to our clothes, to our coffee and rice, we are constantly consuming the product of forced labor and slavery. As globalization progresses — the modern movement which encourages the collaboration of nations in innovation and content creation — we see developments in economic wealth and effective industry. However, these economic benefits intensely feed the capitalist economy, nourishing the already rich and further enslaving laborers. As demand for cheap everyday products increases, the value of human labor decreases. This demand comes from us as the consumer. And with that power, we must ask ourselves what is more important to us not in the moment, but in life: the price of your phone or the life of the child mining cobalt to get it to you within your budget. Complacency manifests quickly with the help of social media. When companies like Nike release one ad that demonstrates no actual action toward or pursuit of racial equity and justice, and all of social media’s civilian consumers praise that ad release, the social system is not disturbed, nor is the company. If instead of praising this bare-minimum effort, we as consumers rejected this ad as a performative act, and, in place of those reposts, put out demands about what we would like to see changed within the culture and infrastructure of the company itself, there would be greater inspiration for reconstruction. Although it seems like a lot of tedious work, doing devout research on the companies you give your dollar to can not only inform you of the ways you are indirectly investing in oppressive institutions, but can guide you to lesser known companies and brands who produce the same product more ethically. Here, what the consumer loses is convenience, which has been an apparently valuable asset to American consumption. So, for the people who have the financial means to challenge their everyday expenses and replace them with more ethical efforts, this should be done immediately and with perpetual consciousness, despite the subtle impact it has on one’s sched-

ule — because put simply, to pay a higher price or drive a little further for your desired product for the sake of human being’s lives everywhere should not be an inconvenience, but a blessing. However, many people who resort to these “easy fix” companies such as Amazon or CVS — because of their frequent locations and consistent prices — are those who cannot afford to instead support the Black boutique or hardware store with challenging prices in comparison. This makes it so the people being the most oppressed are also often the most reliant on the institutions and companies that oppress them. For those who have the means to invest in ethically mature companies instead, the responsibility is greatly on you. None of this is to say that consumerism cannot be used productively and ethically. Consumerism can absolutely be used for the force of good, but not when it is done mindlessly to satisfy the capitalist cycle. With consumerism, comes rights of the consumer. Historically, consumerism pushed society away from the slave institution, lessening the need for individual fulfillment alongside the increase of global product accessibility. For enslaved people now free, consumerism was a symbol of that liberation through which they could provide themselves with their own shelter, wardrobe and way of life. Similarly, in societies with a strictly established caste system, consumerism allows for the dispelling of clear barriers between those casted communities. Civilians of considerably lower caste can assert themselves and their worth through what they buy and how they dress, instead of being forced into a certain profession or way of life. This all feeds into the notion that consumerism gives an individual immense power we often do not recognize. If we continue to ignore this power, we continue to feed the system oppressing us and our communities. If we hone in on this power, unite beneath it and urge companies to revolutionize the way they satisfy the consumer with ethical practices, we take one step closer toward the revolution. We take one step closer to freedom for all. A revolution of our current social system, an economic revolution and even a personal revolution cannot occur without steady intention and planning. If the everyday consumer and civilian cannot first recognize the value of all of humanity, not just those like them, they will not feel a need to demand a change of system. If we are compassionate, we do our research, we understand where our products come from and who creates them, we have understanding. If we do all of this, and then stop feeding those companies who do not meet the criteria society demands of them, we have progress.

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It takes only a page or two of reading to realize that the cover of “Milkman” is deceptive. The binding of the 2018 winner of the Man Booker Prize depicts an innocuous, fluorescent-pink sunset — one of those once a year, stop-and-snapa-photo sunsets that makes “Milkman” stands out among its fellow books. The sedative lightness of the cover seems to admit innocuousness. But “Milkman” is not innocuous. Nor is it gentle, or quiet, or apologetic — nothing that the cover may suggest about a subdued, romantic narrative. To say I wasn’t excited to read the Booker winner would be a lie — based on the superficiality of covers and excerpts, I have rooted for “Milkman” since its nomination on the long-list — but the way I fell in love with reading “Milkman” was not in the pleasant, blushing manner I had expected. It was a cycle of shock, recoil and return. Anna Burns’s third novel narrates the story of an 18-year-old girl (referred to as “Middle Sister,” as none of the characters in “Milkman” are prescribed actual names) over the course of two months. Her unnamed town is saturated with violence — violence from the ubiquitously demonized enemy countries “over the water,” violence from the renouncers of the state that control Middle Sister’s town and violence from the state police as they intervene in a village of scattered revolutionaries. Surprisingly, though, this war-zone setting is but an offhand normality in the book. Instead, it is Milkman, a paramilitary that begins making unwarranted advances on middle sister, that takes the place of chief antagonist in the book. At first glance, Burns lays out an invidious landscape that seems to hyperbolize the dark experience of growing up as a woman in the late 20th century. Maybe, Burns seems to suggest, the descent of society would look like this for all genders. But on second thought, the landscape Middle Sister walks — and how her hyperaware, rightfully-paranoid thoughts congeal in it — becomes painfully real. Middle Sister’s encounters with Milkman while walking, her fears of being drugged, the pernicious comments coming from third brother-in-law, all resonate uncomfortably with the realties meeting women today. This daring, critical kick at that experience of being a woman pays off. The apotheosis of the book’s dark and applicable portrayals is perhaps Tablets Girl,

