Thursday, July 15, 2021
ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
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U-M community celebrates Pride on the Diag
NEWS
Delta Variant
NIRALI PATEL Daily Staff Reporter
What you need to know about the Delta variant so far
occupation of Palestine. Hasam, also a writer for The Daily’s Michigan in Color section, is the daughter of immigrants from Palestine who faced oppression and were forced into exile. “73 years ago, the definition of being a Palestinian changed,” Hassan said. “To be Palestinian is to know oppression and to know resistance and resilience in the face of that oppression.” During her speech, Hassan declared her commitment to the Free Palestine movement, despite the backlash she has received from the University of Michigan and others. “As many of us here today, I know the feeling of being silenced as a Palestinian. I know the feeling of attending an institution that pays no regard of the Palestinian voices, or lives for that matter, on their campus,” Hassan said. “I know the feeling of being targeted for speaking out and I know the feeling of advocating day and night for a cause only to be met with claims that my cause, the Palestinian cause, is too complex to be discussed blatantly.”
The Queer Advocacy Coalition, a student organization at the University of Michigan that partners with other LGBTQIA+ groups for advocacy and educational opportunities, hosted a Pride and Sexual Health and Wellness event Saturday on the Diag. Due to thunderstorms in June, the event was rescheduled to July. Along with celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community, tables of multiple organizations presented information on sexual health education and resources. Organizations represented included the Spectrum Center, Queer Advocacy Coalition, Office of Institutional Equity, UNIFIED HIV Health and Beyond, Planned Parenthood, Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health (MOASH), SAGE Metro Detroit and Hayner Recall Campaign. The event also included performances by LGBTQIA+ artists such as 26-year-old anarchist musician Premium Rat, songwriter Marguerite Alexis Ferrera and University of Michigan alum Reena Peng. Other performances included poetry by queer artist Patrick Mullen-Coyoy along with local drag performers Zooey Gaychanel — who is the founder of Heads Over Heels Drag & Variety Shows — and improvisational drag artist Elle. Amy Belfer, co-president of the Queer Advocacy Coalition, discussed how celebrating Pride was a form of resilience. “We’re here and we’re queer,” Belfer said. “Just to really celebrate the LGBTQIA+ communities, be proud and have a presence in the community… especially in the wake of all the anti-LGBT crime legislation in many states (is) basically saying that we’re not going to step down. We’re going to keep fighting, and we’re going to keep celebrating who we are.”
Read more at michigandaily.com
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>> SEE PAGE 3
OPINION
Strengths & Skills People think about their strengths, but they do not have to be quantifiable >> SEE PAGE 5
MICHIGAN IN COLOR
Bollywood As a South Indian, Roshni Mohan reflects on what Bollywood thinks about her
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily Students and community members show their support for Palestine at a vigil on the steps of Angell Hall on June 18.
U-M community members host vigil for lives lost in Gaza
>> SEE PAGE 7 KATE WEILAND Daily Staff Reporter
ARTS
“Black Widow”
Black Widow has a lot of fun along the way, but a double- edged sendoff
>> SEE PAGE 8
SPORTS
Two Fates
Despite uncertainties, two Michigan ASAF Paralymic athletes hope for gold medal > SEE PAGE 13
INDEX Vol. CXXIX, No. 112 © 2020 The Michigan Daily
NEWS .................................... 2 OPINION................................ 4 MiC......................................... 6 ARTS.......................................8 PHOTO................................. 10 STATEMENT......................... 11 SPORTS.................................13
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Students and community members gathered on the steps of Angell Hall on June 18 to attend a vigil for the Palestinian citizens killed in Gaza in May. Guest speakers and students shared stories of the people who passed away and honored the lives of all of the victims. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, LSA junior Salma Hamamy, one of the organizers of the vigil, discussed the satisfaction of seeing members of the community show up and attend the vigil to show solidarity with Palestinians. “It was great, honestly, seeing from people within the community as well as outside of the community…coming in and joining and stimulating a safe space with us for Palestinians and really just honoring and respecting Palestinian lives and those who are killed,” Hamamy said. “If it weren’t for those showing up and supporting us, I would feel completely hopeless. The main motivation throughout this entire movement has been seeing the support – it’s been seeing the countless protests, seeing people
show up to events, seeing people dedicate their time and energy into fighting with us.” Hamamy opened the event by acknowledging the hardships that the Palestinian community has faced and the efforts that are being made to advocate for Palestinians across the world. “I know we’ve all been quite exhausted and frustrated from our bodies constantly being treated as nothing more than merely just a clump of cells,” Hamamy said. “I know you guys are frustrated, I know you guys are exhausted, and I understand your pain.” Wayne State University graduate Sherin Shkoukani spoke about the community she has found that has become her support system in fighting for justice for Palestinians. “One thing that gives me hope is seeing everyone stand and unite as a community,” Shkoukani said. “When I see hundreds of thousands of protests worldwide, I feel hope. When I see non-Palestinians standing in solidarity with us I feel hope. When I see you all standing in front of me I feel hope.” LSA sophomore Reem Hassan, board member for Students Allied for Freedom and Equality (SAFE), spoke about the history of Israel’s
2 NEWS
Thursday, July 15, 2021 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
UMich Professor Peter Chen to face trial, judge finds probable
5 Bills to watch in the Michigan state legislature: June 2021 KATE WEILAND Daily Staff Reporter
MARIA DECKMAN/Daily University professor Peter Chen will be facing trial in Washtenaw County Circuit Court after a judge ruled there was probable cause to believe he committed criminal sexual misconduct.
pretrial release form prohibited JARED DOUGALL & DOMINICK contact with minors, Chen would SOKOTOFF be allowed to see his children with Summer Daily News Editor & Daily the supervision of another adult. Staff Reporter Preliminary examination hearings are held to determine if Content warning: This article the prosecution can show the court contains the use of graphic sexual there was probable cause to believe language. a crime was committed by the Peter Chen, a professor of defendant, although the standard electrical engineering and of proof is lower than a trial. Once computer science at the University the probable cause standard is met, of Michigan, appeared in a trial date is set. Michigan’s 15th District Court on In an email to The Michigan July 1 for a preliminary examination Daily, Victoria Burton-Harris, hearing for criminal felony charges the Washtenaw County Chief of sexual misconduct. At the Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, hearing, the court found probable confirmed the results of the cause to believe Chen committed preliminary examination. the charged crimes, and his case “Last week, Mr. Chen appeared was handed over for trial in the for a preliminary examination … 22nd Circuit Court of Washtenaw At the exam, Judge Perry found County. probable cause existed to believe Chen is being charged with the crime of Criminal Sexual criminal sexual conduct of the Conduct — 1st Degree occurred, first degree, which includes sexual and probable cause existed to penetration with a victim under believe that Mr. Chen, himself, the age of 13, after being arrested committed that crime,” Burtonon Jan. 28 by the Ann Arbor Police Harris wrote. “The case was bound Department. If convicted, Chen over for trial and shall proceed could face life in prison. through the Circuit Court.” According to the AAPD, the The law firm Smith Lehman, victim — a member of a robotics which specializes in criminal team Chen coached — was 11 years sexual conduct allegations, is old when the assaults allegedly representing Chen. Shannon began in April 2017. The incidents Smith, an attorney at the firm, allegedly occurred at Chen’s home represented the now-convicted through 2018. Larry Nassar, who faced allegations 15th District Court Judge of sexual abuse from more than 150 Miriam Perry oversaw the July women during his time as a USA 1 hearing, which was previously National Gymnastics team doctor postponed several times. In and professor at Michigan State a March 4 hearing that was University’s College of Human ultimately rescheduled due to Medicine. evidentiary delays, the court Read more at michigandaily.com ordered that, although Chen’s
The following article explains five bills that have been introduced, passed or signed into law by the Michigan state legislature or Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the month of June. Both the Michigan House and Senate are controlled by Republicans, while Whitmer is a Democrat. During the academic year, on the second and fourth Fridays of each month, The Michigan Daily publishes a compilation of bills being floated in the Michigan state legislature for students at the University of Michigan to know about. During the summer, this series is being continued monthly. 1. Requiring high school athletes to play on teams consistent with their biological sex at birth. Status: Introduced in Michigan Senate on March 10, referred to committee Thirteen Republican senators are backing legislation introduced by state Sen. Lana Theis, R-Brighton, in March that would require high school student-athletes to join the team consistent with their biological sex at birth: male or female. The bill’s sponsors said they are concerned about female athletes losing races, records, or scholarships to transgender women who may have biological advantages. They said this bill would rectify concerns about unfairness in athletics. Recently, a lawsuit was filed in Connecticut involving two transgender female runners who broke several state track records and beat cisgender women in various races. Supporters of the Michigan bill cite this lawsuit as evidence that allowing transgender women to compete alongside cisgender women can lead to controversy. Ryan Fisher, LSA senior and chairman of the University’s chapter of College Republicans, spoke on behalf of the organization in support of the bill. “(U-M College Republicans) wholeheartedly support the student athletes bill which ensures that men and women
will each compete under fair circumstances,” Fisher said. “There are biological differences between men and women that should be respected and considered in interscholastic programs.” The bill’s critics — The Michigan High School Athletic Association among them — have argued that the bill might cause more problems than it solves. According to the MHSAA, the Association only receives two transgender-athlete-related inquiries per year on average, and this bill could further stigmatize transgender identities in high schools. Adolescents who identify as transgender already face mental health issues at higher rates than cisgender youth and are six times more likely to suffer from mood or anxiety disorders. The bill was hotly debated in the Michigan Senate throughout June, with hearings being held about the bill within the Senate Education and Career Readiness Committee. 2. Bill package: People with disabilities or positive HIV tests cannot be discriminated against in the organ transplant process. Status: One bill introduced in Michigan Senate and referred to committee, one passed unanimously in Michigan House If passed, a bill recently discussed in the Michigan Senate would make it illegal to deny anyone an organ transplant or set them back on the transplant waiting list on account of a physical or mental disability. The first in a two-bill package, HB-6324, was first introduced in November 2020 and is intended to reinforce the federal Americans with Disabilities Act at a state level. Since 1990, the ADA has banned discrimination throughout the organ transplant process for people with a physical or mental disability. However, in the state of Michigan, individuals seeking organ donations who also have certain disabilities are often still lower on transplant lists, according to the National Down Syndrome Society and other organizations. Read more at michigandaily.com
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Thursday, July 15, 2021 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
NEWS 3
Early leasing changes move forward in Ann Arbor City Council KRISTINA ZHENG & VANESSA KIEFER Daily News Editor & Daily Staff Reporter
Tuesday evening’s City Council meeting unanimously approved the first reading for changes to the Early Leasing Ordinance, which places restrictions on when landlords may show prospective tenants property for the following year. City Council efforts to reform the Early Leasing Ordinance have been ongoing for months in collaboration with tenants, landlords and community members alike. The new ordinance brought forth Tuesday evening will allow tenants the “right to renew” a lease until 150 days before the lease expires. Landlords will also be prohibited from showing new prospective tenants a property until 150 days before the lease expires. The proposal also
includes a “just cause eviction,” which states that a landlord may not evict a tenant unless a tenant fails to pay rent, vacates upon notice or violates other terms of the lease. The city’s current ordinance — which was established in 2006 — allows landlords to begin showing and leasing properties to new prospective tenants as early as 70 days into the lease. But student renters and local tenants have long expressed frustrations around this pressure to renew contracts with only a few months into a lease, prompting efforts to amend the ordinance. During the public comment period, Rackham student and Graduate Employees’ Organization member Amir Fleischmann urged City Council to approve the new ordinance to protect student renters who make up a large portion of downtown housing.
