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Thursday, June 26, 2014
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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Thursday, June 26, 2014
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
19
RACHEL JOHNde
The Tinder experiment
'Chef' a delectable treat
IAN DILLINGHAM
EDITOR IN CHIEF
AARICA MARSH
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR
STEPHANIE SHENOUDA
MANAGING EDITOR
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the viewssof their authors.
Raising aid limitingelp
The University must further asssit low SES students after increases
Last Saturday, the University's Board of Regents passed the
school's operating budget and a multitude of proposals
including tuition increases, a hike in housing costs, an
initiative to decrease class sizes and an increase in need-based
financial aid allocations. While increasing the amount of faculty
members and keeping tuition hikes under the rate of inflation for
in-state students is commendable, the Regents should provide
more assistance to help students from lower socioeconomic
backgrounds who reside both in and out of the state afford a
Mom, Dad, don't read this.
Two months ago, I embarked on
a journey to delve into the world
of Tinder. A bunch of strange
interactions and 341 matches later, I
have more than a review to share of
Tinder - the app that many of us have
but rarely talk about.
Like almost every college student,
I knew what Tinder was. It was the
"dating" app notoriously known for
hookups. Yet, actually using Tinder
changed my perspective on the app.
To my surprise, it wasn't all about
hooking up. After analyzing my
matches, I realized that only 5 percent
of my matches were people solely
interested in hookups. The majority,
75 percent, were people who either
never responded or didn't have the
conversational capacity to get past a
"hello" or "how are you." If this app
was 75 percent boring, why was I
continually swiping and comforted by
the glow of Tinder flame notifications
at 3 am? How and why was the app
getting millions of daily active users?
Since Tinder is a relatively new app,
there isn't much published research
on it so I had to settle for my personal
hypothesis. We humans are social
creatures and studies have shown
that our interaction with others is
important to "human development
and behavior." Tinder offers a chance
to converse and even physically
interact, unlike Facebook and Twitter,
without the fear of rejection. In other
words, we crave interaction even if it
means sitting through a few awkward
pickup lines.
At the same time, Tinder is
innovative because it reflects our
generation's need for speed. As its
description says, "it's like real life,
but better." How different is the act
of swiping than the usual yet silent
discrimination of people that occurs
at any college function? Knowing that
both parties are mutually attracted,
the key advantage of Tinder, makes
interaction a bit faster and easier.
On the other hand, Tinder still
adheres to cultural and evolutionary
norms. I noticed the parallels between
Tinder and the traditional dating
scene and animal mating scene. In
nature, females tend to be choosier in
selection than their male counterparts
(you can take Bio 171 or Psych 230 to
learn more about this fascinating
phenomenon). Tinder is no different
- my female friends left swipe or
reject many more people than my male
friends do. Similarly, the profiles on
Tinder are reflections of hegemonic
gender archetypes. Men can often be
found showing off their shirtless gym
body or donning a giant fish whereas
women flaunt their feminine curves
in usually some bikini-clad way. I've
come to the conclusion that perhaps
the dating game hasn't changed, but
only the means have.
Now that I've developed a basic
understanding of Tinder, you probably
arewonderinghowmystoryconcludes.
Well thetruth is, itdoesn't. Though I'm
deleting Tinder and the experiment
is over (since I've exhausted the
potential matches in my area), the
experience was much more serious
than expected. As observational as
I tried to make this, I couldn't help
but get caught up in the assortment
of emotions that went along with
using Tinder. As an upcoming single
college sophomore searching for my
place in the world, I knew I needed
to go beyond my horizons, my radius.
I, once an introverted high school
girl, quickly became enveloped in the
thrill of Tinder. I was encompassed in
the conversation, the people and the
stories behind them.
Tinder can be an instrument, albeit
an unfortunately stigmatized one, to
spark relationships and reignite the
flame of curiosity about what makes
us human.
Rachel John is an LSA sophomore.
University education.
The Regents prevented a
higher increase for Michigan
residents by once again raising
out-of-state tuition. Students
who reside in Michigan will
face a 1.6 percent tuition
increase, paying $206 more a
year while out-of-state students
will experience a 3.2 percent
tuition increase bringing
the their undergraduate
tuition to $41,578 for the
fall and winter semesters. A
5.8 percent increase in the
state appropriations to the
University helped lessen
the burden of rising tuition
costs and boosted financial
aid amounts though the
appropriations were minute
compared to previous decades.
Given the University's a
public institution supported
by Michigan taxpayers,
Michigan residents should
be given the opportunity to
pay lower tuition than out-
of-state students. However,
non-Michigan students paying
more than three times as
much as Michigan residents
causes problems for lower SES
students residing out of the
state. With out-of-state tuition
costing more than $50,000
a year including housing,
middle and lower class families
struggle to afford tuition. This
expense oftentimes makes
the University only plausible
for out-of-state students from
high SES backgrounds. While
the University has increased
student aid . by $19.5 million
this year, these funds will
predominantly go to resident
students. Increasing aid by 17.2
percent is admirable on the
Board's part, however, more
work should go to help all
studentsoflowersocioeconomic
statuses and diversify the SES
backgrounds at the University.
