Wednesday, July 3, 2013
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
.Daniel Feldman: Brooklyn
lacks Ann Arbor sport spirit
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
13
WE DON'T DRIVE FAST
Greek Life
strives to be
co.-friendly
By DANIEL FELDMAN
Daily Sports Writer
NEW YORK - There's some-
thing about a walk to a sporting
event in Ann Arbor.
I always appreciated the notion
that I could walk to games at
Michigan, whether it be football,
basketball, hockey or any of the
minor sports. All are a manage-
able walk from around campus.
Even tmore, I appreciated the
conversations I would hear from
people as I walked back from
them. They were conversations
of either elation or sadness, but
above all else, confidence and
intelligence.
I thought that was just a caveat
of going to school like Michigan. I
never imagined being able to walk
to a major sporting event back
home in New York.
Then I moved to Brooklyn last
summer and the whole concept
changed. It was Thursday that I
,.realized the walk in Ann Arbor is
a unique and special experience
in sports.
On Thursday, I was able to
make that walk. The NBA Draft
took place at the Barclays Center
and two former Michigan players,
Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway
Jr., were seen as first-round picks
before they ultimately became
first-round selections. If there
was a night to replicate what I've
grown to appreciate about Ann
Arbor, tonight was it.
Wearing a Michigan hat, I
began my short but eventful walk
to the draft. I wasn't even halfway
to my destination when I got my
first "Go Blue" chant of the day.
The best was yet to come, I hoped.
Finally at the Barclays Center,
a pack of fans covered the pavil-
ion in front of the main entrance
to the arena. Wearing jerseys of
new, old and possibly future stars
of the NBA, the crowd slowly
began entering the arena as the
clock struck six.
As I got through security,
bright yellow shirts began to
appear all over my horizon. Mich-
igan would be present tonight.
Walking around the arena with
my dad and good friend, Eric, it
t Iwas clear no one really had confi-
dence where Burke or Hardaway
Jr. would go in the draft. Even the
idea of who would go first overall
remained a question mark.
When we reached our seats in
section 206 - to the left of the
stage - we were greeted with a
sea of red. It wasn't Ohio State or
Nebraska scarlet. Rather, it was
Indiana crimson.
Still, seeing this wasn't entirely
frightening. I wasn't in "enemy
territory" like Bloomington or
Columbus. I was in Brooklyn. Not
exactly "Big Ten Territory," yet. I
had experienced worse.
Before long, the chants of "I0
and 2" began. After Indiana beat
Michigan twice this year in bas-
ketball, the point was clear. I gave
a thumbs up symbol to them and
waited for the show to start.
As former Hoosiers Victor Ola-
dipo and Cody Zeller went sec-
ond and fourth, respectively, the
cheers grew louder. As the Sac-
ramento Kings came on the clock
with the seventh pick, I thought
the moment to silence the crowd
was here. It wasn't.
That was fine though, the
Detroit Pistons were next. Surely
the adopted home state of Burke
would take a flyer on him - a
player that matched a need of
theirs - especially with such
value in the eighth selection. It
wasn't to be.
Yet, before the fear that Burke
would fall had sunk in, he was off
the board. The Minnesota Tim-
berwolves, a team with a solid
point guard already in Ricky
Rubio, had picked him. A trade
had to be in the cards. And it was.
After falsely hearing about a
trade to the Portland Trail Blaz-
ers, I was told a deal with the
Utah Jazz was being finalized.
The fans' gibes behind me had
finally stopped.
While the Hoosier fans now sat
there quietly, possibly of think-
ing about ordering a Charlotte
Bobcats' Zeller jersey, the rest of
the mostly New York crowd grew
excited. The Brooklyn Nets and
New York Knicks lone picks in
the draft were fast approaching
at No. 22 and 24. After that, the
place would start clearing out in
droves.
Then the moment happened.
As I checked to see the latest
rumblings, a series of tweets
started rushing onto my screen
- the Knicks were about to select
Hardaway Jr., the son of a Knicks'
rival in the late 1990s, the Miami
Heat's Tim Hardaway Sr.
As NBA Commissioner David
Stern walked to the podium for
one of the last times to announce
the pick, a buzz started to grow.