“These are basic human rights,” Fleischman said. “I have a right to the quiet enjoyment of my
less than three months. Please, please, please help us through the government. Stand up to the
changing the timeline alone would not address the pressure tenants are facing. She said the solution lies in ensuring that the ordinance addresses both tenant and landlord rights to renew and have a just cause of eviction, respectively. “We cannot just impose a timeline and hope it sticks, because we don’t have good enforcement mechanisms,” Nelson said. “This ordinance has proposed an elegant solution where both tenants and landlords are protected. It’s going to be fair, it’s going to apply across the board.” Nelsn also reiterated the importance of the different voices that came together to inform JEREMY WEINE/Daily the timeline in the proposed City Council approved the first reading of the Early Leasing Ordinance Tuesday evening. ordinance, including GEO and residence. That right is violated landlord.” Central Student Government every time a landlord tells me I Councilmember Elizabeth (CSG). have 24 hours to decide to renew Nelson, D-Ward 4, who Read more at michigandaily.com after only having lived there for co-sponsored the proposal, said
Here’s what you need to know about the Delta variant NADIR AL-SAIDI Daily Staff Reporter
The Delta COVID-19 variant has been around for some time now, with the first reported case tracing back to India in October of last year. But having been recently labeled a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization (WHO), here are some facts you should know. Are vaccinated individuals still safe? The short answer is: yes. Dr. Jason Pogue, clinical professor at the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy, and colleagues recently conducted research about COVID-19 variants and mutations. Their findings are published in Oxford Academic. In an email to The Michigan Daily, Pogue wrote that despite the skepticism and sparse research contradicting the vaccine’s efficacy against mutations, they do work against variants of concern (VOC). He wrote that doubts stem from data showing decreased function of neutralization antibodies, the antibodies that fight against the replication of COVID-19, for various VOC in vaccinated and previously infected patient
serums, or blood samples. “However, what is important to remember is that the neutralization by vaccinated patients is still actually quite impressive against these VOC, even if not quite as high as it is against the wild type (or original) virus,” Pogue wrote. Pogue wrote that the immune response against a virus consists of much more than just the neutralizing antibodies. There are several aspects to the immune response against a virus such as T-cells and non-neutralizing antibodies, which still remain in high levels when measured against VOC, according to Pogue. For reference, T-cells play a vital role in the protection against severe disease and non-neutralizing, or ‘binding’, antibodies work against viral particles they come across without halting replication. Recent studies conclude that the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine is 88% effective against contracting the Delta variant and 96% effective against hospitalization compared to 95% and 100% against contraction and hospitalization of the original strain, respectively. The same study concluded that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is 60% effective against the contraction of the variant and 93% effective against hospitalization.
The study did not include the Moderna vaccine, but the company released a statement that their vaccine is still highly effective against the variant. More research is still needed to draw conclusions from the Johnson & Johnson and Novavax vaccines in regards to the Delta variant specifically. Although research suggests vaccinated individuals are still safe from the variant, the WHO stated on June 25 that those who are vaccinated should take extra precaution and continue to wear masks to counteract the spread of the variant. Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, WHO’s chief scientist, spoke on the matter during a conference at the company’s Geneva, Switzerland headquarters. She said the recommendation is because of the “significantly increased transmissibility” of the variant. The WHO’s recommendation contradicts the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC), causing government officials in several states to require or recommend masking again. For example, Los Angeles County released a statement last week strongly recommending their residents to wear masks indoors. What makes the variant different?
The Delta variant, or SARSCoV-2 B.1.617, has three subtypes: B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2 and B.1.617.3. The second of which, named ‘Delta plus,’ is the VOC while the first and third are currently labeled ‘variants of interest’. According to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of India, these variants can have 15 to 17 mutations. Studies now suggest that the Delta variant is roughly 60% more transmissible than the current dominant variant in the United States – B.1.1.7, or ‘the Alpha variant’ – making it over 75% more transmissible than the original strand that appeared in Wuhan, China. As well as being able to spread quickly, the variant is known to cause a more severe illness and a higher rate of hospitalization. According to the WHO, those who are fully vaccinated can still contract the variant, and all other forms of COVID-19 for that matter. No vaccine is 100% effective, but they all drastically reduce the severity of the illness and the chances of being hospitalized from COVID-19. The variant is characterized by several mutations in the DNA that codes for the spike protein, or the projections on the SARS-CoV-2
virus that enable it to enter the body’s cells. According to Pogue, these mutations are not located in the region that would decrease the efficacy of the current vaccines. How big is the variant’s impact in the United States and abroad? Having already spread to over 92 countries, the variant has caused great distress around the world. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said the Delta variant is the “greatest threat” in the world’s efforts to contain COVID-19 during a White House briefing on June 22. The variant has been causing surges in Russia, Indonesia, India and many other countries including the United States. In the U.S., COVID-19 cases have risen 10% in the last week. The variant now accounts for roughly 80% of new cases in states like Kansas and Arkansas, and over 96% of new cases in Missouri. These statistics are not surprising to Dr. Joseph Eisenberg, professor and chair of the U-M department of epidemiology, who believes that the country will be seeing clusters of cases in Southern states where the vaccination percentage, or ‘coverage,’ is low. Read more at michigandaily.com
4 OPINION
Thursday, July 15, 2021 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
JULIA VERKLAN MALONEY | OPINION COLUMNIST
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THEODORA VORIAS | OPINION COLUMNIST
Funding low-income students’ educations is not an act of charity
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ith the approval of the University of Michigan’s 2021-2022 budget, it is clear that making the University more accessible to low-income students was a priority. This year’s approval is in contrast to the Board of Regents’ initial failure in June 2020 to approve a budget for the University’s 2020-2021 school year, where the board was split 4-4 and tuition hikes were the contentious issue. This time around, a 6.4% increase in the financial aid budget for undergraduate students was approved, and the decision received notable support from many administrators, including University President Mark Schlissel, Regent Paul Brown (D) and Board Chairwoman Denise Ilitch (D). To support the increased financial aid budget, the board approved tuition increases for in-state and out-of-state students. In defending the budget increases, Schlissel said they were essential in getting financial aid to the students who need it. Brown expressed similar sentiments in an interview with The Michigan Daily, in which he argued that the tuition increase would be beneficial to the University’s affordability efforts. However, Brown claimed in an interview with The Daily that the financial aid low-income students receive is coming mostly from the tuition of high-income students:
“It’s no secret that we have a lot of need-based aid, and much of that is paid for by (the) tuition of those of means.” While it is positive that the newly approved budget will help students in need, it shouldn’t be framed as if low-income students are only able to attend college because high-income students are generous enough to foot the bill. Doing so diminishes the value and importance of having students from all socioeconomic backgrounds on campus. Board members and administrators framed the increase as directly benefiting low-income students who receive financial aid. While some of that tuition increase may go toward the increased financial aid, the funds from the tuition increases could be used toward anything, including expanded mental health resources and the new $15 minimum wage for U-M employees that were laid out in the approved budget. Even in last year’s debates between the board over the University’s fiscal year 2021 budget, a robin hood-like framing was used to justify tuition increases. Regent Michael Behm (D) stated that “the tuition increase will be borne by those who can afford to pay it.” Regent Mark Bernstein (D) agreed that the tuition increase would help “to keep college affordable for those students who need the most financial help.” That framing only exacerbates
thoughts that it is only through the generosity of high-income students that low-income students can attend college. Regardless of the socioeconomic makeup of a college, financial aid programs offer merit and identity-based scholarships, even to students who don’t have a financial need for them. Colleges and schools within the University have a host of scholarships that don’t require demonstrating financial need. However, there was never a mention of the financial aid that is provided to students that aren’t lowincome as being paid for by highincome students. Additionally, it’s important to remember that financial aid is only one of the many things a university diverts its funds toward. When students pay for their tuition, they don’t get to choose where their money is allocated, so it’s unfair to low-income students receiving financial aid to propagate this idea that their ability to attend college is due solely to their betteroff classmates paying full tuition. Financial aid is taken from the University’s General Fund, in which 14.1% of the 2021 funding came from the state of Michigan. Read more at michigandaily.com Theodora Vorias is an Opinion Columnist and can be reached at tvorias@umich.edu.