a “girl who was actually a woman,” that is one of the local outcasts in Middle Sister’s town due to her propensity to poison people. This usually takes place, most suitably and without retribution, in bars. People flee from Tablets Girl, people watch their drinks when Tablets Girl is around. It’s not just Burns’s clear allusion to date-rape that that is to be appreciated here, but her spiked humor and exaggeration also. This is not to reduce “Milkman” down to a forced, constricted focus on genderpolitics though. Burns’s writing alone is remarkable (something I refuse to say passively). “Milkman” is brimming with endlessly long paragraphs, lose-yourtrain-of-thought stretched sentences and digressing thoughts from Middle Sister that render the book incredibly complex. At first, I was perturbed by this formal and royal-esque writing, especially upon an encounter with a paragraph spanning four, almost five, pages. But as I continued, I found myself — in an unlikely way — reading Middle Sister’s voice in an uninterrupted pattern even more critical and translucent than I expected possible. This is assisted by Burns’s near-perfect draw of synonyms through the book, making her writing appear dependably careful and personal. I was enamored by the characters in “Milkman” and the abrasive humor that was tacked onto them. It isn’t often that I get a full cast of characters (narrator, antagonist, family) that are so real, so exciting to encounter. Most memorable are the “wee sisters,” Middle Sister’s three younger sisters who, despite their young ages, are infatuated with topics such as French revolutionaries, going through “Kafka phases” and eavesdropping every moment they get. Characters like the wee sisters offer unexpected gratification along Burns’s dark timeline of events. The real humor displayed make “Milkman” all the more authentic and pleasurable. I love “Milkman” because it is a fruitful attempt to offer me hints of a human experience I will never be able to understand, let alone be familiar with. Perhaps the most evocative and vivid account in the vein of social-rebellion and unwanted-gaze I have ever encountered, “Milkman” is a narrative that has been told repeatedly, even frequently in the 21st century. Burns’s unequivocal writing turns this narrative into a fearsome chant, one well worth shouting along to.

Thursday, August 6, 2020 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

BOOK REVIEW

MUSIC REVIEW

Revisiting the heady 60s in ‘Utopia Avenue’ ANDREW WARRICK Managing Arts Editor

“Memories are unreliable . . . Art is memory made public,” a musician muses in David Mitchell’s new novel, “Utopia Avenue.” Mitchell taps into an enduring public memory for the book: the late ’60s. It chronicles the rise of a fictional British band called Utopia Avenue, in the era of flower power and free love. The band’s members come from disparate areas of the Soho music scene: There’s Elf, a folkstress fresh from a “Sonny and Cher” type duo with an ex-boyfriend; Dean, a bassist struggling for cash; Griff, a jazz drummer; and Jasper, a Dutch guitar prodigy. A uniquely egalitarian band, they split the singing, songwriting, instrumental duties and royalties equally. Utopia Avenue’s music is described as “a shot of R&B with a glug of psychedelica” and “a dash of folk.” Another character calls them a “cut of Pink Floyd … a dash of Cream, (and) a pinch of Dusty Springfield.” Personally, they sounded like David Bowie’s self-titled 1969 classic or The Velvet Underground’s 1970 “Loaded.” Mitchell gives the reader scant information about the music itself, just enough to propel one’s imagination and orient the music in its cultural context, preferring instead to focus on the inspirations behind the fictional songs through narrative. The story follows the band’s formation and rise to stardom, and is broken into three parts, corresponding with Utopia Avenue’s three LPs. Each POV segment matches one of the band’s songs, and frequently reveals the inspirations behind the music. The plot, turning like a record, meanders and doubles back on itself as certain scenes crop up again in different chapters like leitmotifs varying from character to character. This never becomes tiresome, because Mitchell’s prose is, as ever, immaculate. His characters and settings are as lush and finely crafted as Rembrandt paintings. The paragraphs flow seamlessly, simultaneously delicious with detail but addictively readable. The amount of detail is just right, enough to be immersive but not so much that one loses the empathetic tether with the finely drawn characters. Mitchell also takes enjoyable pitstops where cultural icons pop up for cameos, like heroes in a Marvel film. While the surprise is half the fun of it, a pre-fame David Bowie steals every scene he’s in. The novel is no simple nostalgia-fest, though. It hones in on the ’60s with a modern lens, exploring gender, sexuality, mental illness, prejudice and poverty along with rock ’n’ roll. While there’s the usual beats of the late ’60s, the rock music, protests and drugs, Mitchell also highlights what fiction usually shies away from when covering the period. Figures

