The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News & Sports
Thursday, February 12, 2015 — 3A
Goofy, competitive mix for Michigan
Wolverines mix
sharp focus, fun
antics on game days
By CHRIS CROWDER
Daily Sports Writer
It’s a common misconception
that the recipe for winning only
includes competitiveness. You
also need a pinch of humor.
The ingredients seem like
they wouldn’t work, but for the
Michigan softball team, they
do. They coexist, and neither
outweighs the other.
On the bus ride to any game,
the Wolverines are dancing and
having fun. But when their foot
gets off the last step of the bus
and onto the pavement, they flip
a switch.
“Off the field we have a
blast, but when it’s time to get
serious, we definitely get down
to business,” said senior catcher
Lauren Sweet.
Added junior shortstop Sierra
Romero: “(Sophomore infielder
Lindsay Montemarano) and I go
back and forth, like she makes
an error and I’ll be like ‘I won’t
make that error,’ so we joke
about it, but it brings out our
competitive side.”
The ability to remain relaxed
and focused at the same time
helps the team, especially in
tough situations. With a team
full of best friends, they love
to compete for each other and
strengthen their connection on
and off the diamond.
“If you’re tense and worried
about it, you’re obviously not
going to play your best,” Sweet
said. “But the fact that we have
that bond and can mess around
with each other and have fun
before the game, I think it’s an
awesome thing. When we’re on
the field and we’re all down,
someone can make us laugh in
the game and get us back up.”
The
team’s
traditions,
especially cheers in the dugout,
keep the Wolverines loose while
they’re at the plate. Sweet could
be hailed as the team DJ, making
the beats and laying down
the foundation for upcoming
chants. She embraces this role,
but thinks that outsiders might
not fully understand what’s
going on.
“Our cheers are kind of out
there and people probably think
we’re really weird,” Sweet said.
“For (Romero), we have one like
‘give her the Kool-Aid.’ It’s an
inside joke.”
The inside jokes don’t stop
there, though, but continue with
the Wolverines’ obsession over
pizza.
“We view going around the
bases — getting to first, second
and third — as making a pizza,”
said junior Kelsey Susalla. “So
our goal is to make a pizza (and
eat it) once we get home. On
second base, we sprinkle the
cheese.”
The team loves to have fun,
but coach Carol Hutchins knows
that her team is locked in on
its goals and is most certainly
disciplined.
“Kids like to have fun, but
it’s not the goal,” Hutchins said.
“The goal is to play games and
win them. The goal is to get
better every week. That doesn’t
mean you won’t have fun — fun
is a sidebar.”
Hutchins quipped that rec
leagues are the place where fun
is the main focus. Of course, with
the Michigan softball program,
championships are in the front
of team’s mind. She likens
defending something — such as
a Big Ten championship, which
they have won seven times — to
playing capture the flag. Like
the flag, the championship is
both being defended and sought.
Hutchins
wants
her
players’ personalities to work
well
together
and
achieve
one collective duty: making
Michigan
softball
great.
According to her, that’s the only
reason to put on a maize and
blue uniform.
Still, Hutchins does enjoy her
team’s goofy side when it isn’t a
detriment to the team.
“I think this team is very
passionate
about
Michigan
softball and they care about
each
other
as
teammates,”
Hutchins said. “We talk about
team
chemistry,
and
team
chemistry isn’t about caring
about each other and being
friends. Team chemistry helps
you win games.”
This weekend, the Wolverines
play Florida State, the team that
knocked them out of the NCAA
Super Regional last season. They
aren’t looking back on the walk-
off home run that ended it all,
but they’re remaining goofy and
competitive as always. When
their feet hit the pavement
in Tallahassee, Florida this
weekend, they will have already
flipped the switch.
And when they make pizza,
the
toppings
are
always
goofiness and competitiveness.
Extra cheese.
SOFTBALL
$325 million.
The 2016 budget also faced a
projected shortfall of $532 mil-
lion. To address both shortfalls,
the governor made cuts to mul-
tiple state agencies. Most severely
impacted were the State Police,
the Department of Corrections
and the Department of Commu-
nity Health, which will see cuts of
more than $23 million, $17.8 mil-
lion and $16.55 million, respec-
tively.