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F
or an experiment to be a success, there must exist a control group for comparison. Perhaps the trickiest phenomenon to experimentally test is fashion — specifically, whether we as humans truly dress to please ourselves and flatter our bodies, or rather dress to fit in with our peers. In other words, are we drawn to socialized camouflage or simply dressing for ourselves? Considering trends change and vary from region to region based on temperature and standardized dress codes, the universal control group can therefore be found decked in plaid. I attended a Catholic school for 12 years, wearing a plaid kilt and pressed white button-up shirt since the age of six. Because of this, my sense of style was never allowed to develop nor change. It was always the same unbending outfit. Although I did not oppose wearing the uniform — or doubt that it saved me a lot of time getting ready each morning — I now realize that as an adult I must discover more things about myself than just what career I want or how to save for retirement. I need to learn how to dress. To many, putting on a pair of pants and a shirt is second nature, but to me, it is an art form I have yet to master. The knowledge of color combination, pattern clashing and fabric quality is foreign. It’s as if I have been eternally trapped by black, gray and red stripes, and enclosed in shiny white buttons. For the first time upon entering college, I broke free from itchy polyester and into things like denim and suede. This learning experience is even more daunting with my closest set among the backdrop of Ann Arbor, where the fashion scene is as vibrant as the storefronts and city life. There is no set model nor uniform, so I am
forced to discover myself afront a stark backdrop in which there is no way to blend in. I have emerged from plaid into possibility. With such a possibility comes the persona that fabrics and color compositions take on — for although stereotypes are non-tangible, they still can be taken off hangers and put onto bodies. We are fronted with the choice to dress individually, not factoring in outside opinion. Yet this choice is almost never taken, considering the way we dress can determine our self-perception. This process is called enclothed cognition, or “the systematic influence that clothes have on the wearer’s psychological processes.” Setting aside the fact that our intelligence, economic status or overall worth can supposedly be determined by our fashion façade in the eyes of onlookers, how does clothing affect our own self-perception? According to both the ideas of Nobel Prize-winning author Isaac Bashevis Singer and the research of modern psychologists, the power we have over ourselves can be swayed by the fabrics we wear and the shapes we take on. Hence, selfconfidence and self-worth are ours to take so long that we know how to capture it in clothing. Considering I and other former private schoolers were never allowed to showcase individuality nor enclothe our feelings when confined to a uniform, we have a hard time navigating ourselves and what others may perceive us as. Because of this lack of knowledge, development is experiential. Read more at michigandaily.com
Julia Maloney is an Opinion Columnist and can be reached at jvmalo@umich.edu.
Thursday, July 15, 2021 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
OLIVIA MOURADIAN | OPINION COLUMNIST
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OPINION 5
Your skills don’t need to be quantifiable to be valuable
hen asked about my strengths, my default answers are writing and “people skills.” What do I mean by “people skills?” While definitions vary, I would define them as the communicative tools used to connect with another person. I put them in quotations because these tools carry different meanings for different people. Similar to the blurry distinction between a good writer and a great writer, there is not a universal metric by which someone can be pinpointed as “great with people” versus “good with people.” This blurriness continues to create doubt in my abilities. It is easy for me to say I’m not actually a good writer and, instead, say my professors have just graded my work easily. As it is almost impossible to measure human connection, it is also easy for me to say that I’m not actually good with people. With these doubts, which are exacerbated by societal pressures to validate skills through quantifying their value, I often find myself scrambling to explain
how these immeasurable skills are actually my strengths. The idea of constantly doubting my strongest abilities is both contradictory and limiting. However, the two skills I am best at both happen to be subjective and therefore more easily belittled than more objective skills. Compared to experience with Photoshop, Javascript or statistical modeling, experience with people or writing sounds obvious and self-aggrandizing. With skills that are less quantifiable, it becomes easier to assume that the majority of people have the same capabilities with these skills because distinctions between different proficiencies in them are less absolute. The last few years have witnessed an increased emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math education and careers, a decline of humanities majors that rely more on soft skills and the resulting employability fears associated with this decline. Somewhere in the midst of this, we have mistakenly come to equate measurability
— more specifically, quantifiability — to value. And considering the management system of many universities, our society’s general marginalization of soft skills can be traced back to the way our education system pits studies that rely more on soft skills against ones that emphasize hard skills. Recently, responsibility-centered management (a university budgeting system under which each department has autonomy over its revenue and expenditures) has become the budgeting model of choice for many academic institutions. Under this model, large classes — which are more profitable — are prioritized over smaller, discussionbased classes, which typically happen to be classes that are centered around soft skills. Operating as businesses, universities further devalue subjective skills and the discussion-based classes that go along with these skills because they are not as fiscally advantageous for them. However, what is valuable to a business and what is valuable to society should not and cannot be viewed
as equivalent to each other. The mere fact that classes centered on soft skills are not as profitable to universities as classes centered on hard skills does not mean soft skills themselves are not as beneficial to society as hard skills are. Despite this prioritization of hard skills, these “soft” abilities are still valued by American companies, with 61% claiming that skills like communication and problem solving are the most valued in prospective hires. In a study conducted by Boston College, Harvard University and the University of Michigan, soft skills training was found to increase worker productivity by 12%. With this additional productivity and subsequent increase in retention rates, the training produced a 256% net return on investment after nine months. LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner believes the skills gap associated with soft skills is the widest in the United States. It is undeniable: There is ample evidence to support the argument that soft skills are valuable and capitalistically productive. Even
so, justifying the importance of soft skills using statistics — quantifiable numbers — on why these skills are valuable in the workplace perpetuates and perhaps even validates our society’s obsession with numbers and hard facts. When researching why soft skills are important, the vast majority of articles are centered around soft skills’ importance in the workplace. However, the true power of soft skills lies in their unavoidable and fundamental presence in our daily lives. Self-awareness allows you to recognize your own strengths, fears, insecurities and priorities — and also those of the people around you. The ability to negotiate enables you to effectively and respectfully voice your opinions without losing sight of your perspective. Read more at michigandaily.com
Olivia Mouradian is an Opinion Columnist and can be reached at omouradi@umich.edu.
BENJAMIN DAVIS | OPINION COLUMNIST
Video game streaming: Revitalizing the couch co-op experience
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ith every new form of media comes a new panic about its legitimacy. Media history is chock full of new media platforms being met with anxiety from older generations until they are integrated as an accepted form of media. Video game streaming platforms are the new kid on the block. For those not a part of the gaming community, it can be difficult to understand the reasons why a person would willingly watch someone else play a game. Yet, seeing content on Twitch and other streaming platforms as “backseat gaming” is a surface-level perspective that does not take into account what Twitch streams accomplish as an entertainment medium. Video game streaming is about community engagement, not people being lonely onlookers at the sole player. A common confusion of those baffled by the existence of video game streaming platforms is why anyone would want to watch the game in idle rather than play the game themselves. Why would anyone want to not directly interact with the video game? However, streaming audiences are not as dormant as an outsider would presume. Many viewers play the game being streamed themselves, sometimes while engaging with the stream
through Twitch chat or subscriptions. It is also common for streamers to engage with their audience through hosting private lobbies only accessible to their viewers. The “Jackbox” series and “Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout” are two popular examples of games that streamers use to initiate audience involvement. These games allow the audience to play with the streamer. In this way, stream audiences are not restricted to being onlookers but actually have the ability to play with the entire stream community. But even so, many people who tune into video game streaming content do not and have never played the games the streamers are playing. Video game streaming is about more than just comparing the gameplay experiences between the streamer and their audience. Some viewers simply don’t play games they love to watch streamed. Isn’t this similar to many fans that engage with traditional entertainment forms, especially sports? Some fans of sports entertainment are previous players, but many have never even played the sport. They are not too different from those who watch video game streams. Looking at streaming in this light puts it in the same category as a swath of other entertainment forms, rather than a genesis of a whole
new conceptualization of entertainment. An often overlooked aspect of the gaming industry is that it often has economic barriers to entry. The average gaming console can run a potential buyer $200 to $400, sometimes more. The cost of a decent gaming PC is much greater than that — around $800 if you want to install any tripleA games, games with large budgets for production and marketing like “Assassin’s Creed” or “Red Dead Redemption.” And that’s just the price of the system needed to run the games. Tacking on another couple hundred bucks for the games themselves and the necessary accessories, it is apparent that video gaming is not a cheap hobby. Streamers playing games on platforms like Twitch allow those without the economic means to bypass these entry fees to gaming. Watching Twitch streams allows people to taste test games and become invested in various gaming franchises without committing money to them. Creating a Twitch profile to watch a stream is entirely free. These streams give low-income gamers the ability to experience games that are out of their price range. Streams are not just viewers fawning over a streamer in envy of being the one with the controller
Design by Kristina Miesel
— they provide access to gaming that many viewers would not otherwise have. Above all, Twitch streamers can cultivate a sense of community among their audience. Some viewers couldn’t care less about the specific game their favorite streamer is playing, just that they are one of many people all over the world logged into the same channel. The sense of interaction and intimacy of Twitch streams is a lure for many. Those who balk at the idea of sitting in front of their computer to watch a random person play a video game
are imagining quite a solitary experience. This could not be further from the truth. Yes, a viewer can watch the stream without socializing. But there are several opportunities to interact with others, such as sending a chat. And Twitch channels are often springboards to more of the streamer’s social media pages. Read more at michigandaily.com
Benjamin Davis is an Opinion Columnist and can be reached at bendav@umich.edu.
6 MICHIGAN IN COLOR
Thursday, July 15, 2021 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
From space fantasies to Michigan in Color
Design by Megan Young
SAFURA SYED MiC Columnist
It’s almost 2 a.m. and I’m staring at a blank piece of paper. My pen hovers over it, then slowly draws a single letter. I continue to write until I’ve written a paragraph, but when I look back, I feel unsatisfied. I scratch the paragraph out and turn the page, where I can still see the imprints of the previous words and the lines that covered them. I haven’t written anything in almost a year. Well, I have written some things — assignments and essays for classes, news articles and even columns for The Daily — but I haven’t written fiction for almost a whole year. Fiction is where my love of writing first came from, as the desire to write was created by books I used to devour in elementary school. I would read everything from fantasy to historical fiction, but always stayed within the most exciting part of the library — the fiction section. As a child, fiction was not only a form of entertainment, but also a form of escapism. Nothing ever happened in the Midwestern suburbs where I grew up, so fiction added some sense of intrigue into my daily life. I would read about kids who were my age defeating crime lords in London, about underground fantastical worlds full of mystery and excitement while I waited for my mom to pick me up from school.