in positions of power, such as industry bosses, record store owners or family patriarchs, exhibit anti-semitism, racism, sexism and homophobia, illustrating what made the era a difficult time to live in if one wasn’t a white male. It is refreshing to dig beneath the flowery veneer with characters who do not fit the era’s stereotypes. Elf and Utopia Avenue’s manager Leon benefit the most from this multifaceted treatment, and their experiences being homosexual in an intolerent era are the most poignant of the book. Elf also contends with being a woman in a male-dominated industry, and is frequently sexualized, patronized or flat out ignored, even by her own band members. Additionally, Mitchell explores art’s relation to society in a fascinating, and prescient, manner. “We, my friends, are the bottlesmashers,” a famous rocker says. “We release the genies . . . In the ears of the young the genies whisper what was unsayable. ‘Hey, kids- there’s nothing wrong with being gay.’ Or ‘What if war isn’t a patriotism test, but really fucking dumb?’ Or ‘Why do so few own so goddamn much?’. . . Those whispers are the blueprints of the future.” “Utopia Avenue” is a comforting escape from troubled times and a reminder that progress is never far from the horizon, especially when art continues to break boundaries. Yet while Mitchell conjures concert halls across the globe, filled to the brim with roaring fans, underground gay bars in London where artists mingle over fancy cocktails and the scrubby, sun-bleached Laurel Canyon with flair, the plot buckles under an unnecessary cosmic weight. Known as the “Mitchellverse,” David Mitchell’s oeuvre shares characters and a fantastical system of reincarnation, with dueling sects of immortal souls. While this benefits “Utopia” in some respects, like when a fan-favorite “Cloud Atlas” character reappears, it mostly reads as indulgent at best, and problematic at worst. Mitchell makes lengthy digressions to heroes and villains from his last two novels “The Bone Clocks” and “Slade House.” While those books worked as cosmic epics, the fantasy, coming out of left field here, will confuse those unfamiliar with Mitchell’s earlier work. “Utopia” is a character-centered meander through psychedelic rock, not a centuriesspanning, sci-fi epic like his other books. When a lengthy sojourn is made to immortal souls dueling another immortal soul, it reads as tacked on. One just wants to get back to the rock band. Additionally, his previous books take great pains to respectfully portray a diverse cast of immortal characters. “Utopia,” however, lacks this context.

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ARTS 7

Hozier reads to you on Instagram Live LIZZIE YOON Daily Arts Writer

Let it be known that Hozier, Irish singer-songwriter extraordinaire, receives poetry books as Christmas gifts. Yes, The man behind our favorite sleepy Sunday morning tunes with his poignant, dreamy voice reads poetry. And, most importantly: If you tune in to Instagram Live at the right time on Fridays, Hozier will read a selection of poetry to you. For the past four weeks, Hozier presented a kinder, gentler side of the internet. His performance of casual loungewear and literary greats found purchase with casual and ardent listeners alike. He will repeatedly and endearingly fumble through poetry books to find a specific poem. With his hair combed back into a messy yet practical bun, Hozier faces away from his recording phone while reading. He looks clean, calm and human. Mundane. He speaks informally to fans and casual listeners, quickly mentioning the name and author of his chosen poems before diving into some great works. He keeps his voice steady and calls Yeats “sassy” before moving on to another poet. Homey and comfortable, Hozier slows down and invites others to pause their lives to appreciate the quiet and subtle beauty of good writing. The relentless self-promotion native to Instagram Live streams is notably absent. Hozier has yet to descend on a long, self-seeking monologue of his COVID-19 grievances. In a surprising but not unwelcome change, he simply reads poetry, no insensitive commentary or unskippable adverts attached. There’s no hyperactive positivity. There’s no accompanying band or microphone. Instead, what you have is what you hear. Hozier, unassuming, kindly reminding listeners to wash their hands and stay safe while sharing his interests. His voice doesn’t pretend that the world outside makes sense. His slow cadence acknowledges the challenges of the present yet remains soothing.

There’s a startling lack of artifice. Hozier dips his head while reading, focused on shaping the words. He is reminiscent of a graduate student instructor, overworked and bibliophilic. However, Hozier’s Friday poetry corner readings, while humble and calming, still serve as performance: a new kind of performance, long estranged from my 21st-century brain conditioned to accept and process a relentless stream of 15-second TikTok clips. But it is a performance all the same. Hozier films seated comfortably in front of a large window showing off gorgeous spriggy trees. Nature functions as the backdrop to his relaxed intimacy. It’s fitting that Hozier frames his poetry readings with nature. His fans famously manipulate his music, overlaying nature sounds with his recordings to draw out the serene core of Hozier’s discography. Hozier takes his time reading, broadcasting an ideal calm. For a short moment, his quiet, soothing voice transports listens from their daily, hectic lives. These intimate performances epitomize the kind of relaxed introspection we desperately crave in our busy work day. Hozier’s poetry corners tell us that Hozier is but a man who enjoys the finer things in life: poetry, heather mock necks and W.B. Yeats (among many others). And, his performances model by example an enviable state of quiet appreciation. Hozier doesn’t ask questions about the wild stress and fear a man refusing to wear a mask in the grocery store inspires. He doesn’t reprimand you for your tired typos and rushed Zoom meetings. Hozier performs a fantasy, one hallmarked by cozy pull-overs and a natural background. The events are a little boring yet the simple, straightforward premise of poetry reading compels. Hozier draws in listeners with his baffling, unassuming display of