However, for the state’s schools
and universities, the news was
more positive. During his address,
Snyder emphasized the impor-
tance of investing in education,
along with skilled trades and pub-
lic safety
“The same time when we’re
cutting a number of programs,
we’re making investments, invest-
ments in critically important
things,” Snyder told reporters.
Citing both K-12 schools and
higher
education
institutions,
Snyder said maintaining invest-
ment in education was one of the
administration’s key consider-
ations when making cuts to state
agency budgets.
“The way I viewed it is we’re
going to protect students,” he
said. “We’re not asking for sacri-
fices from any of those groups.”
Last year, Snyder’s executive
budget proposal totaled $52.1 bil-
lion and featured a 6.1-percent
increase for higher education
funding. The 6.1-percent increase
was the largest increase to higher
education funding since 2001. In
2012, he recommended a 3.1-per-
cent raise; in 2013, a 2.2-percent
raise.
“Going back to the increased
education budget, I think that’s
been validated multiple times that
we’ve been investing in education
and we continue to invest in edu-
cation,” Snyder told reporters.
Cynthia Wilbanks, the Uni-
versity’s vice president for gov-
ernment
relations,
said
the
University plans to work closely
with state officials as the budget
proposal progresses through the
legislature.
“We certainly appreciate the
governor’s recommendation for
additional state funding, espe-
cially in the constrained budget
environment this year,” she wrote
in a statement. “This maintains
the momentum of increased state
investment in higher education.”
Don Grimes, senior research
associate for the University’s
Institute for Research on Labor,
Employment and the Economy,
said given the deficit, he was sur-
prised to see the higher educa-
tion funding increase, along with
the proposal to elevate wages for
skilled trades students.
“They seemed to have been able
to make good use of their revenue
that they have been able to find,”
Grimes said. “I didn’t expect that
large of increase in university
appropriations.”
However, Grimes cited the
continual need to reform corpo-
rate business firms cashing in on
tax credits, which was a major
contributor to this fiscal year’s
budget deficit.
“They shouldn’t be allowed to
do that all in one period,” Grimes
added. “In other words, they
should be forced to get those tax
credits spread out over a number
of years.”
Similar to budgets from the
past three years, the governor’s
recommendation also set aside
additional funding for univer-
sities that meet performance
metrics or cap tuition raises at a
certain percent. Last year, the cap
was 3.2 percent, which the Uni-
versity met by raising tuition 1.6
percent. This year, the cap will be
2.8 percent.
Additionally, the proposal allo-
cated $500,000 for sexual assault
prevention on college campuses.
Over the past year, two universi-
ties in the state — Michigan State
University and the University
of Michigan — have come under
federal investigation for how they
address sexual assault reporting.
Snyder didn’t cite specific cir-
cumstances prompting the fund-
ing during his announcement.
“I believe it’s appropriate to
make an investment,” he told law-
makers.
According to budget docu-
ments released by Snyder’s office,
the $500,000 will be a one-time
allocation to “provide a system
wide approach to develop com-
prehensive prevention best prac-
tices, assessment strategies, and
effective response efforts.”
Education Prof. Betty Over-
ton-Adkins said she was pleased
overall that the budget proposal
included an increase to higher
education funding.
“If Michigan is going to con-
tinue to keep pace with the rest of
the nation in terms of continuing
to provide a very strong program
of higher education for its citi-
zens, we certainly need it to have
a contingent consideration for
increases to our budget,” she said.
Overton-Adkins added that the
increase of funding could lead to
additional funding from other
outside sources.
“When the legislature and
governor signaled their support
for higher education, it also is a
catalyst for other agencies and
organizations also to support us,”
Overton-Adkins said. “I think in
some ways it also helps to attract
additional dollars, because we can
point to the support that the state
provided the institution.”
Along with higher education,
K-12 programs and skilled trades
programs also received a boost.
The governor proposed a 75-per-
cent increase from the amount
currently spent on skilled trades
programs — from $47.6 million
to $83.2 million. He also recom-
mended $25 million in support for
a new initiative to increase third-
grade reading scores in the state
and $75 increase in per-pupil
funding for K-12 schools.
After
the
budget
presenta-
tion, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley briefly
discussed an upcoming ballot
proposal, which would increase
Michigan’s sales tax to pay for fixes
to the state’s roads. The 2016 fiscal
year budget doesn’t assume pas-
sage of that proposal, Calley said.
Snyder told reporters later in
the day that the road legislation,
which was signed last year but
goes before voters in May, simpli-
fies the use of the fuel tax and the
sales tax.
