4B - Thursday, October 9, 2014
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
4B - Thursday, October 9, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
AR TIST AVANT NGARDE
Jonah Baseball jams out in his base-lair.
NICHOLAS WILLIAMS/Daily
Don Lyons works onsa Powerpoint presentation on Bystander Intervention for SAPAC.
SAPAeducl.aesA 'U
on seua asal
Men's Activism
facilitates dialogue
on misconduct and
respect
By COSMO PAPPAS
Daily Arts Writer
Note on content: includes
discussion of sexual violence and
racism.
While discussions about
sexual assault on college
campuses have too often been
defined by silence, the recent
outcry by students and activists
have pushed a once much-
hushed subject to the forefront.
As of Aug. 13, The Federal
Department of Education has
initiated investigations at 76
institutions of higher education
across the country about their
alleged mishandling of sexual
assault cases. And in September,;
a student at Columbia University
attracted national media
attention for her thesis project
entitled "Carry That Weight,"
where she carries around a dorm
mattress to symbolize the weight
ofthe trauma that faces survivors
of sexual assault. She plans to do
so until her alleged rapist, whom
Columbia previously found
not responsible for the alleged
assault, is expelled.
All this is to say, there are
many - both at an official and
activist level - working to
end sexual violence, and the
Sexual Assault Prevention and
Awareness Center, SAPAC, is
one such organization at the
University of Michigan. SAPAC
is staffed both by professionals
who provide care for survivors
and crisis services, and student
volunteers who work to educate
peers about sexual assault
prevention through group
outreach sessions and SAPAC-
facilitated workshops on
bystander intervention.
Men's Activism is a branch of
SAPAC dedicated to facilitating
these workshops. Founded 10
years ago, Men's Activism works
under the assumption that men,
as the primary perpetrators of
sexual violence, can also play
a critical role in preventing it.
For example, SAPAC is staging a
No-Shave November campaign
where participants will take a
pledge to spread awareness about
one of SAPAC's fundamental
tenets - namely, that "all sexual
activity should be consensual
and come after an enthusiastic
yes," as stated on the website
about the campaign.
"The reality of it is, we're
getting men involved beyond
just taking a pledge," said
Donald Lyons, LSA junior
and co-coordinator for Men's
Activism. "We're trying,
basically, to invite men into the
role of advocates and educators."
Lyons described the difficulty
in mobilizing men for a cause,
which generally does not
affect them directly - though
accordingto astudy, nine percent
of all rape victims are male.
While men are socialized to the
idea that a woman's behavior
or attire determines her sexual
availability and, by implication,
their culpability in sexual
violence, the job of someone like
Lyons or Sarah Hong, LSA junior
and the other co-coordinator
of Men's Activism, is to propel
men into the "'Oh' moment," to
use Lyons's phrase, where they
recognize that the focus should
be on preventing sexual assault
in the first place and not blaming
survivors.
At one of his his recent
workshops with a fraternity on
campus, Lyons went through
several scenarios written
specifically for that organization
as he and the members of the
house collectively detailed the
waysthat they would intervene in
the situation at hand. From there,
they identified the problems and
barriers - physical, emotional
and social - that come into play
when one has taken the step to
take preventative action in that
problematic or violent situation.
"We want to work with
everyone we can, especially
communities of color,
communities that have stories
or narratives that are not what
you see in the whole 'Hail
to the Victors' stuff," Lyons
said. "So now, what we do is
co-facilitation."
"We're trying this new thing
where one person from the
community is co-presenting
with one person from SAPAC.
And the reason we do this is
because we recognize that when
the information is given from
someone within the community
they're more receptive, instead of
them going 'who is this intruder
coming into my community and
preaching down to us,"' Hong
explained.
Part of SAPAC's ethos
is a sensitivity to a partner
community's narratives. The
objective of co-facilitation is
to hand craft a framework for
discussing and confronting
the problems of bystander
intervention in a way that doesn't
rely on blank abstractions
or empty generalities.
Furthermore, this focus makes
clear SAPAC's belief that the best
relationship they can form with
an organization in one that is
creative, collaborative and, most
importantly, enduring. To be put
narratively in the moment when
one is faced with the possibility
of intervention and prevention,
to recognize the barriers to
action in a given situation in
one's own community - this is
what SAPAC aims to impress on
the participants of itsworkshops.