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8 MICHIGAN IN COLOR

Thursday, August 6, 2020 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

One rice ball at a time SUNITHA PALAT MiC Staff Writer

Graphic by Hibah Chughtai

Cracking open the coconut: the reality of being a ‘white washed Indian’ PRISHA GROVER MiC Staff Writer

“Are you even Indian?” “You’re so light-skinned, you must be half.” “Why do you listen to so much white music?” “He’s a coconut (brown on the outside, white on the inside).” “She’s barely brown, have you seen who she hangs out with?” To be honest, I’ve said some of these things before, and I’ve been on the receiving end of them. But I have no clue what they even mean. Lately, I’ve been stuck on one thought: What is a “whitewashed Indian?” It doesn’t exist. The term “white” refers to people of cultures across Europe, particularly Western Europe. Someone who is white could have ancestry coming from Italy, Greece, Poland, Switzerland, France, Germany, etc. Today, white people live across much of the globe and make up the majority of the population of America. While their ancestry can often be traced back to Europe, this global residence can be considered a result of imperialism and migration patterns. Being white in America often refers to someone’s fair complexion, and the term “whitewashing” often refers to the erasure of culture using whiteness. An example of this can be seen in Hollywood when a character of color is portrayed by a white actor, such as when Matt Damon was cast to play the role of a Chinese soldier in the film, “The Great Wall.” However, in the context of a saying someone is white washed, the term is applied to people to claim they have stripped themselves of their color and adopted “white culture.” But there is no standard of how cultured you can be to qualify as a person of color. Furthermore, the term “whitewashed

Indian,” doesn’t make sense, since there is no one culture associated with the term “white.” So when someone refers to you as a “whitewashed Indian,” are they saying you are immersed in Italian culture? Greek culture? Maybe you could say that they’re referring to American culture, but the last time I checked, the term “American” does not equal “white.” Let’s say they are referring to American culture. “Hey Prisha, you, an American who is of Indian descent and a first-generation immigrant, are so immersed in American culture.” To be honest, I’ve called my friends whitewashed before, never realizing the implications of it. To my friends, I apologize, there is no shame in being immersed in the culture of the country you live in. Who are we to judge how someone else chooses to interact with the culture of their family? What are the qualifications of being “cultured” or “whitewashed?” If you speak your native language, but haven’t kept up with pop culture and Bollywood, what do you qualify as? If you eat daal roti sabzi for dinner every night, but can’t handle some spicy sambar, what do you qualify as? If you prefer the Jonas Brothers and One Direction over A.R. Rehman and Shreya Goshal, what do you qualify as? When you are a first or second-generation immigrant, there is no standard level of information and culture you ingrain from your country of origin. There is no checklist to follow that quantifies what percentage of the culture you practice. You simply learn from what your family does and from what communities you live in. You develop your own culture based on your childhood experiences and use it to guide your life. And whether your personal culture is derived mostly from Indian or American...

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The “5 Love Languages,” pioneered by Gary Chapman in the 1992 book, are coined as the five primary ways to express and receive love with those in your life. They include words of affirmation, receiving gifts, quality time, physical touch and acts of service. By correctly identifying your love language, and the love language of those around you, you may be able to improve relationships by showing people appreciation and care in the way they best receive it. Although the love languages are mainly used amongst romantic partners, I find they encapsulate major parts of any loving relationship including platonic connections with friends and family. What intrigues me is what might happen to a relationship when certain circumstances make these five languages inaccessible. I’ve grown up speaking English and can understand, but speak very little of my native language Malayalam. My grandparents are the opposite: They speak fluent Malayalam and just enough English to somewhat slice through my accent, understand and put out an unstable response. Quality time and physical touch are sparse and forced when pushed into a quick two-week visit every other year. Receiving gifts—although it means little to me as is—doesn’t happen when you don’t spend birthdays, holidays or anniversaries together. Words of affirmation become difficult when the two parties can just barely understand basic dialogue between one another. The relationship between my grandparents and myself has been atypical compared to most of the grandparent-grandchild relationships I’ve seen growing up. I was raised in the U.S. and they lived in India for most of my adolescent years; my father’s parents (Achacha and Achamma) immigrated back to the U.S. very recently — because of their old age and growing need for care — and have been living with my family or my cous-

ins at different points of the year they have been here. As the two of them have spent time at home with us during quarantine, I’ve reflected on the relationship I’ve curated with them and how it compares to the ones I would see growing up on television, at school events and at friends’ houses — oftentimes sugar coated, sweet and supportive. Cultural barriers and physical barriers have made this connection hard for me to find with my grandparents. Yet, the language barrier is the hardest part. Communication with both sets of my grandparents is endearingly broken. It usually functions with simple dialogue — one party speaks slowly in their primary language, one of my parents mediates as a translator (which has become increasingly important as my grandparents’ hearing has worsened over the years) and the other party replies a short response to keep it simple. Frankly, it’s hard for me to develop a real, meaningful connection with someone when I can’t openly converse with them or get to know their lives, experiences, deep thoughts and ideas — the list goes on and on. Why? Maybe because for me, words of affirmation (and generally, communication through conversation) is my primary love language. Thus, the language barrier has made my perception of our connection blurry. Yet, after looking more broadly at the love languages, I’ve found the less obvious forms of communication between my grandparents and me; the love doesn’t dwindle because our verbal conversations are strained. It presents itself in different forms. Take acts of service, for example. There’s a vivid memory I have from around age six when my dad’s parents had been visiting from India for a few months over my summer vacation. During the day, their schedules remained pretty constant: make breakfast, read prayers, watch Malayalam soap operas and cook.