And as I kept reading, I started to want to write as well, trying to craft the worlds that the authors seemed to do so easily in the books that I read. I started to write my stories in a pink composition notebook that I used for school. I don’t remember much about these stories — written when I was only eight years old — but memories of forests filled with blue-leaved trees and haunted graveyards still influence my writings today. It’s in every child’s nature to create something, and storytelling was my way to channel that creativity and communicate with the world around me. I would reread and edit the stories that I had written and give them to my older sisters, who would point out things that I could fix or add on to. They would always make sure to praise my work and as I grew up, writing became something that I was known for within my family and school circles — it was the first thing I became good at. I lost the pink notebook sometime in elementary school, so naturally I graduated from handwritten fiction and resorted to typing things down. Stories felt better if I typed them, because the flow of creativity seemed to come more naturally. I wrote my first long-form piece on a computer when I was 12 — a novel about space politics. Even though I was in middle school, I wanted the piece to follow the conventions of
science fiction by commenting on real world inequalities through the lens of a fantastical world. It was influenced heavily by the dystopian novels that were popular at the time, and therefore suffered from their pitfalls (mainly predictability), but it was something that I devoted myself to for years. Now, the plot makes me cringe — a president trying to improve the class standing of the laborers on the moon while a universal war looms overhead — yet I can’t help but remember how I would run to the computer lab to work on it after school. Writing a fantasy like that, while creating a whole new world with its own set of rules, felt like a puzzle that I had to design and solve. I obsessively crafted maps and timelines and planned entire character trajectories out in a notebook, eagerly awaiting to type them on the page. After almost a year and a half of working (and two rewrites), I gave up on the story. I don’t know when the breaking point was, but I remember giving up during the editing process, around page 100. The plot, I realized, was unforgivable and the characters were boring. I even got bored writing about them, so I buried the document in a “previous works” folder and never looked back. I didn’t write for a long time after abandoning the project — my creative impulses stuttered to a stop as the storyline (the only one that I had
thought of for years) was no longer interesting or profound to me. Many YA fantasies featuring politics and rebellions were written every year, and my story blended in with the rest of them. Coming to this realization marred my experience with the project, but now I know that it’s a natural process when it comes to writing. Not all stories are meant to be one-of-akind, poignant pieces. But in eighth grade, I didn’t realize that the work I produced as a teenager didn’t need to be my magnum opus. My whole life has been spent in these cycles of high and low creativity. I’ve constantly struggled with wanting to write something without having a concrete idea. I know the drill by now because I’ve heard it countless times — that in order to get better, I need to at least put something on the page. But sometimes even that little step seems impossible. Writing fiction is different from all the other types of writing that I do; it’s different from the writing that I’m doing now mostly because I haven’t developed a formula for it. I’ve been writing columns for years so I generally know how they should be structured, what my tone should be and if there’s a mistake, it will be caught and fixed by the amazing editors at The Daily. With fiction, though, each story is a different challenge, and each character has its distinct tone. The difficulty comes with writing as something
more than myself. I have to keep in mind that characters do not think like me, that they have backgrounds and thoughts distinct from mine. When writing fiction, I need to make sure that I am doing that fact justice and separate myself from a character that I am writing. Part of my writer’s hesitancy also comes from my own expectations. I have always wanted to write something profound, something that will move people — a feeling that I know that many other writers share. I can’t just write anything; I want to write something genuinely good. And with these expectations, it’s almost impossible to put anything on the page, because chances are that idea isn’t good enough. I always think back to the untitled, unfinished novel I wrote in middle school, an idea that I didn’t deem to be good enough after 100 wasted pages. During these moments of uncertainty and doubt, I force myself to remember why I started writing in the first place. Writing something for it to become a ground-breaking piece wasn’t an expectation I always had for myself, but rather it occurred gradually over years as I thought it was one of the only things I was good at. Read more at michigandaily.com
Thursday, July 15, 2021 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
MICHIGAN IN COLOR 7
What Bollywood thinks of me, a South Indian ROSHNI MOHAN MiC Columnist
My North Indian friends, like many others, loved Bollywood and everything about it. Being in this primarily North Indian friend group centered an adequate portion of my life around Bollywood culture, regardless of my South Indian ethnicity. Sitting in my friends’ cars, I’d hear the newest song from the latest Bollywood movie that I’d watch only a few hours later at their houses. We would sit huddled together on the couch with a few fleece blankets, sharing a bowl of burnt popcorn as the opening credits played. The first appearance of Shah Rukh Khan or Saif Ali Khan in the film was the cue to start my usual three-hour-long Bollywood journey: going on my phone for 10 minutes, watching the movie for a little, scrolling through my Instagram feed, reading the subtitles to realize the movie was only slightly colorist and/ or misogynistic, going back through my already viewed Instagram feed and then reading the subtitles again to realize the movie was actually very colorist and misogynistic. While I had always noticed Bollywood’s prejudice against me for having darker skin through its not so subtle use of dark skin actors as villains, I was quite oblivious to the stereotypical portrayals of South Indians in the media that millions of people consume. It took me years to come to a realization when my friends invited me to watch
“Chennai Express,” starring Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone. When my friends first mentioned the title, I was excited since a lot of my family now lives in Chennai and this felt like long-awaited representation. However, my excitement quickly faded away once the movie actually began. Why couldn’t any of the South Indian characters speak proper English? I was confused since many Tamilians, including the entirety of my family still in India, can speak fluently. South Indian states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu are among the highest ranking English-speaking states in India. The movie was invalidating my family and the thousands of other South Indian English speakers’ intelligence and effort they all put into learning English as a second or third language. I kept trying to make excuses as the movie progressed, saying to myself, Maybe it was because it took place in a small village. But if they took that into account when making the movie, the characters wouldn’t be able to understand Hindi either when most characters could. Things only went downhill as the movie progressed. It portrayed all of the South Indian men as barbaric and unruly. They were all violent and consistently seen causing fights and beating other people. The men all carried machetes and large knives or swords and pulled them out at their first inconvenience. To make matters worse, they painted the only North Indian living in the village as helpful and innocent while every South
Indian man was violent and uncivilised. They lacked common sense and manners and overall were just uncomfortable to watch. I sat through the entire movie in silence experiencing somewhat of a culture shock with the realities of Bollywood. I always knew the industry was misogynistic, but seeing this movie forced me to realize the extent to which Bollywood blatantly disrespects minority groups and other cultures. But despite everything, seeing my friends laugh as if the movie was funny to them hurt the most. How could they think this is funny? Is this what they think of me? While I was now counting down the minutes until it was over so I could go home, my friends were saying it “was not long enough” and were excited to rewatch it later. “Chennai Express” is not the only time Bollywood portrayed South Indians in this way, with almost all South India-centered movies using the same offensive tropes. In the movie Ra One, Shekhar, a Tamil character also played by Shah Rukh Khan, was portrayed as an unintelligible English speaker who threw in many random Tamil words and “ayyo” or “rascal” in almost every sentence. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with not understanding or being fluent in English, the incoherence of Tamil characters was always contrasted by the display of North Indian characters’ virtually perfect English. Words like “ayyo” have become common words in Tamil, and using our own words to laugh at us
Design by Jessica Chiu
is hurtful, especially when it is exaggerated to the extent that Shekhar cannot go a single sentence without it. Shekhar is humiliating to his family in most of the movie, failing to fight against a thief who was only using a butter knife to rob them, constantly causing car accidents and mixing curd (yogurt) in noodles. Curd is popularly eaten on the side of many South Indian cuisines, but to extort that and make a joke about how that’s all we eat is harmful. It not only adds to this idea that South Indians are embarrassing and lack common sense but belittles our pride in our culture’s cuisines. Similar to its mockery regarding curd, Bollywood takes parts of our cultures that we have pride in and turns
them into something demeaning. In “Chennai Express,” every male Tamilian wears a lungi and tends to confuse lungis with veshtis, a more formal type of cultural wear commonly worn at weddings. As a result, the film devalues Tamil wedding culture, which is already seen as inferior and bland to North Indians. Furthermore, a song from the film “Lungi Dance” features dancers wearing lungis while imitating stereotypical Kollywood dancing. The song includes lyrics such as “Coconut mein lassi milaa ke,” which roughly translates to mixing coconut with Lassi, a traditional yogurt-based beverage. Read more at michigandaily.com
What you need to know about your zodiac sign this week (07/13-07/19) ANDREW NAKAMURA MiC Columnist
At the beginning of the week, Venus is in conjunction with Mars, which is a powerful transit between two intensely passionate planets. This is a great time to socialize especially in a romantic context. Outside of love, all signs will gain a large boost to their creativity at this time. On July 13, the moon enters Virgo, which prioritizes practical matters, reorganizing our physical spaces and helping others. The world enters into a slightly dreamy state when the sun enters a trine with Neptune on July 15. You may feel less attached to your worldly desires and instead ponder your own internal values and ideals. This transit also inspires creativity and encourages you to start new projects. The next day, the moon enters Libra; a great time for socialization, but also makes head-on confrontation difficult when problems arise. The moon will stay in Libra until July 17.
The last transit of the week also occurs on July 17. The sun is placed opposite Pluto, which could indicate some sort of internal or interpersonal conflict. Situations may start to slip out of your control and you may be forced to change your routines. However, all astrological transits can have their upsides if you can adapt. If you can acknowledge that you as an individual have little control over the world and instead embrace sudden changes, you may find peace during this chaotic transit. The week ends on a Scorpio moon — a very emotionally intense time. However, on the bright side, the Scorpio moon encourages us to find the power within ourselves and cast away any limiting mindsets. This week is quite barren in terms of astrological events; we have no major moon phases, retrograde or planetary movement between signs. However, a momentary glance at next week’s forecast displays multiple back-to-back major celestial events, so I hope that you will join me for a very exciting horoscope next week.