"With the 24th pick in the 2013
NBA Draft," Stern said. "The New
York Knicks select Tim Hard-
away Jr."
Hysteria rang out. Behind me,
in front of me, to the left and right
of me, screaming was going on.
Knicks' fans weren't angry.
They weren't upset, either. They
had seen what Hardaway Jr. had
done in college and what the
Knicks had failed to do in the
playoffs: win.
As people started to leave
while the first round came to a
close, I walked with Eric across
the street to Atlantic Terminal,
where he would be taking the
train back to Long Island. But I
heard another voice in the dis-
tance again.
This time it wasn't a heckler. It
was two MTA workers waiting to
go home too.
"The Knicks got Tim Hard-
away (Jr.)," one said. I was stum-
bling once again into what I
had learned to love about the
aftermath of Michigan sporting
events.
I wanted to join in on the con-
versation. I wanted to help dis-
sect the selection. I wanted to see
what two Knicks fans had to say
about the team's newest player.
Most importantly, I wanted to
hear what two newcomers had to
say about a former Michigan ath-
lete.
Then I heard the response of
the other gentleman. "Is that Tim
Hardaway (Sr.'s) brother?"
Fuhgeddaboudit.
The sky looked like it was
about to open up any minute. I
rushed out the terminal door and
started my walk home. I no longer
had the desire to converse with
others.
Brooklyn wasn't what I know
Ann Arbor to be. There were
chattering fans, but when it was
all over, it was nothing more than
chatter.
You just can't replicate a Ann
Arbor anywhere else.
ERIs cIRKLAN/Daily
Sophomore Mitch McGary will participate in the LeBron James Skills Academy.
o Risol, McGary
go to su-mmer cam-p
MARLENE LACASSE/Daily
Joshua Epstein and Daniel Zott of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. perform at Sonic Lunch in Liberty Plaza Thursday, June 27.
'U'Council will work
timprove efficiency
By ALEXA DETTELBACH
Daily Sports Writer
The beginning of the Michi-
gan basketball team's impres-
sive 2012-2013-basketball
season did not start with its pre-
season route of Northern Michi-
gan on Nov. 1. It started in the
summer.
When sophomore forwards
Mitch McGary and Glenn Rob-
inson III elected to return to
Ann Arbor for a second season
the Wolverines knew they had
significant talent to build the
2013-2014 season around.
When guards Trey Burke and
Tim Hardaway Jr. decided to
return to their maize and blue
locker rooms for the 2012-2013
season, after their freshman
and sophomore years respec-
tively, Michigan knew it had the
same opportunity.
Burke and Hardaway fol-
lowed up their decisions with
skill camps over the summer -
which set the stage for their his-
toric season.
Following in their footsteps,
McGary and Robinson elected
to do the same.
McGary went to the Amar'e
Stoudemire Nike Skills Camp for
big men from June 24-26, while
Robinson attended the Kevin
Durant Nike Skills came for
wing players from June 28-30.
Burke participated in the Chris
Paul and Deron William camps,
while Hardaway attended the
Durant camp last summer.
History continued to repeat
itself on July 2, when it was
announced that McGary and
Robinson were invited to take
part in the Lebron James Skills
Academy in Las Vegas, which
features the top 20 college play-
ers in the nation.
Burke and Hardaway were
invited to the same academy last
summer and have said it helped
them gauge the rest of the estab-
lished talent.
For the first time since 1994,
the Michigan men's basketball
team had two players taken
in the first round of the NBA
Draft. Though Robinson and
McGary could have changed
that number had they elected
to turn pro after their first sea-
son in Michigan, their decision
to stay has kept the Wolverines
in contention for the 2013-2014
season.
Despite issues,
branch intends to
contribute to CSG
By WILL GREENBERG
Daily StaffReporter
Central Student
Government's University
Council may have had a rocky
past two years, but Public
Policy junior Bobby Dishell,
new UC chairman and CSG Vice
President, is not deterred.
The UC - which consists of
delegates from each individual
school in the University - was
formed in 2010 but has been
plagued with poor attendance
and low functionality despite
attendance by top administrators
such as University President
Mary Sue Coleman.