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Graphic by Hibah Chughtai

Thursday, August 6, 2020 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

MICHIGAN IN COLOR 9

A satiric preview for Netflix’s ‘Indian Matchmaking’ IZZA AHMED-GHANI MiC Staff Writer

Heard the ruckus for the new Netflix reality TV show “Indian Matchmaking,” but not sure if you want to watch it? Don’t fret the details, I won’t spoil anything, but I’ll help you navigate whether or not this is a show for you. If you come from a Desi family like me, you grew up hearing about how the numerous relationships in your family were based upon an arranged marriage. While it is not as commonly practiced today, arranged marriages are super common within Southeast Asian households, as well as most Central Asian countries and the Middle East. That’s why when I saw the commotion around Netflix having a show focused on the South Asian community, I couldn’t wait to see this rishta aunty work her magic in what I understood as a nuanced

modern take. While the show is based between both India and the United States, the relationships are inherently driven by regressive ideals of colorism, classism and gender stereotypes. Sima Aunty, the rishta queen of Mumbai, pulls biodata to form the most compatible pairs, in which contains information about the single men and women seeking to get paired based on age, height, education, career and more. Needless to say, the show is extremely toxic but insightful on a harsh reality for many within Desi culture. A fun game Sima Aunty subconsciously plays is find-the-backhanded-compliment. If the man or woman does not fit the idealistic norm of being rich, fair, petite or beautiful enough, don’t worry! This rishta aunty might say their personality makes up for what’s lacking. And if the lad or laddie has the “better rated” for looks, education

and stability, they’ll get the upper hand in Sima Aunty finding them more suitable matches. If you’re the bottom end of the pair — and to make her job easier — she’ll recommend how you’ll have to compromise on personal desires in a future spouse in order to make the marriage work. Depending on the focus, be it the man or woman, the narrative changes but the superficiality is maintained. For all the girl bosses — independent and running their lives — Aunty suggests it will be harder to match them because they have a mind of their own and the financial mobility to do so, inconveniencing Sima’s search. Similarly, if a client was previously divorced or is not the ideal body weight, you’ve gotta give Sima more time because you’re burdening her with undersible characteristics. Meanwhile, the men on the show are in an entirely other ballgame.

Netflix

While you get the occasional sweet laddu padhus who will charm the audience with their wholesome charisma, Sima prefers they have stable careers and six-figure jobs. The best part about being a male on her show is the richer you are the more choices you get. These men

get hundreds of biodatas to choose from because objectifying women is so much fun! And who’s to blame them? They, or rather the parents, have to make sure their son’s wife is beautiful and fair enough...

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Lebanon: where suffering meets resilience MAYA KADOUH MiC Staff Writer

Yesterday, the world finally saw Lebanon through the eyes of its people: in pain and struggling. In the past year alone, Lebanon has experienced social/political uprisings, an economic crisis, extreme poverty and the repercussions of decades of political corruption. It took a colossal explosion of ammonium nitrate at Lebanon’s main port in Beirut for the media to cover Lebanon’s struggles and for the world to acknowledge decades

try with several massive crises unfolding at once, with near-zero public trust in government entities to come to the rescue. For years, the fate of the Lebanese people has been at the hands of the corrupt sectarian government officials who prioritized their own greed over the people of Lebanon, leaving the country without a stable economy, stable electricity, waste management services and food security. In October 2019, a demonstration of protests erupted, demanding much needed political and social reform. The toppling of Lebanon’s broken economic system continues to fuel the Lebanese “thawra” (revolution). The Lebanese currency crashing, making it practically worth nothing, and skyrocketing prices of basic necessities, coupled with the effects of COVID-19 has left over 45 percent of Lebanon’s population living below the poverty line and 49 percent food insecure. Lebanon’s economy relies heavily on imports and now, during Lebanon’s worst economic crisis, a crater bigger than a football field now sits on what was Lebanon’s largest port. Without electricity, the Lebanese people were faced with the daunting task of searching for their loved ones during the dark of night with only voices and flashlights to Photo provided by Maya Kadouh guide them. Medical professionals

of wars, corruption and outside interference the Lebanese people have endured. So far, 135 people have died, 5,000 people are injured, at least 300,000 people have been displaced from their homes, many are still searching for missing family members and four hospitals in Beirut are too damaged to admit patients, leaving the Lebanese and its diaspora broken by yet another tragedy. The most devastating part of the explosion is that Lebanon is yet to bear the brunt of it. Prior to the explosion, Lebanon could be characterized as a coun-

Photo provided by Maya Kadouh

were forced to use phone flashlights when treating patients and hospitals pleaded to turn the lights on. The pandemic has worsened due to the destruction of medical

infrastructure; the Lebanese hospitals were on their last leg and the explosion has left them on their knees.