Aries (7/13-19) Venus and Mars’s conjunction in Leo brings fiercely passionate energy into your love life and your creative pursuits. Your imagination will continue to run wild as the sun trines Neptune, and you should harness this creative energy at this time. Unfortunately, the sun’s opposition with Pluto will bring tension in your career or personal life. You should face these challenges head-on, but do not let your fiery temper blaze out of control. Taurus (7/13-19) When your ruling planet Venus becomes in conjunction with Mars, you will be able to dig deeper into family connections and potentially resolve any underlying issues. If you’ve been wanting to rearrange your living space, now is a good time to make those changes. You may feel especially creative when the sun trines Neptune, and you should bounce your ideas off of others to fuel your inspiration. However, the sun’s opposition with Pluto may tempt you to unleash your innermost negative
thoughts when conflict with others arises, but you should try to remain calm. Gemini (7/13-19) Venus’s conjunction with Mars sparks important conversations between your romantic partners and inspires you to chase after your goals. The sun-Neptune trine continues this momentum, supplying you with ample creative energy as you let go of the past and set your sights on the future. However, beware of financial issues or relationship struggles that may appear out of nowhere when the sun opposes Pluto. Cancer (7/13-19) The Venus-Mars conjunction will put your mind at ease and encourage you to demonstrate your prowess in your profession. The sun’s trine with Neptune will let you take life slow and spend time pursuing your creative passions. However, the sun’s opposition with Pluto may stir some frustration in regard to your relationships, so be mindful of your emotions and your words at this time.
Leo (7/13-19) Venus’s conjunction with Mars is especially important to you because both planets will meet in your sign. This is an incredible time to meet new people and overall just have fun. When the sun forms a trine with Neptune, you may come to a sudden realization of some sort and your creative energy will be much more abundant. The sun’s opposition with Pluto may force you to realize that you are overwhelmed and may push you to leave some overbearing commitments and responsibilities. However, you should carefully consider other ways to handle these situations without having to completely drop any task. Virgo (7/13-19) Your unstoppable drive and impeccable high standards are some of your most admirable traits, but your tendency to overwork yourself is exactly why Venus and Mars are desperately begging you to relax. Read more at michigandaily.com
8 ARTS Long overdue and a little too late, ‘Black Widow’ is a double-edged sendoff Thursday, July 15, 2021 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
KATRINA STEBBINS Daily Arts Writer
If you had to kill off an Avenger, would it be Hawkeye or Black Widow? Having grown up in an era of entertainment that’s ruled by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I remember engaging in this debate more than once during my childhood. Never mind the Big Four (Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk); which of the two most mortal superheroes — you know, the boring ones — could you live without? When Black Widow jumped off a cliff to save Hawkeye in “Avengers: Endgame,” the MCU answered that exact question. This became a linchpin moment for the franchise that’s been met with much ambivalence and hangs over the entirety of “Black Widow,” Natasha Romanoff’s (Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”) long-awaited solo film. The movie opens to a flashback in Ohio in 1995, where a young Natasha and three other agents of the nefarious, Soviet-made Red Room are undercover, posing as
a happy family. Although the four are inevitably separated, Natasha’s affection for them and their fabricated but nonetheless sincere family dynamic is clear. Over two decades later, having defected from the Red Room, Natasha is alone and on the run following the events of “Captain America: Civil War.” The reappearance of Yelena (Florence Pugh, “Little Women”), her younger sister during the mission in Ohio, and the opportunity to bring down the Red Room kicks the action into gear. In their search for the Red Room, Natasha and Yelena gather up Alexei (David Harbour, “Stranger Things”) and Melina (Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”), who once played their parents. Their reunion and the reestablishment of their relationships turns the second act partially into a fun family comedy that employs many recognizable tropes, complete with a dinner table scene in which the family bickers (Melina tells Natasha not to slouch and Alexei tells the girls to listen to their mother). Although their conversation eventually ventures into more somber territory, the cast’s strong performances and comedic elements
provide much-needed levity for a film which easily could have taken itself much too seriously. The consistently wonderful Florence Pugh shines during these family scenes in particular, connecting the comedic and dramatic elements as she jumps deftly between exasperation with the others and devastation at their refusal to acknowledge that their family was real. The younger/older sister dynamic that Pugh and Johansson play so well is primarily responsible for the successes that “Black Widow” claims. Many of the small moments Yelena and Natasha share will look incredibly familiar to anyone with a sibling, right down to the way they glance quickly at each other across the room when their parents say something dubious. Even the parts that feel like typical Marvel fare — a motorcycle chase, a helicopter rescue, an airborne final battle — are anchored by their relationship, by the lengths they are willing to go to for each other. Their final scene together may be one of the most touching interactions in any Marvel movie. It’s a little ironic, then, that much of what makes “Black Widow” good on
Scarlett Johansson reprises her role as a master assassin in ‘Black Widow.’ This image is from Marvel’s official Youtube channel.
its own is also what makes it feel cold in the MCU’s broader context. There’s no shortage of fans and critics who were, to put it mildly, upset about Natasha’s death in “Avengers: Endgame.” Giving her a family retroactively, establishing relationships which could have been expanded on through more solo movies if her character was alive, gives fans that much more potential to mourn. After years of delays and bad excuses for not making a Black Widow film, it’s hard not to wonder if things would be completely different for
her character now if “Black Widow” had actually come out after “Captain America: Civil War,” where it belongs chronologically. Natasha’s death makes “Black Widow” feel necessary not within the Marvel timeline, but within the film’s metacontext: the fans’ love for her character and their desire to see her finally given her due, which is by no means a bad reason for the movie to exist. Read more at michigandaily.com
Punk princesses, Paramore and the patriarchy KAITLYN FOX Daily Arts Writer
It’s no secret that being a woman in music means facing constant stereotyping and criticism. With just a small fraction of female artists winning prestigious awards like Grammys, it’s easy to see why female artists feel pressure to perform well and keep their audiences engaged as they progress through their careers. Gender discrimination is not unique to any particular style of music — from pop to hip-hop, women are constantly stereotyped, sexualized and undermined — but it can present itself differently from genre to genre. Within niche genres like punk, women struggle to gain visibility in a scene that not only excludes female voices but also generalizes them, ignoring their individual contributions. Since the birth of punk rock in the ’70s, women have participated in the scene as artists, stage crew and promoters, yet they continue to be unrecognized. While it began as
a movement to foster dedicated to countercultural and a rigidly defined “other,” the punk scene quickly became dominated by white men and hasn’t changed much since. One of the
travel with. From the Slits to White Lung, female punk artists have been fighting off sexism for decades. In the early 2000s, the punk scene was shaken by the emo-pop sensation
most overt forms of sexism is the live music scene, where festival lineups are comprised of mostly men and where women face sexual harassment while on the road, sometimes due to the large groups of rowdy men they must
Paramore. With front woman Hayley Williams sporting bright orange hair and slaying anthemic vocals, the female punk image was forever changed. As Paramore released top performing singles like “Misery
Design by Madison Grosvenor
Business” and “Ain’t It Fun,” Williams slowly became the face of women in punk. Williams was a pioneer for female punk artists, paving the way for other women in the scene. While it’s true that Williams opened doors for more female acts to occupy the punk space, especially at punk staples like the Vans Warped Tour, her music has also become a way for music critics to ignore other female punk acts. When a punk track performed by women comes across a journalist’s desk, they’re quick to draw parallels to Paramore, even if their sounds are distinctly different. As Williams became the face of punk, the industry made her the standard for other female punk artists. A 2018 NPR article that dubs Williams to be a “punk prophet” even declared that “girls were patently not musicians in [the punk] scene” before Hayley Williams showed up, undermining the contributions of female icons like Patti Smith, Debbie Harry or even Avril Lavigne. While it’s true that Williams’s popularity contributed to female acceptance within punk, her success
was preceded by other powerful female artists who worked hard to be respected and recognized in the industry. Williams is rightfully a punk staple for her powerful vocals, Hot Topic wardrobe and bright orange hair, but Paramore’s music was also palatable for mainstream audiences, which made them more likeable. Mixed in with the loud guitars and rollercoaster lyrics were hints of pop elements, allowing the band to occupy both the punk and pop space. In other words, Paramore wasn’t too edgy for a general audience, which helped them rise on the top charts. Female artists who solely identify with punk are less likely to be noticed by a pop-dominated industry and may not receive the same level of attention as a pop-punk icon. As a public relations coordinator at a small, independent music publicity agency, I’ve had the opportunity to work with several female punk acts trying to catch their break in the music industry. Read more at michigandaily.com
Thursday, July 15, 2021 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ARTS 9
The ‘Gossip Girl’ reboot is too self-aware for its own good SARAH RAHMAN Daily Arts Writer
Well well well… Nine years after her last sign-off, Gossip Girl has returned to wreak havoc on Manhattan’s elite once more, and she’s ready to make it everyone’s problem. Based on the first episode, it’s clear that your favorite Upper East Sider is back and more toxic than ever, and not for the reasons you might think. This time around, Gossip Girl has taken to Instagram rather than a MySpacestyle blog; the show centers around a group of Generation-Z social media influencers instead of your run-of-the-mill old-money elite, and viewers don’t have to wait for the series to run its course to know who Gossip Girl is. In fact, we find out in the very first episode, cluing us into the fact that things are going to be very different this time around. To be frank, I was hyped for this series. Both a fan of the original series and a Gen Z kid myself, I won’t deny that I find media centered around my generation entertaining and was excited by
the prospect of seeing one of my favorite shows feature characters I could relate to even a little bit more. The series is eager to be relatable as well. It’s almost aggressively set in the present moment, with the premier abundant with references to quarantine, Brett Kavanaugh and even Olivia Jade and the Varsity Blues scandal. The show is itching to cement itself as up-todate with the present times, proven in its casting as well. Many of the cast members like Whitney Peak and Evan Mock had garnered large followings on Instagram for their modeling work even before being cast on the show, and it’s interesting to see real-life influencers be given roles that draw upon their personal experience with internet culture. Choosing Instagram models is an admittedly risky choice, as the question arises whether their selection was because of their talent or simply because no one can deny they look good on screen. Unfortunately, the show’s many attempts at relatability are a doubleedged sword, often serving to tear apart the show’s immersive nature in order to make a forced comment. This is particularly prevalent
when the show talks about itself and the original series, awkwardly trying to revise its own history. The show remarks on the original “Gossip Girl” with comments like, “This Chuck and Blair thing is out of control, definitely pre-cancel culture”; its thinly veiled, meta analysis calls out different liberties the original show’s writing took, like when a high school senior’s work was published in the New Yorker. Attempting to atone for the problematic nature of the original series is admirable, but it comes off as too heady and full of itself. While the explicit callbacks to the original series might be fan service, it’s also self-stifling. The reboot can’t really take off and be its own thing if viewers are constantly reminded that certain characters are “the new Blair and Serena” or a “Nate Archibald type.” This forcefulness plagues the entire episode, reflecting a selfawareness that feels cheeky early on, but eventually makes you roll your eyes. In addition to these callbacks, the inclusion of comments intended to project morality amid a cast of characters whose only value metric is their number of followers ends up
seeming performative and weird. Something about seeing flagrant displays of wealth and bags that are described as costing a teacher’s entire month’s salary (which, don’t get me wrong, is very much par for the course for “Gossip Girl”) and then seeing that same character talk down to the audience about ethics doesn’t sit right with me. Interestingly, this highlights the hypocrisy of the very culture it seeks to comment on, but I can’t say for certain whether this was intentional. Ultimately, the issues with the “Gossip Girl” reboot boil down to the issues within Gen Z’s popular culture. While trying to explore the egos and vapidity of high school drama, the show falls victim to its own criticism. It’s too selfaware to feel genuine, its activism feels performative and its casting seems to value attractiveness over talent. (It should be noted that beyond the casting of Instagram models, the entire cast is missing a convincing emotional range.) The overwhelming issue is a lack of subtlety behind everything the show does. Sure, the original “Gossip Girl” had brash and
confident characters who also weren’t exactly understated, leading to some of the most iconic and quotable lines of all time — but this was a fun feature of the original series, not something it was plagued with. The fundamental difference is that the original “Gossip Girl”’s lack of subtlety spoke to how unapologetic the show and its characters were, while the modern show’s lack of subtlety comes across as desperation to be understood. Yes, Gossip Girl, we get it, you are woke and with the times now. But who knows? Perhaps these acting performances will bloom into something more compelling as the first season progresses and the actors are given more space to explore their range. It’s hard not to compare the show to other edgy high school dramas like “Euphoria,” which feature far more impressive acting performances right from the get-go. I’m interested to see if the writers will minimize the callbacks to the original series and instead allow the show to focus on the real task at hand: making its characters charming in all of their arrogance, rather than tastelessly mean or performatively nice.