“Fuel taxes go to local govern-
ment roads,” Snyder said. “It’s a
straightforward, comprehensive
tax structure … that provides both
certainty and adequate resources
that can go both to (the) trans-
portation system that our people
deserve and the education system
is protected in the meantime.”
If passed, the restructuring
would impact the way universi-
ties are funded. A percentage of
a university’s overall state alloca-
tions would stem from the gener-
al fund instead of the School Aid
Fund, which would be restricted
to community colleges and K-12
programs under the proposal.
had a lasting impact on women of
color who are involved in the arts
during the opening portion.
Robin Wilson, the 2013 recipi-
ent of the Shirley Verrett Award
and also a member of the steering
committee, presented Goodison
with the award. Wilson said the
award honors women of color in
the arts who are often considered
an outlier, and are interested in top-
ics not always valued by the major-
ity of scholars.
“When you look around this
campus, when you look things
that are named after people,
there are no Black people,” she
said. “This (award) is something
we could create that would have
longevity and would signify our
presence on this campus. Being
a woman of color and in the arts
who had a special interest in
women who were in the arts and
in particular women of color.”
Throughout
the
ceremony,
Goodison was recognized for
encouraging and inspiring female
faculty and students from diverse
backgrounds.
Robert Sellers, vice provost for
equity, inclusion and academic
affairs, said Verret’s spirit and
influence lived on through Goodi-
son’s
teaching,
performance,
scholarship and service.
The award ceremony included
a musical performance by Ver-
rett’s former opera students and a
poetry reading in tribute to Goodi-
son by University alum Zilka Joseph,
one of Goodison’s former students
and distinguished poet.
In an interview after the event,
Joseph said while she was a stu-
dent, Goodison was an incredibly
welcoming and caring professor.
“(She) was present and so kind
and made you feel like home —
someone who embraced you,”
Joseph said. “We need people like
Lorna in an environment which
becomes almost like a machine.
Sometimes we forget we are just
human beings.”
shooter as 46-year-old Craig
Stephen Hicks, who also lived in
the apartment complex. While
the suspect’s wife said in a press
conference that her husband
was not motivated by religion,
members of the victims’ families
have argued the incident should
be characterized as a hate crime.
No motive has yet been officially
identified.
The Daily Tar Heel, UNC’s
student newspaper, reported
large crowds had gathered to
attend a vigil on campus Mon-
day night.
At the vigil in Ann Arbor,
many students addressed Islam-
ophobia in the United States.
They expressed anger over what
they called the U.S. media’s
biased coverage of the Cha-
pel Hill shooting, and said the
deaths should be seen as a hate
crime.
“We’re doing this ceremony
because we think it’s important
to bring the awareness that this
was done because of hate crime,”
said Education senior Sheza
Mansoor, a member of the MSA.
Mansoor also stressed the
importance of the vigil for
bringing together students of all
different identities on campus.
“We shouldn’t be differenti-
ated by our religion or race or
culture,” he said. “We all stand
together because it’s part of
humanity to stand against injus-
tice, and this is complete injus-
tice.”
Faculty and staff members
also attended the vigil to dem-
onstrate support for Muslim stu-
dents on campus.
Trey Boynton, director of the
Office of Multi-Ethnic Student
Affairs, who spoke during the
ceremony, expressed the impor-
tance of coming together in
times of tragedy in an interview
with The Michigan Daily after
the event.
“Vigils like this allow us to
come together in community,
and mourn together, and be
sad together, and ask for jus-
tice together,” Boynton said. “I
think that that’s important when
you’re feeling deeply saddened
by an act of violence like this.”
Engineering graduate student
Andrew Lynch, who partici-
pated in the vigil, said the event
was representative of the Uni-
versity’s diverse community and
growing atmosphere of accep-
tance.
“The fact that we are at Mich-
igan means that we always are
willing to make space for every-
body at the table, and that every-
one’s welcome to express who
they are,” Lynch said.
However, in terms of the Uni-
versity’s atmosphere of inclusiv-
ity, Lynch said there was still
some improvement to be made.
“We’re working on it,” he
said. “I think we’re better off
than a lot of places, but we still
absolutely have a lot of work left
to do.”
LSA senior Saher Rathur, who
spoke during the ceremony, said
she was happy to see both Mus-
lim and non-Muslim students
gathered at the vigil.
