Opinion
JENNIFER CALFAS
EDITOR IN CHIEF
AARICA MARSH
and DEREK WOLFE
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS
LEV FACHER
MANAGING EDITOR
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
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The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4A — Thursday, March 12, 2015
Claire Bryan, Regan Detwiler, Ben Keller, Payton Luokkala, Aarica Marsh,
Victoria Noble, Michael Paul, Allison Raeck, Melissa Scholke, Michael Schramm,
Matthew Seligman, Linh Vu, Mary Kate Winn, Jenny Wang, Derek Wolfe
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
L
ast night, I had dinner with a
cousin with whom I haven’t
had a real discussion in a
while. She, an alum
of Harvard and
Stanford and now a
federal prosecutor,
is some 10 years my
senior. Suffice it to
say, we’ve rarely
had much com-
mon ground from
which to stimulate
discussion at Pass-
over every other
year, when I was
going through my awkward phase
(OK, it’s still going, but you get my
point). Now, for really the first time,
we could share a meal, a drink and
carry a conversation.
Naturally, as tends to be the case
with family, the dialogue inevitably
turned to relationships. We spoke
about hers (she’s been in one for 18
months), mine (previous, not current)
as well as our siblings’. An analogous
thread became obvious — Cahans,
as a family that gravitates towards
high-stress occupations (doctors, law-
yers, the whole shtick), appear on the
surface to date characters far more,
shall we say, ‘relaxed’ than us. I guess
there’s something in the water.
In any case, the law of romantic
complements dictates that we are
compelled to seek the yins to our
yangs.
Indeed,
opposites attract.
That always was the espoused truth
for interactions in physics, as with
physical interactions. So the rela-
tionship parallels we noticed are
none too surprising, according to the
traditional doctrine.
However, recent research shows that
the eternal mantra of synergistic differ-
ences in relationships may not be valid.
A fascinating article from the sta-
tistical blog FiveThirtyEight, titled “In
the End, People May Really Just Want
to Date Themselves,” challenges the
pervading logic. The article, through
thorough statistical analyses based on
data sets from eHarmony, illustrates
that “birds of a feather flock together.”
Further, the avian phenomenon takes
flight in two ways: firstly, people gen-
erally prefer those with traits like
them and secondly, everyone prefers
certain traits, and indicate even stron-
ger preference with regards to those
which they, too, personify. To clarify:
everyone likes blue birds. Red birds
like blue birds. Red birds also like red
birds. But blue birds really like blue
birds. Amazingly, 23andme data actu-
ally codifies this nesting logic at the
genetic level as well.
Now, to use another metaphor, this
explains why we order what we order
when we get to the restaurant. But
how do we find the restaurant in the
first place?
Another article, this time from
practical-science blog Nautilus, titled
“Casual Sex May be Improving Amer-
ica’s Marriages,” sheds some light on
the question. The piece, written by
the Chief Scientific Advisor to Match.
com, reveals a seemingly paradoxical
point: one-night stands might actually
be helping American marriages. The
author, Dr. Helen Fisher, explains that
one-night stands are but the initial step
in a sequential, “slow love” process.
Thereafter, the progression moves
to “friends with benefits” (“commit-
ment-lite”), and then “devoted mating
partner” (“commitment-heavy”), and
then finally, formal marriage. ‘Delib-
erate’ seems the adjective of choice in
comparison with the full force gale of
historical companionship. Partner-
ship must be personified before being
signed into the legal codes.
Nonetheless, there has been ample
handwringing over the millennial
marriage issue. Much has been writ-
ten on the delayed nature of millennial
marriages. Numerically speaking, the
average pre-marriage relationships
takes between 18 to 34 months and 46
percent fewer millennials are married
between ages 18 to 32, when compared
to the baby boomers.
What to make of the concern?
It seems to me that the concern is
misplaced. Neuroscientific research
suggests two distinct timeframes in
the early life of romantic relationships.
The first, dominating the first eight
months of relationships, is a sort of
euphoria — the technical term being
“limerence.” Neural circuitry in the
subcortical, dopamine-rich, immedi-
ate reward regions is most active. The
second timeframe blooms during the
eight- to 17-month period, and reflects
a sort of romantic commitment. Neu-
ral circuitry in the caudate body, asso-
ciated with reward deference, is most
active. In other words, the romantic
lens does not widen to include a long-
term horizon until between eight and
17 months. Assuming couples wait
around a year after engagement to get
married, this falls right into the aver-
age pre-marriage length for relation-
ships mentioned above.