‘Mario Golf: Super Rush’ — Birdie or Bogey? HARPER KLOTZ Daily Arts Writer
When I first watched the trailer for “Mario Golf: Super Rush,” I was thrilled by the prospect of silly, chaotic sports action. I long for the days when Wii Sports reigned supreme, and “Mario Golf” on the Nintendo Switch initially appeared as though it would fill that space in my heart. However, despite the potential, it ultimately landed in the bunker rather than on the green. “Mario Golf: Super Rush” is a classic golf game at its core but mixes it up with a variety of environments that pose unique golfing challenges. Button controls are easy to grasp — simply press A to set the strength of a shot, press A again to shoot, and move the left stick to change the direction of the ball. Motion controls, although a bit frustrating to adapt to at first, are fun if you want to relive those Wii Sports glory days. There are many different clubs to choose from, and players can buy new gear to change their stats — the modifiers
that affect how your character plays in comparison with other characters. The game includes a few fun game modes, charming non-player characters and good graphics. Simple controls make the game accessible for players of all skill levels; the new ability for all players to tee off at once in multiplayer has the perfect partygame feel and speeds the game up. The story mode allows the player to customize their stats the way they want, and the character options in multiplayer modes have a wide range of stats to choose from. These stats — power, control, speed, stamina and spin — change what each player’s strengths and weaknesses are. In multiplayer mode, each player can choose whether they want to have more power and hit the ball farther as King Bob-omb, or if they want their strategy to revolve around their ability to spin the ball with ease as Toad. It unfortunately also means that the story mode stats of a player’s Mii carry over into multiplayer mode. If story mode isn’t your thing, your Mii will be severely under-leveled, while by completing
story mode your Mii may be overpowered in comparison to other players and AI. Where “Mario Golf: Super Rush” starts to falter is its story mode and online multiplayer. Golf Adventure (the story mode) lacks interesting content, and I found myself without the motivation to continue it. The story revolves around establishing your Mii as the best golfer by winning a series of tournaments; then, it switches to a series of boss battles centered around a very half-hearted plot that ends as quickly as it begins. In comparison to previous entries in the series, the story is bare-bones and feels as though less effort was put into it. Story mode is an essential part of this game, so it’s difficult to forgive just how flat it falls. Not only is story mode disappointing, but for a game that features multiplayer as one of its biggest selling points, online multiplayer severely misses the mark. There is no quick matchmaking system akin to online multiplayer in Mario Kart or Super Smash Bros. Instead, players must join or host a
room with the rules they like and wait for the room to fill up. This process is slow, frustrating and unenjoyable. Nintendo’s online features are generally not comparable with other systems — despite costing the user $20 to $35 per year — so this isn’t necessarily a surprise, but online multiplayer shouldn’t feel this outdated in 2021. Rather than get up to par with their competitors, Nintendo Online continues to be one big, paid bogey, and “Mario Golf: Super Rush” makes that all too clear. Despite these issues, the game truly shines in local multiplayer. Battle golf, in which you golf simultaneously against other players in an attempt to claim the most holes in an arena with enemies, obstacles and stat changes, is the most fun. It is just as brutal as any game in the Mario Party series, but the quick playtime means it doesn’t overstay its welcome. Speed golf is also entertaining, with the limited time to complete and race to each shot making this mode a fast-paced and boisterous party game. Both modes feature Special Shot and Special Dash abilities for each character, allowing
the player to ruthlessly get even with their competition. Nintendo has stated that there will be updates for the game that introduce new content, namely new characters and courses. Of course, it is important to keep in mind that the pandemic most likely affected the time Nintendo had to develop more content, but this game truly should have spent a few more months in production to feel fully fleshed out. The lack of content is understandable, but that doesn’t make it any less disappointing. For fans of previous Mario Golf games — and sports games in general — this could be a new favorite. It is also very accessible for casual gamers and those who don’t play video games at all. Unfortunately, I was left dissatisfied on release, left to hope that prospective updates will make the game more enjoyable. If you have plenty of friends around to compete in local multiplayer game modes, “Mario Golf: Super Rush” could be a hole-in-one. If you’re like me, however, you could easily pass on this entry in the series.
10 PHOTO
Thursday, July 15, 2021 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Photo Gallery: Kishi Bashi performs at The Ark
BECCA MAHON
Summer Managing Photo Editor
As part of their summer concert series, A nn A rbor S u m m e r Fe s t i v a l ( A 2 S F ) presented Kishi Bashi on Friday in a pa r t nership with the A rk. These partnered events ser ve as a f undraiser for both orga nizations, who will continue of fering outdoor live music throughout the s u m m e r. T h i s w e e k e n d ’s c o n c e r t s were initia lly scheduled for Fuller Pa rk, but f looding a nd storm wa rnings led to the in-person components being ca ncelled. Instead the show was streamed live f rom The A rk, w it h Mike Sav i no, a lso k now n a s Ta l l Ta l l T rees, feat u red du r i ng the second half of the performa nce.
BECCA MAHON/Daily Kishi Bashi and Mike Savino perform at The Ark as part of the A2SF summer concert series Friday evening.
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Thursday, July 15, 2021 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
College quantified
STATEMENT 11 BY ANNIE RAUWERDA
Design by Katherine Lee
Col leg e i s 75% over for me, a nd t he d at a i s i n . I e s t i m at e d : Nu mb er of broken m ic rowave s: 2. Nu mb er of bu s r ide s , t ot a l : 324 . Nu mb er of r ide s on t he w rong bu s: 7. Nu mb er of t i me s c aug ht i n t he ac t , a ny ac t : 26 . Nu mb er of t i me s c aug ht i n t he ac t , c a r r y i ng fo o d out of t he d i n i ng h a l l : 1 . Nu mb er of b oy f r iend s: 2 . Nu mb er of t i me s s ome one a ske d ‘ I f I order f r ie s , w i l l you eat s ome? ’: 3 . Nu mb er of Mojo co ok ie s: 8 . Nu mb er of e s say s: 28 . Nu mb er of e s say s I ’m proud of : 6 . Nu mb er of d i f ferent a n s wer s to ‘ wh at a re you s t udy i ng ? ’: 8 . Nu mb er of h a ng over s , bad : 1 . m i ld : 8 . Nu mb er of t i me s A n n A rb or lo oke d wonder f u l ly u n re cog n i za ble a f t er a snow s t or m : 6 . Nu mb er of t ea r s , t ot a l : 53 . I n t he Ug L i : 1 3 . I n a n adv i s or ’s of f ice: 3 . Nu mb er of I n s t a g ra m p o s t s , t ot a l : 1 24 . O f g a me d ay s: 2 .