“I think it was really impor-
tant for the Muslim community
on campus to see that solidar-
ity from people who aren’t Mus-
lim,” Rathur said.
However, Rathur added that
Islamophobia is an ongoing issue
for the Muslim community, and
both the Muslim and non-Mus-
lim community have to work
together to combat it.
“A lot of times we’re told
that whatever we’re feeling, in
terms of when people say hei-
nous things to us, or do heinous
death, as well as more general
concerns about law enforce-
ment in Ann Arbor. The groups
included Ann Arbor to Fer-
guson, Ann Arbor Concerned
Citizens for Justice, the Uni-
versity’s Trotter Multicultural
Center and Black Lives Matter.
An HRC subcommittee has
been organized to examine
the potential organization of a
civilian oversight board for the
police, City Council announced
last month. The subcommittee
members will present propos-
als and findings based on their
research. More specific charac-
teristics of the oversight board
would be detailed during the
process of its formation.
Pamela Dent, another mem-
ber of the HRC, noted that the
HRC would be able to establish
the civilian oversight board
because it is already in the
charter’s commission, but it
would still need to be approved
by City Council. She stressed
that the creation of the com-
mittee has not yet been agreed
upon.
“We have a history of doing
exhaustive research to support
whatever we may ultimately
recommend so that we don’t
sustain any push back, if you
will, and we are successful
with what we ultimately deter-
mine,” Dent said.
Mohammad Issa, one of the
oversight subcommittee mem-
bers, said he
has been
in contact with other cities to
find out how their own over-
sight boards work, including
their role and limitations.
The commission has set Feb.
23 as a deadline for the sub-
committee to submit propos-
als on the potential oversight
board. The subcommittee will
meet again on Feb. 25.
Along with the proposed
oversight board, Wilson said
he and fellow HRC member
Linda Winkler have met with
Ann Arbor Police Chief John
Seto and discussed the train-
ing received by officers, as well
as racial composition for the
police force according to rank
and in proportion to population
breakdown.
Wilson said Seto is aware of
the negative perceptions sur-
rounding Ann Arbor police
officers and wants to change
that.
“He said that he is open to
doing more things to make
people understand that they
are human beings,” he said.
“And more fun things with the
community.”
The report for the civilian
police oversight subcommittee
will include the information
Seto gave the two members,
Wilson said.
“We made it clear that this is
more than Aura’s death,” Wil-
son said. “Right now we’re talk-
ing about prevention because a
life has been lost. And it shall
not, cannot come back. And
that where we are in our soci-
ety, is that police officers sup-
posedly are employees.”
throughout the Detroit area to
teach debating techniques, form
debate teams and send debaters
to national tournaments. Since its
establishment in 2009, the group
has grown to include more than 250
students from 18 high schools, and
boasts a 100-percent graduation
rate for its participants.
The Society of Hispanic Pro-
fessional Engineers created a
program called SHPE Jr., an out-
reach campaign at Western Inter-
national High School in Detroit.
SHPE aims to inspire Hispanic
youth to pursue careers in sci-
ence, technology, engineering and
math.
Attendees ultimately voted for
the donation to go toward the
Loud Voice Movement, an organi-
zation seeking to empower indi-
viduals in the foster care system
in Detroit. The money will go
toward recruitment and bringing
in speakers for workshops, as well
as help fund the group’s overall
functions.
As a Detroit native who spent
time in the foster care system, LSA
senior Kamille Tynes, the Loud Voice
Movement founder, emphasized the
importance of providing advocacy,
leadership and professional devel-
opment training for foster youth
during her presentation.
“Right now, only 2 percent of
the national population of foster
youth make it to college,” Tynes
said. “One of the issues that is so
near and dear to my heart is edu-
cation, because I know like you
guys know, that’s the way to suc-
ceed in life. But if you don’t have
the support system, or the skills or
the resources to do it, you won’t be
able to achieve it. No matter how
smart you are.”
Tynes created the Loud Voice
Movement three years ago when
she was struggling academically
in her first year at the University.
She said she knew that if she was
struggling, other foster kids were
probably struggling, too. She took
a class about community organiz-
ing to research the best ways to
get the group on its feet, and last
year she formally launched the
program.
“I am so grateful that people
could hear the passion, and that
they want to support what we’re
doing in Detroit,” Tynes said.
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