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10 SPORTS

Thursday, August 6, 2020 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Big Ten releases testing procedures and protocol for fall sports KENT SCHWARTZ

Summer Managing Sports Editor

As many student-athletes and parents are criticizing the lack of standardized testing procedures in the NCAA, the Big Ten on Wednesday announced its own testing standards for its schools to follow. Student-athletes must be tested at least once a week using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, and will be processed by a third party laboratory that all Big Ten institutions will use. Sports that involve high levels of contact will be tested at least twice a week and testing will begin once competition begins. “Today’s announcement,” chair of Big Ten Council of Presidents Morton Schapiro said in a press release, “though subject to local, state and federal public health guidelines, provides a path forward for Big Ten student-athletes to

return to competition based on comprehensive, conference-wide medical policies and protocols established by the Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee. “We will continue to evaluate the best available information and advice from public health officials as we make decisions and necessary adjustments going forward.” Participation in fall sports will remain optional, and student-athletes who choose not to participate will keep their scholarships for the year and “remain in good standing with the team.” While the Big Ten announced its football schedule on Wednesday, it hasn’t done the same for the remaining fall sports, stating that the situation is fluid and those sports will be postponed until at least September 5. Fluidity is the theme in all

collegiate athletics’ return to campus: Despite successful early returns of student-athletes to campus, institutions across the country (including Michigan) have canceled some voluntary workouts because of positive COVID-19 tests. The guidelines released today are a bare minimum for schools hoping to play, and certain colleges may put in place stricter policies for student-athletes. Additionally, as contact-tracing, other safety protocols or data trends come into play, the Big Ten is emphasizing flexibility in its policies. “With the knowledge we have today, providing potential options for all of our student-athletes was of the utmost importance to us, all while ensuring there is a process in place to incorporate student-athlete feedback,” Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren said in the release. “While a comprehensive plan

MILES MACKLIN/Daily

The Big Ten released its plan for COVID-19 testing on Wednesday.

has been developed, we also know it is essential to continue to be agile as new information and health trends become available and we will adjust accordingly.”

Michigan classes start on Aug. 31, and the true extent of the disease’s impact on college athletics will only be known once students return to campus.

Michigan’s conference-only schedule announced Wednesday NICHOLAS STOLL

Summer Managing Sports Editor

This year, the Wolverines won’t lose their ninth-straight game to Ohio State over Thanksgiving weekend. In The Big Ten’s release of its conference-only, 10-game schedule, Michigan’s annual matchup against the Buckeyes

is set to take place on Oct. 24 in Columbus. The move up follows the conference’s approach to the season: the earlier the better. The season is intended to kick off on Sep. 5, where the Wolverines will take on Purdue at home, and finish on Nov. 21 for all teams in order to coordinate with schools’ schedules sending students home at Thanksgiving. The only game

after the holiday will be the Big Ten championship, with that only involving two teams. Beyond a date change, for the second year in a row, Michigan will play Michigan State in Ann Arbor. Without fans, playing at The Big House rather than Spartan Stadium packs less of a punch than it would in a normal year, but either way the Wolverines will not have to

AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily

Michigan is slated to play Michigan State in Ann Arbor for the second straight year in its new Big Ten-only schedule.

travel for their Oct. 3 faceoff. The one Big Ten team that Michigan is slated to play that was not previously on its schedule is Northwestern. The game against the Wildcats takes place on Nov. 21 and is its final game of the season. In order to begin on the season on the scheduled date, the conference is allowing teams to start practices this Friday, Aug. 7. Still, the conference has expressed that flexibility is key. “The 10 games would be played over at least 12 weeks with each team having two open dates,” The Big Ten said in its Wednesday morning release. “... Games can be collapsed into bye weeks. … (and the) Schedule (is) constructed in a way that allows season to start as early as the weekend of Sept. 5, but also provides the ability to move the start of the season back to Sept. 12, 19 or 26 through strategic sequencing that allows games to be moved to a latter part of the schedule.” Michigan’s bye is in week six, the week of Oct. 11, and is sandwiched between Michigan State and at Indiana. All teams have a uniform bye the week of Nov. 28, following

the scheduled last game of the season. Still, despite built-in flexibility, the conference isn’t onehundred percent sure their plan is failsafe. “If the virus continues to spread among our students despite our many preventative measures, including testing and quarantine protocols,” The Big Ten statement said, “we are also prepared to delay or cancel competition pursuant to local and state public health orders or the recommendations of our medical experts.” So despite now having a schedule, as everyone should know by this point in the year, it all could change at any moment. Michigan’s 2020 schedule: Sep. 5 vs. Purdue Sep. 12 @ Minnesota Sep. 19 vs. Penn State Sep. 26 @ Rutgers Oct. 3 vs Michigan State Oct. 11 BYE Oct. 17 @ Indiana Oct. 24 @ Ohio State Oct. 31 vs. Wisconsin Nov. 7 vs. Maryland Nov. 21 @ Northwestern