Nu mb er of t i me s hea r i ng M r. Br ig ht side: 5 4 . Nu mb er of t i me s I reg ret t e d g oi ng t o M ich ig a n : 0. Nu mb er of t i me s I reg ret t e d g oi ng t o a f r at pa r t y: 1 1 . Nu mb er of m i le s r u n : 10 93 . Nu mb er of t i me s I s t aye d i n on a we ekend a nd felt c r u sh i ng ly lonely: 5 . Nu mb er of t i me s I t elep or t e d : 0. Nu mb er of t i me s I wa nt e d t o t elep or t : 86 . Nu mb er of acqu a i nt a nce s met : 578; rememb ere d : 287. Nu mb er of clo s e f r iend s: 3 . Nu mb er of c at s ow ne d : 1. Nu mb er of m i racle s w it ne s s e d : 0. Nu mb er of snow d ay s: 2 . Nu mb er of t i me s I felt l i ke t he col leg e ex p er ience wa s sl ippi ng away f rom me: 3 . Nu mb er of mov ie s wat che d : 31 . Nu mb er of u r i n a r y t r ac t i n fe c t ion s: 2 . Nu mb er of t i me s I ’ ve bit t en my f i ng er n a i l s: 85 . Nu mb er of t i me s I ’ ve bit t en my t ong ue: 32 . Nu mb er of t i me s I ’ ve bit t en a n apple: 103 . Nu mb er of t i me s a n apple h a s f a l len
out of my ba g i n L orch 14 0 a nd rol le d t o t he ver y f ront of t he ro om , wh ich m ade ever yone laug h : 1 . Nu mb er of t i me s I ’ ve ra i s e d my h a nd i n cla s s: 4 4 . Nu mb er of add re s s , f i r s t : 1625; s e cond : 10 9; t h i rd : 6 45 . Nu mb er of dol la r s sp ent on pi zza : 88 . Nu mb er of a l l-n ig ht er s: 1 . Nu mb er of t i me s I felt s t upid : 51 . Nu mb er of t i me s I felt sm a r t : 22 . Nu mb er of exa m s t a ken : 45 . Nu mb er of s t udy g roups joi ne d : 8 . Nu mb er of t i me s my hea r t s t opp e d wh i le wa it i ng for t he aut og rader : 4 . Nu mb er of d at e s , f rom a n app: 1 1 . Nu mb er of d at e s , t he d r ie d f r u it : 3 . Nu mb er of b e er s: 107. Nu mb er of b ea r s: 0. Nu mb er of h a i rc ut s: 6 . Nu mb er of t i me s I at e sa lad w it h my mout h op en a nd my b oy f r iend t old me I lo oke d l i ke a l it t le bu n ny: 1 . Nu mb er of ps ych ic s who t old me t o brea k up w it h h i m : 1 . Nu mb er of brea k ups: 2 . Nu mb er of t i me s g et t i ng back t og et her :
1 . Nu mb er of Facet i me c a l l s: 56 0. Nu mb er of p o s t c a rd s: 3 . Nu mb er of p o s t er sa le s: 3 . Nu mb er of t aco s: 1 2 . Nu mb er of p e ople I k i s s e d , t ot a l : 24 . Th at I enjoye d : 1 5 . Nu mb er of club l i s t s er v s: 28 . Nu mb er of reg ret s: 1 . Nu mb er of t r ips t o of f ice hou r s: 67. Nu mb er of t i me s I sat dow n at t he l i bra r y w it h a f u l l lapt op bat t er y a nd f u l l t o - do l i s t a nd g ot not h i ng done: 6 . Nu mb er of t i me s I t houg ht my c a re er wa s over, even t houg h I wa sn’t yet t went y- one, nor h ad I s t a r t e d a c a re er : 9. Nu mb er of t i me s I con sidere d d roppi ng out , jok i ng ly: 18; s er iou sly: 1 . Nu mb er of t i me s I lo oke d a rou nd Chem 18 0 0 a nd a s s u me d ever yone t here wa s sm a r t er t h a n I wa s: 1 2 . Nu mb er of iCl icker que s t ion s: 3 4 2; cor re c t : 238; i ncor re c t : not s u re, t o o much m at h . Nu mb er of t i me s I saw my GSI on a d at i ng app: 2 . Nu mb er of t i me s I felt l i ke col leg e wa s s ome
s up er n at u r a l rebi r t h , a f u l lb o dy t ra n sfor m at ion t h at wa s prepa r i ng me for t he rea l world : 0. Nu mb er of re s ea rch s t ud ie s I pa r t ic ipat e d i n ju s t t o t a l k t o s ome one a nd fe el i mp or t a nt : 7. Nu mb er of t oa s t e d ba g el s f rom t he D ude w it h M Buck s: 1 2 . Nu mb er of p en sive wa l k s t h roug h t he A rb: 1 3 . Nu mb er of g ig g ly w i ne n ig ht s: 24 . Nu mb er of hou r s ‘s t udy i ng ’ w it h f r iend s (de s cend i ng i nt o 1 a . m . laug ht er a nd obs c u re Yout ub e v ide o s): 14 2 . Nu mb er of t i me s I love d a le c t u re s o much I t old s ome one el s e a l l a b out it : 5 . Nu mb er of t i me s I met a n u ndercla s sm a n a nd felt s t ra ng ely w i s e a nd no s t a lg ic : 2 . Nu mb er of t i me s I felt s u re of where I ’d b e i n a yea r : 0. M ich ig a n — for a l l it s s t re s s — i s a place where I ’ ve fou nd pa s sion , rem a rk a ble joy, my s el f . A nd 273 s qu i r rel s , 7 hobbie s a nd 3 yea r s wor t h of memor ie s (s o f a r).
12 STATEMENT
Thursday, July 15, 2021 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
My place on the timeline of life BY NATALIE BRICKER
Design by Erin Ruark
“Today is the oldest you’ve ever confidence, headed to important been, and the youngest you’ll ever events. She so badly wanted to be be again.” them. This piece of wisdom from Eleanor Roosevelt has been on Skip ahead a few more years, Little my mind a lot lately. At the start Nat remained obsessed with the big of summer, I watched a class of kids. In elementary school, she was seven-year-olds for a month. I was impatient to be a middle schooler their after-school teacher, spending already. The middle schoolers’ lives several hours with them every day. seemed so much better; they each I quickly became familiar with had about a million friends and wore their habits and quirks: they don’t cool clothes. Little Nat wanted what understand multiplication, obsess they had. over TikTok, readily accept popsicle Once Little Nat found herself in bribes and are “dating” someone middle school, she realized it was new every day. During playtime, seriously not all she hyped it up to be. they swing their tiny bodies across In fact, it sucked. She was awkward the monkey bars, racing like in every aspect of life. Physically, winning is the most important thing she hadn’t yet grown into her body. in the world. She was extremely self-conscious, I saw traces of my younger self in constant comparison mode. in one girl’s bossy attitude and in Emotionally, friendships were full another boy’s fearlessness climbing of drama and she was tired of the up a tree. As I watched them, I complexity of being a pre-teen girl. would flashback to a younger She dreamt of being older. version of myself rocking a head of Little Nat was finally a high messy blond hair, loyally following schooler! It was an exciting time; wherever my curious mind led me. the beginning of figuring out who she wanted to be. At the same time, *** she couldn’t wait to leave. High school simply took middle school’s I picture a much younger me — problems and exaggerated them. Little Nat — in her stroller, staring Friend dynamics stayed overly at the big kids walking by. Little Nat complicated and the addition of was constantly in awe of the big kids. social media only further hurt her They would strut by, tall and full of self-esteem. She ached to be older.
With each year of high school, she felt more and more ready to be super far away — she couldn’t wait for college.
been pregnant? Do you have a baby? Why do some people not look like their parents? How do two girls have a baby?” The next day, after a long *** discussion, I heard: “Ms. Nat, Eduardo said God isn’t real.” Introducing: college Nat — the The questions persisted. “What one writing this piece. I feel the is five plus five? Is one billion a lot? many versions of Little Nat inside Are we done with math yet?” “What me, like nesting dolls, building up to does having a boyfriend even mean? create the current me. I feel settled Ewww, do you have to kiss them? in the latest shell. I’ve grown up and But don’t boys have cooties? Why do into myself. people get married?” “Why do I have I’m most aware of how much I’ve to keep my mask on? Will we have to grown when I was watching the do online classes again this year? Is kids after school. In them, I saw COVID-19 going to be here forever?” semblances of younger, more naive, I laughed at the pure honesty of clueless Nat. It made me feel really their questions. They didn’t even old, realizing how far I’ve come understand how inappropriate some from their stage of life. These little of them would be if adults were kids helped me realize how much I asking them. They’re so refreshingly have learned about the world and my innocent, so openly curious, so place in it. unafraid to ask what’s truly on their The kids would sprint up to me, minds. heads full of endless questions that To them, I have all the answers. needed my answers. One day, I was To these little humans, I know asked: “Ms. Nat, where do babies everything. come from? My mom won’t tell me.” I can’t believe there was ever a I skimmed the surface with my time when I was that small and answers. I did my best to explain innocent. I think of Little Nat — I in simplest terms, leaving room zoom out and watch her grow up for their parents to explain the big into the current me. In what feels concepts. After a brief explanation like no time at all, I’ve become the on my end, the questions kept big kid I used to aspire to be. flowing: “Ms. Nat, have you ever I feel so old.
But I also feel really young. I recently met the sweetest 80-year-old couple, who live in a peaceful oasis of a house in Laguna Beach. Sitting with them over dinner, listening to their insane love story — which blossomed via letters sent back and forth while one was away in Vietnam — I realized I know very little. I felt naive compared to them. I’m naive in my understanding of being a parent, grandparent or life partner. I can imagine what it might feel like but I don’t get it yet. I know nothing about the feeling of waking up next to someone every day for 50 years. Or to raise children together, watching as those children quickly grow into mothers and fathers. I know nothing about living during a time where all my friends are off fighting, at war, their return lingering in my mind as a maybe. I feel as if I know nothing about life nor love nor time. In the presence of this couple, I felt like a tiny child. I’ve lived barely a quarter of what these two people have lived. I recognized how much more life they’ve seen, how much they’ve grown over decades. I was humbled by their wisdom and life experience. Read more at michigandaily.com
Thursday, July 15, 2021 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS 13
Strauss Mann signs professional contract in Sweden JOSH TAUBMAN
Summer Managing Sports Editor
For mer M ich ig a n goa ltender St rauss Ma n n ha s sig ned a professiona l cont rac t , a lt houg h he won’t be play i ng i n Nor t h A mer ica . On T uesday it wa s a n nou nced t hat Ma n n had sig ned w it h Skel lef teå A I K of t he Swed ish Hockey L ea g ue (SH L). “A f ter Söderblom’s ex it , we have ( been sea rch i ng ) for a wor t hy replacement a nd now we have fou nd one,” t he relea se (t ra n slated f rom Swed ish) sa id . “ He is 22 yea rs old, A mer ica n a nd comes most recent ly f rom t he Un iversit y of M ich ig a n i n t he prest ig ious col lege ser ies. A wa r m welcome, St rauss Ma n n!” Ma n n chose to forgo h is sen ior yea r at M ich ig a n a nd seek play i ng professiona l ly a s a n u nd ra f ted f ree a gent . In h is 3 yea rs w it h t he Wolver i nes
he cemented h i m self a s a n a l l-t i me M ich ig a n goa ltender, w it h a ca reer 2 .14 goa ls a g a i n st avera ge a nd .926 save percent a ge. Ma n n won t he Big Ten G oa ltender of t he Yea r awa rd fol low i ng h is sophomore sea son a nd wa s a f i na l ist for t he awa rd a g a i n t h is pa st sea son . He w i l l now beg i n h is professiona l ca reer in Sweden , wh i le cont i nu i ng h is pu rsu it of play i ng i n t he N H L . Ba sed on t he relea se it appea rs Ma n n w i l l be g iven a cha nce to st a r t r ig ht away, wh ich l i kely fac tored i nto t he decision . The SH L is con sidered to be one of t he top non-N H L hockey lea g ues i n t he world . Ma n n st a nds at just si x feet t a l l a nd is con sidered u ndersi zed for a goa ltender. However, h is sma l ler st at u re d id n’t prevent h i m f rom f lou r ish i ng at M ich ig a n a nd he’l l hope to keep bu i ld i ng on t hat success a s he heads oversea s.