So, though in my previous piece I
mentioned the “rationality” of millen-
nial relationships, perhaps my word
choice was off. Rather, our relation-
ships appear intensely and intimately
visceral. Driven by an incessant fear
of a risk on the one hand and a slowly
developing neuro-sensory attachment
on the other, we are relying on our
own feelings to navigate the seas of
romance more than ever. We are wait-
ing until we’re ready because that’s
when it feels right. We are partial to
those most like us because they feel
familiar, comforting and consistent
amidst an ocean of uncertainty.
The other thing I forgot to mention
about Cahans is that, for some odd
reason, there hasn’t been a marriage
yet in my generation. Long-term com-
panionship abounds, but legal part-
nership is nowhere to be found. Maybe
we should date people more like us. Or
maybe we should go out more (that
much is certainly true). Or maybe, just
maybe, we, like so many other millen-
nials, are just trying to weave our way
through the waves that so poignantly
symbolize the ups and downs of love.
No rush.
— Eli Cahan can be reached
at emcahan@umich.edu.
Loving, eventually
ELI
CAHAN
A
dhering to its company policy of “no judgment,” recent action
taken to ensure a transgender-friendly environment at a local
branch of Planet Fitness in Midland, Mich. has raised public
concern regarding transgender rights and individual rights to privacy.
The company displayed a highly commendable response to the continual
complaints made to employees and to other members about the presence of
a transgender female in the women’s locker room at the gym. In response,
Planet Fitness withdrew the membership of the complaining patron.
According to a statement issued by the public relations director of Planet
Fitness, members are allowed to utilize a locker room “corresponding
with their gender identity.” Despite the progressive stance taken by Planet
Fitness, these events illustrate the need to re-evaluate the current state of
transgender protections and to promote anti-discriminatory policies at
both the national and state level.
Protections for transgender individuals are
severely lacking. According to the Transgender
Law and Policy Institute, only 16 states —
in addition to the District of Columbia —
uphold legislation that forbids discrimination
based upon an individual’s gender identity
or expression. Michigan is not included
among these states. In addition, transgender
individuals are prohibited from serving openly
in any branch of the armed forces, and under
regulations, these individuals are deemed “unfit
for service.” However, a recent army regulation
minimally inhibits the discharge process of
transgender service members by requiring the
discharge procedures to be authorized by the
assistant secretary of the army. Furthermore,
these steps are small and ambiguous.
Currently, no legislation dictating which
restroom an individual can use exists in the
state of Michigan, similar to many other
states. An individual who uses a restroom that
doesn’t correspond with their biological sex
could potentially be charged with “disturbing
the peace.” Recent legislation proposed in
Kentucky, Florida and Texas has sought to
impose restrictions on transgender individuals
from using a restroom that corresponds with
their preferred gender identity. The bills
propose varying degrees of fines or penalties
for violating the provision.
While transgender protections and resources
at the national and state level need to undergo
major reform, the University maintains a fairly
progressive approach to ensuring an inclusive
environment. The Spectrum Center offers
a wide array of resources for transgender
faculty and students, and the University itself
features a non-discriminatory employment
policy for faculty. The University, likewise,
offers gender-inclusive housing for students
and gender-neutral restrooms across campus.
For example, the Gender Inclusive Living
Experience includes a section of rooms in
East Quad and gender-inclusive restrooms are
located in East Quad, Alice Lloyd, Markley,
Mosher-Jordan and Baits II residence halls.
One drawback of the University’s approach is
that available resources are under-publicized.
Ensuring an inclusive campus environment
is an issue of importance for most on campus,
and yet, many students may be unaware of
the existence of gender-neutral programs and
areas. The goal of the University — as well as
the state and the nation at large — should be
to be considerate of all individuals. Through
numerous institutions and public structures,
we must ensure that adequate gender-neutral
options are widely available and that action
is taken to provide a welcoming and safe
environment for all individuals.
Protecting all identities
FROM THE DAILY
MATT FIDEL | VIEWPOINT
Moving on, moving forward
My fellow Wolverines,
As an elected representative of the Central
Student Government and as a member of
Greek life, I owe each and every member of
the University community an apology. Over
the weekend of January 16-18, my fraternity
and I went on a ski trip. On that ski trip, some
members caused extensive damage to the
host resort. While my fraternity is making full
restitution to the owner, the destruction was
appalling and inexcusable, and I condemn it in
the harshest terms. I am even more saddened by
the damage that my fellow students caused to
the reputation of the University. It pains me to
know that members of my own fraternity were
able to tarnish the good name of our fraternity,
Michigan Greek life and the entire University.