Thursday, August 6, 2020 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

SPORTS 11

From the rink to the Lake, Michigan defender Cam York’s passion goes far beyond just playing hockey MOLLY SHEA

Daily Sports Writer

Cam York is the picture of confidence with a hockey stick in his hand. It’s a quiet confidence, but it oozes from every move he makes. When he’s not on the ice as a Michigan defenseman, York swaps out his stick for a fishing pole, an Xbox controller or a basketball — and not one ounce of his swagger diminishes. “I’m a pretty good Fornite player,” York laughed. “ … Garrett Van Wyhe, Jake Gingell, Keaton Pearson, (they) all love it. When we have free time we’ll play together. Play some squads, get some dubs.” Outside of video games, he

spends time at the IM building shooting hoops. York’s biggest competition on the court — according to him — was Jack Olmstead, who transferred in April. While he’s talented at gaming and basketball, fishing is York’s biggest off-ice passion. Here, his biggest competition is former teammate Hayden Lavigne. Captain Will Lockwood named Lavigne the most “mature” fisher on the team. “From what I’ve heard, (Lavigne) knows what he’s doing,” York said. “I’d like to see him out on the West Coast and see what he can do first, though.” One part of fishing York is eager to geek out about is knots. He boasts about the different knots he can tie and calls it his secret

PHOTO COURTESY OF CAM YORK

Sophomore defender Cam York enjoys fishing with his family.

talent. The most impressive in his arsenal? The cinch knot. He explains the tying process like it’s the simplest thing in the world: “It connects a braided line to a fluorocarbon line. That one’s really difficult, took me like a few weeks to perfect it but yeah, if you ask some random fisherman they probably can’t do it.” York’s not selective with where he’ll cast his line or what he’ll fish for. And most of what he catches, he’ll eat. He’s watched his dad clean fish enough times to know how to do it. At boarding school in Minnesota he’d fish for walleye in the lakes nearby. In Utah he’d fish for trout. On the California coast there’s tuna, striped bass and a plethora of other species. He once caught a 100 pound Mako shark in the ocean. And that’s part of the reason why, if given the choice, York prefers saltwater to freshwater fishing. He never knows what he’s going to catch — or how big it’ll be. But there’s one question that trips York up: He doesn’t remember the exact details of the first fish he caught. When it’s brought up, all that confidence disappears and his answer is hesitant. PHOTO COURTESY OF CAM YORK “I don’t know,” York said. “I Cam York spends his free time gaming, playing basketball and fishing. think I do, but I don’t want to be With hockey being such a the two spent out on the ocean wrong.” After reassurance that there’s demanding sport, fishing has catching tuna and dorado really no way to fact check his always offered him an escape. together. As for fishing experiences he’s It was a chance to connect with answer, he took a guess. His grandpa had a pond in the nature; a moment away from the yet to cross off the bucket list, backyard that was stocked with ice, a break from his thoughts. York dreams of going to Pedros rainbow trout, and when York An added bonus is the lack of cell Island in Baja California. “There’s just a ton of variety was little he remembers catching service. It’s total isolation — just those. But to have 100 percent him, the water and whoever he’s of fish around there,” York said. “And being in California, being certainty, he says he’d have to with. Fishing has always played a kind of close, I’ve always wanted consult his parents. Growing up on the West big role in York’s relationship to go there. I always watch Coast had a big influence on with his dad. For as long as he YouTube videos and TV shows York’s passion for fishing. The can remember, they’ve gone out about it.” He’s also interested in trying family owned a boat and a young on the water together. And, while York and his dad would fish the he was still living in California, noodling — catching catfish with open ocean. While the vessel every year on his birthday he’d bare hands. As of March, York has yet to go fishing with any of is officially unnamed, York has get to skip school to go fishing. Prior to this year, it’d been his teammates. It’s something some ideas in mind. “I’d probably go with Five for four years since York had been he’s been looking forward to. But whether he’s fishing with Fighting,” York said. “I always at home to celebrate a birthday, had that in engraved in my head so any chance to be out on the teammates, his dad or all alone, but could never actually put it boat with his dad is special and it doesn’t matter. For York it’s all about the escape and the on the boat. It’d keep it hockey coveted. Like this past summer, which experience. related too.”