RYAN LITTLE/Daily Former Michigan Goaltender Strauss Mann has signed professionally in the Swedish Hockey League.
‘That’s what I got to do’: Dickinson set to return with unfinished business at Michigan LANE KIZZIAH
Managing Sports Editor
Hunter Dickinson on Tuesday announced via Twitter that he would withdraw from the NBA Draft in favor of staying in Ann Arbor another year. Dickinson’s future at Michigan looked uncertain earlier this spring when he declared for the draft in late May. At that time, he was leaning towards leaving, but after he didn’t get an invitation to the NBA Combine, his mind was split. He took his time with the decision, making the announcement just one day before the NCAA’s Draftwithdrawal deadline. Ultimately, it came down to his low draft projection and his desire to have a more normal college experience. “I’ve always said from the start I didn’t want to be a midto-late-second-round pick, and so I just wanted to stay true to
myself and stay true to what I was saying from the beginning,” Dickinson said. “I wanted to be a first-round pick, and if (coming back to Michigan is) what I got to do, then that’s what I got to do.” He said most NBA teams gave him similar feedback: They wanted to see more reps from him and see him make improvements surrounding his ball screens. Dickinson said his teammates and coaches were supportive from start to finish. “(Michigan coach Juwan Howard) was behind me for whatever I chose, and I really appreciated that from him,” Dickinson said. “I mean, that’s kind of what I expected from him because that’s the kind of man he is.” But there’s no doubt they’re excited to have him back. The reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year was invaluable for the Wolverines last season, leading the team with 14.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. With
Isaiah Livers and Mike Smith — both offensive assets — leaving, Dickinson will likely take on an even larger role for Michigan’s offense, and will be key for its championship aspirations in the coming year. “Winning a national championship is obviously something that I came back for,” he said. “I didn’t come back for more personal accolades. I wanted to win as a team this year.” Dickinson described the recently changed name, image and likeness regulations as an “added bonus” for coming back. “With the caliber of player I am, with the kind of notoriety I have, then the kind of school and alumni and just the brand of Michigan itself, I felt like I’m in a really good position and I’ve really good opportunity ahead of me to benefit and to capitalize on a lot of stuff,” he said. Beyond working towards a national championship,
MADELINE HINKLEY/Daily Hunter Dickinson withdrew from the NBA draft process and is ready for his sophomore year at Michigan.
Dickinson is looking forward to the opportunity to have the “real” college experience he didn’t get last year, which — when you’re a big man for the Wolverines — means playing in front of a packed Crisler Center or meeting fans around campus.
Despite his excitement to return to Michigan, Dickinson’s end goal remains the same. When asked whether he would have stayed if his draft predictions had been higher, he answer was clear: “No.”
14 SPORTS
Thursday, July 15, 2021 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
For two Michigan ASAF Paralympic hopefuls, a tale of two fates GRAYSON BUNING Daily Sports Writer
In a moment that perfectly encapsulated the distanced, depersonalized reality of our pandemic-adjusted world, Sam Grewe and Leo Merle logged onto a Zoom call to await the biggest news of their lives. The Michigan Adaptive Sports and Fitness athletes had just spent the weekend competing at the Paralympic track and field trials in Minneapolis. The trials, broadcasted live on NBC Sports, are the exclusive determinant of whether or not an athlete is selected to represent the United States at the Paralympic games in Tokyo. While an athlete must demonstrate long-term excellence to receive an invite to the trials, only their performance on the day of trials matters for the final decision of whether or not they’ve earned a seat on the plane. For Merle, this was all new. While he had competed for four years as part of the able-bodied track and field team at UC Santa Cruz, Merle began focusing on para-athletics only recently. Despite his relative lack of para-athletic experience, Merle’s potential quickly began to grab some attention. A number of Paralympic track and field coaches felt that a spot for him at the upcoming Paralympic games in Tokyo was well within reach. Sensing his opportunity, Merle trained relentlessly over the past year. Of course, this is the standard for prospective Paralympic athletes. But Merle is no ordinary athlete. While running, working out or cross-training nearly every day of the week, Merle juggled the intense pressure of being the president of his class at Michigan’s School of Dentistry. Merle was a sure pick for the Paralympic team — until disaster struck a few months ago. Gradually, he began to notice a growing pain in his right leg. The pain eventually became so severe that Merle could no longer bear to run, confining him to the stationary bike. Merle was faced with a dilemma — to keep running but risk further injury, or stop running and allow his leg to heal but risk losing the fitness he had worked so hard to obtain? “I had an innate feeling going into the race that I was not in enough shape for this,” Merle said. “I just
had that mentality that it wasn’t going to go great.” Merle ran the 1500 meter at a time of 4 minutes and 23 seconds — a far cry from his best. But there was still a chance it would be good enough. Normally, the United States brings 45 male track and field athletes to the Paralympics. After doing some digging, Merle concluded that if this was the case this year, he had done enough — just barely — to book his spot on the flight. However, he knew this was unlikely. The decision to go ahead with the Paralympics at all is still widely contentious, as vaccinations have lagged and Covid-19 cases have skyrocketed in Japan. The United States might be forced to cut the size of its team. So, as the list of selected U.S. Paralympic track and field athletes was hastily read out to the Zoom call’s attendees, Merle was unsurprised when his name was not called. His Paralympic dreams would have to wait another four years. “I think there is a silver lining in this situation,” Merle said. “The doctor told me that if I had kept pushing it, there was a good chance I would’ve needed surgery to replace the cartilage in my hip. So I didn’t get to go, but I think I just prolonged my career for another four years.” After some much needed rest, Merle will begin training for the 2022 World Para Athletic Championships in Kobe, Japan. Looking even further ahead, Merle is intent on gradually building a strong foundation that will help him avoid injury leading up to the 2024 Paralympic games, the absence of which he feels contributed to his health issues this year. “Obviously, it’s a bummer,” Merle said. “But I know that if it were any other Paralympic year, I would be going. I know that I’m fast enough, I know that I’m good enough to go. That’s just how it worked out this year.” Grewe’s name, however, was called. The experienced high jumper Grewe is a new addition to the Michigan Adaptive track and field team. Before coming to Michigan, he competed as a member of Notre Dame’s able-bodied track and field team while simultaneously representing the United States at international para track and field competitions. This isn’t the first time Grewe has been selected to compete for
America in the Paralympics, either. In 2016, Grewe leaped his way to a silver medal in the high jump, despite starting the sport just two years earlier. Currently, he holds the world record for his classification in high jump with a remarkable 1.90 meter jump, winning him gold in the 2019 Parapan American Games in Peru. As a favorite to win gold in Tokyo, trials weren’t much of a sweat for Grewe. “In the five years since Rio, I’ve grown so much in my high jumping abilities,” Grewe said. “The standard that I needed to jump to make the U.S. team was pretty regularly the starting height at Notre Dame competitions, so I felt confident that even on a bad day of jumps, I should make the team.” And it was actually a bad day of jumps for Grewe. Coming off of a recent injury, Grewe jumped 1.85 meters, below his personal best. But his invitation to Tokyo was never in doubt. Grewe is confident that his prior experience at international competitions has put him in a great place ahead of the games in August. “It’s hard to be able to go to a different country and be able to adapt quickly enough so that you can seamlessly transition into your training and competing there,” Grewe said. “That took a long time for me to figure out how to do. And the pressures that competing
internationally at such a big venue can bring — that’s something I’m very grateful to have experienced already. I’m expecting a lot less nerves in Tokyo.” While the opportunity to represent one’s country at the Paralympics is undoubtedly among the highest honors an athlete can receive, the strict Covid-19 regulations that will be in place represent an indisputable blight on the event’s excitement. “When you remove spectators and the ability for friends and family to come and support you and you remove the interactions that happen in the Athletes’ Village, it reduces the Paralympic games down to a competition,” Grewe said. “And like I always say, (the Paralympics are) so much bigger than just a competition. I’m still super excited, but so much of what made Rio so special is gone now.” Ultimately, however, Grewe is grateful that the games are taking place at all. “For a few years now, Tokyo has been the goal,” Grewe said. “It’s been hard fighting burnout during the pandemic. There were a lot of times over the past year where I hated high jump, where it felt like a job, because I didn’t know when I’d get to compete again.” Tokyo represents the ideal opportunity for Grewe to fill in seemingly the only gap left in his glittering athletic resume — a
Paralympic gold medal. If he jumps anywhere near his world record of 1.90 meters, there are very few potential challengers around the world who could pose a threat. But a number of obstacles still remain for Grewe to obtain that final puzzle piece. This month, Grewe will be moving to Ann Arbor to begin his first year of medical school at Michigan, forcing him to upend his training routine and balance a significant amount of added stress before the Paralympic opening ceremonies on August 24th. “It’s going to be an interesting dynamic to figure out how I’m going to continue training in Ann Arbor,” Grewe said. “It’s going to be very difficult to train as I normally would train. I don’t have my class schedule, I don’t know where I’m going to be training, and I don’t know who I’m going to be training with. I would hope that if I reached out to the track and field team and told them the circumstances, they would be more than happy to share their facilities.” Despite the uncertainty that lays ahead, Grewe is confident that things will work themselves out. “I’m not too worried about it all,” Grewe said. “I just recently looked at the world rankings, and right now, the next best is 10 centimeters less. If I jump 1.90 meters plus, which I’ve done for Notre Dame consistently, then that puts me in a really good spot to definitely medal and, I think, win gold.”
Courtesy of US Paralympic Track and Field Sam Grewe hopes to compete for gold in Tokyo this summer.