To further aid students, the
Board of Regents allocated
$6 million in the operating
budget towards a program
aimed at hiring at least 60
new faculty members within
a two years. With more
faculty members, University
students will experience
smaller class sizes which
has been shown to increase
learning among students and
lower the achievement gap
between ethnic and racial
groups. Similarly, students are
able to form more personal
relationships with their
professors and receive more
feedback during the course in
smaller classes. With tuition
increases under the inflation
rate, financial aid increases
and a decrease in classroom
size will benefit thousands of
University students.
Jon Favreaus new
foodie film is a savory
and soulful adventure
By GIANCARLO BUONOMO
ManagingArts Editor
There's a moment about 15 min-
utes into Jon Favreau's "Chef,"
where Favreau's character, Chef
Carl Casper,
makes a plate of r
spaghetti aglio e
olio for his res- Chef
taurant's hostess Aldamisa
Molly (Scarlett Enteain
Johansson). Entertainment
They've decided State Theater
that they can't
keep sleeping
together, but eating together is an
acceptable substitute. The cam-
era alternates between birds-eye
views of gently sauteeing garlic and
hot pepper, and close-ups of Carl's
tattooed, scarred hands chopping
parsley. It was the first time I'd
ever seen this plebeian dish, one I
was raised on, showcased in a film.
When Carl pulled the pasta out
of the water and finished it in the
sauce, I couldn't contain myself.
I grabbed my male companion's
knee, squeezed it like a semi-ripe
tomato, and blabbered to him "He
finished it in the sauce! He finished
it in the fucking sauce! I've made
that a million times and he made it
exactly right!" He gently but force-
fully removed by hand and told me
to turn it down a few notches, but
agreed that we were witnessing
somethingveryspecial.
Maybe I'm just a weirdo, but I
have a creeping suspicionthatif you
go see "Chef," andyoureallyshould,
you'll have at least one comparable
moment. In fact, I'm almost certain,
because of what "Chef" is --a gori-
ously overflowing plate of a movie, harsh reviews going "viral" on
stacked high with wit and emotion, Twitter, the idea itself of a food
and without even a teaspoon of truck ... these are all recognizable
cynicism. talking points of foodie culture,
Here's the basic premise. Chef endlessly discussed on blogs and in
Carl Casper, critically lauded in his the pages of Lucky Peach magazine.
early career, is in what he euphe- But even beyond these technical
mistically terms "a creative rut." minutiae, "Chef" does a wonderful
He's the executive chef at a popular job of portraying the pure, near-
LA restaurant, run by the stodgy, pornographic pleasures of good
business-oriented Riva (Dustin food. There are too many money-
Hoffman). Carl wants to cook a shots to enumerate, from cubanos
(literally) gutsier menu, filled with frosted with butter and placed on a
beef cheeks and sweetbreads, but sandwich press, to humble carrots
Riva insists that they stick with bor- and radishes. They nail the special-
ing customer favorites like choco- ties of each locale as well: A fruit
late lava cake. Furthermore, Carl's stand on Little Havana's Calle Ocho,
long hours prevent him from spend- Cafe du Monde's famous beignets in
ing enough time with his son Percy New Orleans, beef brisket inTexas.
(EmJay Anthony, "It's Compli- "Chef" is unabashedly, even
cated), who lives with his mother, aggressively, feel-good. That's a big
Carl's ex-wife Inez (Sofia Vergara, risk to take when making a food
"Modern Family"). movie, because you risk glorifying
of course, this situation is as the hedonism, while glossing over
unsustainable as ExxonMobil. the gritty reality of cooking for a
Renowned food critic Ramsey living. Favreau deftly avoids this
Michel (Oliver Platt, "X-Men: First problembyglorifyingthe grittiness.
Class") writes a scathing review His character isn't a sensitive artist
of the restaurant that quickly goes in a clean white chef's jacket. He's
viral, and Carl has meltdowns over a Dionysian craftsman, a chain-
it on both Twitter and the floor of smoking food lover with a tattoo
his own restaurant. Fed up with of a chef's knife on his forearm and
just about everything, and claim- a total commitment to his profes-
ing that he needs "a job, not money," sion. Through him, we learn to love
he does something crazy - he buys the speed, danger and all-around
a dilapidated food truck in Miami, madness of the kitchen, and beam
and morphs it into "El Jefe," a free- alongside him when his son burns
wheeling culinary lab that special- his hand while working on the line,
izes in soulful Cuban food. With but keeps on pushing orders out.
his old line cook Martin (John "Chef" is a lot of things. It's a
Leguizamo, "The Counselor,") and goofy road-trip movie, a hopelessly
Percy working alongside him, Carl romantic drama, a deep explora-
finally has a suitable, and portable, tion of the world of gastronomy
outlet for his passions. and a triumphant affirmation of
Like the great chef he depicts, pleasure in all forms. It's big in
Favreau makes this film delectable every way, but also full of wonder-
by intensely focusing on the little ful little moments. Before you go
details. I've never seen a film that see it, just make sure your house
depicts food and the food world as has a full fridge and clean sheets.
well as this one. The cliche nature You're going to come back with an
of ahi tuna on menus, the habit of appetite.
DO YOU LOVE DIRTY FRIDGES?
COMPUTERS THAT DON'T WORK
PROPERLY? STAYING UP TIL THE
WEE MORNING TO MEET PAGE
DEADLINES?
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BY ALLANA AKHTAR