"We are more focused on
groups or organizations on
campus that are more male-
dominated. So in this case, (that
means) fraternities, ROTC,
the Athletic Department. And
we're also trying to reach out
to different culturally diverse
communities on campus because
we recognize the idea of how
masculinity and misogyny are
perpetuated differently based on
culture," Hong said.
This isn't to say that the
volunteers for Men's Activism
end up missing the larger issues
by focusing their work with
specific groups. Part of the work
is contextualizing these discrete
instances of sexual violence
in a broader, more structural
analytical framework.
"Part of what I believe and
what SAPAC believes is that to
talk about sexual assault, you
have to address way more than
someone drugging someone else
at a party. You have to address
sexism as a whole, you have to
address why society devalues
women and objectifies women,
why our society erases or
ridicules people of non-binary
genders." Lyons said. "Beyond
that, you have to go into racism,
why our society devalues and
dehumanizes people of color,
why it is that when people think
about rape they think about the
hyper-sexualized black male."
Sexual assault is a relation
of force, coercion and control
where gender, sexuality, race,
class and all other social
determinants converge. Hong,
Lyons and the volunteers of
Men's Activism attempt to come
to an understanding of sexual
violence with the participants of
the workshop that takes account
of these factors and instructs
them in becoming a thoughtful
and effective bystander.
By LEJLA BAJGORIC
DailyArts Writer
Jonah Baseball may only
have a few songs to his name on
SoundCloud, but the promising
electronic producer has already
proven one thing: he's certainly
not a one trick pony. There's an
underlying youthful sense of
animation that ties all of his tracks
together and differentiates him
from both rookies and vets in the
field, but otherwise, listeners are
in for a pleasant surprise every
time Jonah releases a new record.
"Everything is influenced by a
sound, and that's never changed,"
Baseball said, "but it's not a
formula where it's gonna be the
same every time and I don't want
it to be either. I don't focus on
that."
While the sound may range
from a raindrop to a shovel
scraping the asphalt, the most
impactful musical influence in
Baseball's life is longtime friend
and fellow producer Lindsay
Lowend.
"(Lowend) came over one day
in 10th grade and showed me 30
loops ... all you need is (30 loops)
and you can make an entire song.
It blew my mind," Baseball said.
And since then, he's been in
a constant state of exploration,
toying with new programs,
reshaping his approach to
composition, and engaging
with online communities.
But during this early stage in
Baseball's career, his hometown
of Washington D.C. wasn't the
hotbed of collaboration that it has
recently become. Being away at
school in Ann Arbor has caused
him to miss out on opportunities
for growth and collaboration with
the budding community of DMV
beatmakers. Nevertheless, he
has managed to establish a name
for himself within Ann Arbor's
electro niche.
"If you make beats, most of us
know each other," Baseball said.
The Beat Battle, organized
by F.O.K.U.S., is how he was
introduced to the community
during his sophomore year. He
got second place his first time
participating and won the entire
competition last year, but the
tournament is more supportive
than it is competitive.
"We didn't care about
the competition, we became
El
Paul Thomas Anderson is,
among other things, a writer.
He's directed seven feature
films, and he
really close friends. It's really
collaborative."
His circle extends beyond the
city's confines, however. He has
support from prominent names
like Wave Racer,RyanHemsworth
and Lito, all influential figures
with a presence in the world of
indie production.
"The biggest thing I did this
summer though," Baseball said,
"was two remixes."
These were specifically for
up-and-coming rapper GoldLink,
an artist Baseball would see
around the studio back home in
DC.
"We would chill and smoke
with him and listen to him rap.
We were all like 'this guy has
definitely got next,' and everyone
wanted to produce for him ... He
remembered me and Tony and
was like 'yo, I want you to do some
remixes.'"
The remix for "When I Die"
that Baseball put together with
Alex Young has garnered nearly
350,000 plays on SoundCloud
already.
New opportunities, like the
recent collaborative work with
GoldLink, are encouraging, but
can be exhausting with a full
load of school work to also be
concerned about. That's why
Baseball has cut back on classes
and is a "part-time scholar,
full-time baller" this semester
(according to his Twitter bio). It
seems like it was the best decision
he could have made.