12 SPORTS Keith Cooley’s road to becoming Michigan’s first Black gymnast Thursday, August 6, 2020 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

KENT SCHWARTZ

Summer Managing Sports Editor

Keith Cooley didn’t go to Michigan to be an athlete. He didn’t grow up dreaming of performing in front of fans or going to the Olympics — he went to Michigan to be a physicist, and he left a physicist. Yet somewhere along that journey, he became Michigan’s first Black gymnast in 1966 as a trampolinist. Growing up, he didn’t have a gymnastics team to play on, or even his own trampoline to bounce on. Instead, he had a friend. “I lived in Pontiac, which is a pretty rough, poor town, but I had friends who lived in Bloomfield Hills and their dad bought them a trampoline,” Cooley told The Daily. “From time to time my mom brought me out to be with them for an afternoon and I would bounce on the trampoline. From maybe like 13, 14 years old. And so anytime I could do it with them I would go out there.” That passion extended to his first year at Michigan, where — when unable to join the trampolining class first semester — he found time to go down to the gym and bounce anyways. “They would leave the trampolines out — you were on your own, if you got hurt it was your problem — but I would go bounce,” Cooley said. “So I bounced probably 4 or 5 days a week. I would go before classes, I would skip lunch, I would go after school’s out and before dinner and I just get up and bounce and play around a bit.” Cooley received pointers from members of the gymnastics team, who started to recognize the stranger frequenting the gym, and he improved. But in his second semester freshman year, he finally got the proper teaching he needed by making it into the trampolinist class taught by gymnastics coach Newt Loken. Excelling, Cooley was encouraged by Loken to try out for the gymnastics team the next year. Although Cooley claimed he didn’t have the necessary skills, Loken persisted and rented out a trampoline for him over the summer and sent it to his house. A spot wasn’t guaranteed, but Loken would give the newcomer all the opportunities he could. “All I had was a book a coach wrote about gymnastics, and in it there was a section called,

‘Trampolining,’ ” Cooley said. “I had to remember to keep my toes pointed, I had to remember how to make your body rotate as a twist or a tumble. I had to make sure I remembered to land full or three quarters, on your stomach or back. But it came along, it came along.” He made the team, and after practicing with the team for a year due to the Big Ten’s rule against athletes competing their first year of eligibility, Cooley became Michigan’s first Black gymnast to compete in competition. Balancing both an engineering degree and the heavy workload of gymnastics, he competed as the third trampolinist on the squad. Cooley never felt singled out because of his race on the gymnastics team — there was an “air of respect,” he said — and Loken never tolerated racism,

constantly seeking to right the wrongs. But there was one moment where the color of Cooley’s skin definitely played a part. The year he made the gymnastics team, two of his friends decided it would be a good idea to try out for the cheerleading — then called yellleading — team and invited Cooley along with them. They said they’d talk to the athletic director, H.O. “Fritz” Crisler. A week of silence followed from his friends, until finally Cooley had to confront the clearly uncomfortable pair over the situation with the yell-leading team. Crisler wouldn’t let him on the team. Too many boosters went to football games, and Crisler decided a Black yell-leader wouldn’t go over well with the boosters. “I was a little crestfallen,” Cooley recalls. “Actually, I was a

lot crestfallen, but I didn’t press it. I think (Loken) may have gone and asked on my behalf, but he didn’t say anything. Normally for Newt if it was something like that that wasn’t right he would say, ‘No that isn’t right, why don’t you go ask him,’ he was right behind me. And he didn’t say a word, I think he knew that the AD had said no. I was a bit embarrassed and a little bit down about it, but I let it go.” The same year he could’ve been a yell-leader, his 1966 season, Cooley acquitted himself well on the trampoline. He wasn’t worldclass like his teammates Wayne Miller and Dave Jacobs, he didn’t win the Big Ten Championship or NCAA Championship like they did, respectively. But he stood his own in a sport as demanding as college gymnastics. At the end of the year, though,

BENTLEY HISTORICAL LIBRARY

Gymnast Keith Cooley became the first Black gymnast in Michigan’s history when he made the team in 1965.

Cooley came face to face with a decision on what to commit himself to — physics or gymnastics. A professor confronted him about his lax attendance, then proceeded to ask him: Would he make more money as a trampolinist or a physicist? A third generation Black college student in the 1960s, Cooley prided himself on going to Michigan — when confused people congratulated him on going to Michigan State, it upset him. Physics was a future, bouncing was a hobby. When he broke the news to Loken, the coach took it in stride. And remembering Cooley’s first year on campus, told him that any time he wanted to bounce he could come down to the gym. Cooley rarely did, trampolining was an addiction and he needed to go cold turkey. The next year, he graduated. His interviews are ripe with statements about believing in oneself and rooted in his experience as a Black gymnast when there were very few Black gymnasts, as being a Black engineer when there were very few Black engineers. Cooley lived with nine football players; he partied at Black fraternities. Race and the Civil Rights movement of the 60s was often a conversation with his roommates and friends, but was steered clear of on the gymnastics team. His aspirations for social equality, publicly, were modest as an undergrad. As a graduate at Michigan, he helped start the program Minority Engineering Project Office, to help recruit minority students from schools into engineering and to promote engineering among minorities. In his professional career, he became CEO of a nonprofit called Focus: HOPE, to fight for civil and human rights in Detroit. Cooley’s interviews are laden with motivation, urging people to believe in themselves, to fight for their ambitions, to make bridges where there are none. He ends his emails with the Jimi Hendrix quote, “When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.” All those beliefs are fueled by his experience as a Wolverine, from practicing his way onto the gymnastics team to navigating a white college. He went to Michigan to become a physicist and he left as Michigan’s first Black gymnast.