Dishell said the goal of the
UC has been to "expedite" CSG's
legislative process as students
can propose ideas developed
in the council to the general
assembly, which could lead to
efficient implementation of
popular ideas.
"It's a really powerful tool
to go into this review path,"
Dishell said. "And this upcoming
year we're really looking to
utilize it and legitimize the
organization."
The issue of UC functionality
has been discussed in the past,
particularly among CSG vice
presidential candidates who,
in the last election, argued the
council could be better utilized
in a more active role.
Dishell said one reason for
the lack of functionality on the
UC is because the bylaws that
govern the meetings are still
in the process of being written.
Another issue is a lack of
public information - the
council's website has yet to be
completed.
Former CSG Vice President
Omar Hashwi said he felt the UC
still has an ability to contribute
to CSG.
"The UC has yet to reach its
potential," Hashwi said. "Do I
believe we've exhausted the UC's
potential? No, but do I believe
that we've established a strong
and united foundation for the
years ahead, most definitely."
Hashwi said the council was
similar to the U.S. Senate in
both form and function.
"In the future, it is important
that the UC remains a body that
views all colleges equally and
bases their decision- making on
not only what is most beneficial
to their college but also to the
student body at large," Hashwi
said.
The University has one of the
few student governments with
multiple legislative bodies.
Hashwi said having the UC
allows more projects to be
brought to the table and the
council has been "more helpful
to the individual student
governments than to CSG."
See EFFICIENCY, Page 6
Sorority and
fraternity houses to
undergo retrofits
By SAM GRINGLAS
Daily StaffReporter
LSA senior Kevin Kononenko
never joined a fraternity, but he's
set out to make University Greek
Life a whole lot greener.
Thanks to the Greek Life
Sustainability Team Kononenko
founded two years ago, the Delta
Gamma sorority house will be the
first at the University to undergo a
sustainability retrofit this fall. And
Kononenko said Delta Gamma's
project is only the beginning.
Because fraternity and
sorority members pay energy
costs such as electricity and heat,
Kononenko said the property
companies who manage the
houses have little incentive to
implement sustainable upgrades,
such as added insulation or
energy efficient appliances.
To encourage updates, GLIST
will create a financial plan for
members to repay landlords
for the upgrades, with energy
savings ultimately saving
members in the long run.
GLIST will also work with
local contractors on energy
audits to suggest specific
changes and build a retrofitting
plan tailored to each house,
complete with estimated energy
and cost savings. GLIST and
Greek Life members will learn
the science behind the projects
as well as changes they can make
to improve sustainability.
Engineering junior Sarah
Levine, a GLIST and Delta
Gamma member, said the team
started by reaching out to
potential pilot sororities.
Levine lived in the Delta
Gamma house last year and
approached her landlords first.
After presenting GLIST's ideas,
the landlords were excited to
hear more and were soon on
board.
"Retrofits are a great place to
start for a house becoming more
'green,' " Levine said. She noted
changes could be small and
inexpensive yet still decrease
energy bills. She added that
fraternities and sororities are
perfect sustainability partners
since they house a large number
of students, providing student
environmental advocates the
opportunity to encourage
change in a large, visible part of
campus.
Levine and Kononenko said
they hope to expand sustainable
retrofits to the rest of the Greek
community as part of ongoing
efforts to educate and encourage
campus to adopt a greener
culture.
A BS candidate in Program in
the Environment, Kononenko has
grown to intimately understand
the direct relationship between
human choice and environmental
health.
"There's real value in
considering (how) ' the way
you live your life affects your
surroundings," Kononenko said.
"You're inherently connected to
the environment whether you
like it or not."
With so many friends in the
highly visible institution of Greek
Life, Kononenko said he saw
fraternities and sororities as the
perfect target for implementing
sustainability initiatives. When
he approached University
officials, they suggested
financial incentive as a method
for connecting students with
their environmental choices.
Kononenko agreed with
University Greek Life's prediction
- that no one would feel compelled
to take action unless they could
trace their decisions with tangible
benefits or visible results.
So in October of 2011,
See ECO-FRIENDLY, Page 6