"I feel much more freedom to
make whatever I want. I have so
many projects that'm revisiting."
His assuring music career
keeps him busy enough anyway.
He'sworking on song execution -
completing a track in its entirety
at a faster pace instead oflingering
on it.
"I'm getting better. I finished
five songs this week."
Then there's the strategy
behind releases to think about.
"I wish I could just put every
song out," Baseball said.
But that wouldn't contribute as
much to his career as say, Vice's
electro channel,Thump,featuring
atrackontheirsite. That's exactly
what happened with the remix of
GoldLink's "Ay Ay" that Baseball
and Lowend created, that Thump
reviewers referred to as "glitched-
out cyborg rap shit that we're all
over."
PISODE REVIE
protagonist, only this time a
whole group of talented actors
joins their company. The
ensemble includes Josh Brolin,
Owen Wilson, Reese Wither-
spoon, Benicio del Toro, Maya
Rudolph and Martin Short.
With "The Master" and its
disappointing sales generation,
Anderson seems to be steering
himself back toward the main-
stream, with popular actors
and a more straightforward
storyline. Though his typical
strangeness oicharacter, bit-
ing dialogue and period-piece
focus are evident, "Inherent
Vice" reflects Anderson's early
work. We see humor, mystery,
awkwardness, slapstick and
evenfun.
"Doc may not be a do-
gooder," one of the characters
says about Phoenix's protago-
nist, "but he's done good." For
Anderson, this tension of char-
acterhas echoed through each
of his films: what drives bad
Though classes may feel like
an interference to his music
career immediately, there are
experiences Baseball has had in
the music school that contributed
to his long-term vision, the
trajectory he hopes to see himself
follow.
"I was in the Performing Arts
Technologyprogramlastyear and
that wasgreat for me,"he said.
His experiences have
encouraged him to look outside
the: box beyond common career
choices, like DJing, for example.
He sees the importance of making
his art more interdisciplinary,
which is clearly reflected by the
range of songs on his SoundCloud
thut far.
"What they're doing in
academic electronic institutions
is trying to be ahead of the curve,
especially intermsofperformance
art," Baseball said.
This is one aspect that
especially affects his long-term
production plans, as he has
realized that performance art
deserves to be integral in his
career.
"I've definitely had the most
fun performing."
He'llbe performing at the Blind
Pig in Ann Arbor on Oct. 18th
with his band, Which Way the
Train, and DJing after as well,
giving attendees a taste of his
production. Lindsay Lowend,
Yadda Yadda and Tusks are all
set to perform that night as well.
Baseball revealed that he
has been experimenting with
spookier sounds as of late,
hinting at a possible Halloween-
inspired release. Nevertheless,
listeners can definitely expect
new sounds for this year's World
Series, as Baseball continues to
play up his name, one he actually
obtained by accident.
When he joined the high
school baseball team his
freshman year, he was asked
what his name was. "Jonah,"
he replied. But he didn't know
what to say when asked, "Jonah,
what?"
"Somehow I forgot my name,"
Baseball shared.
What ended up coming out
was "Jonah Baseball." Nowadays
all that seems to come out from
Baseball's production efforts
are home-runs, each one with
a distinct style and vibe, but a
grand slam in its own right.
-
also penned
each one.
He's an
auteur; from
the film's
conception
to its release,
Anderson is
the author.
Inherent
Vice
Harner tros.
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His style and influence remain
in artistic control. As a film-
maker, this allows him to com-
pletely align story with vision,
to reconcile what's on the page
with what appears on screen.
His fierce, often direct writ-
ing appears equally intense on
screen. "Inherent Vice" is no
exception.
Once again, Anderson is
teaming up with Joaquin
Phoenix (their last outing was
2012's "The Master") to bring
us a wayward, pariah-like
WARNER BROS.
people to do bad things? What
drives good people to do bad
things? With the blueprint of
Thomas Pynchon's renowned
2009 novel, Anderson sets out
to explore the "inherent vice"
of wealth, power and family -
the hidden defect that causes
instability or deterioration in
these things. The novel, and
so now the movie, is at heart a
detective story that investigates
the hidden nature of people and
theirimotives, why they do the
things they do, howeverstrange
or unseemly.
-BRIANBURLAGE
E-mail
jplyn@umich.edu
to request an
application.
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