Let me say in the clearest terms — I did not
commit any damage to the resort, nor did I
witness any destruction as it was taking place.
When I discovered what had happened, I was
horrified and deeply ashamed of the behavior
of my peers. I immediately began working with
other members of my fraternity to mitigate
and control the situation to prevent further
destruction.
As a leader on this campus, I am accountable
to each of you. Leaders do not run away from
problems; they confront them and work toward
solutions. Since that weekend, I have helped lead
my fraternity brothers in an attempt to right the
wrongs that were committed. I organized four
build sites through Habitat for Humanity that will
be dedicated shortly. In order to begin mending
the ties with our neighboring communities, I
planned a chapter service trip to Detroit, with
the help of The Detroit Partnership. I am a strong
believer in the principle of restorative justice, and
the fraternity is working to repair relations with
our neighbors.
I refuse to be defined by the actions of others.
My record speaks for itself. I have dedicated
my time on campus to positive, worthwhile
causes and have worked to impact meaningful
change. While serving on the boards of SRC
and GARP, I devoted time to maintaining Greek
self-governance,
safety
and
responsibility.
As an LSA representative on Central Student
Government, I have pursued change within
the dining department, planned events such as
the Police Brutality Speak-out and worked to
increase diversity on campus by serving on CSG’s
On-Site Admissions Task Force. I have met with
administrators to discuss problems on campus,
and I have worked with administrators to create
solutions to these problems. Most recently, I
worked with the Dining Department to design a
program that will allow students to donate their
leftover Dining Dollars and Blue Bucks at the
end of the year to local food pantries. Beginning
at the end of March, all students will be able to
donate money in $1 increments at all campus
stores, like U-Go’s, Victors and the Blue Apple.
The money that is raised will be used to purchase
local, sustainable, non-perishable food that will
be donated to local food pantries, including our
campus’ own student food pantry. As a student
leader, I have worked to represent the interests of
fellow students and to build a better campus for
all communities.
As a candidate for CSG vice president with The
Team, I plan to continue and expand upon this
important work. I want to ensure that as the voice
of the students, our CSG is representative of all
communities on campus, not just those of a few.
It’s time for all students to have easy, convenient
access to their elected representatives so that
CSG gives students a chance to share their ideas
and accomplish their goals. CSG has tremendous
potential to be a driver of collaboration with
and empowerment of student leaders, not of
competition and politics. Student leaders should
be able to rely on CSG’s budget, administration
connections and clout as a platform to advance
their great work on campus. Together, we can
support and empower student leaders across
campus to better address important issues such
as increased minority enrollment, increased
sexual assault awareness and prevention efforts
and an improved campus climate. By working
together, our collective potential is much greater
than that of any individual.
I ask you to judge me based on my
accomplishments
and
my
ideas
rather
than on the actions of some members of
my fraternity. I am not my fraternity. I am
Matt Fidel. I am running for Vice President
because I see the great potential of CSG, and I
want to continue serving you. I am a member
of The Team, and together we can focus on
the real opportunities and challenges that lie
ahead. With your input and support, we can
partner to accomplish our shared goals. We
have serious work to do, and I look forward to
getting started.
Feel free to e-mail me at mhfidel@umich.edu
if you have any questions or ideas that you would
like to discuss together.
Matt Fidel is an LSA sophomore.
“I
t sounded like a good idea
seven months ago!”
I ran past a bystander
holding this sign
during
my
first
half-marathon
and fluttered back
and forth between
wanting to laugh
and
wanting
to
punch
him.
My
friend Crystal and
I signed up for the
Disney
Princess
Half
Marathon
over the summer,
thinking the February race would
motivate us to keep up our running
routines during the winter. We took
into account that the race would
require us to train hardest during the
coldest, snowiest time of the year, but
we quickly brushed this off. “We’ll get
cute winter running gear!” we ratio-
nalized, and booked our tickets to
sunny Florida.
Fast forward to three weeks ago.
Crystal and I stepped off the plane in
Orlando sporting sneakers and leg-
gings, pretending to be runners. I wish
I could say our cute winter running
gear allowed us to stick to a training
plan. I wish I could say we diligently
ran our mid-week speed workouts
next to each other on the Landmark
treadmills while we looked out the
windows at the snow. But if I’m being
honest, our training mostly consisted
of logging a quick two miles every five
days or so, combined with an occa-
sional cross-training routine where
we watched Bravo while pretending
to do planks on Lululemon yoga mats.
In the two days leading up to the
race we walked around the Disney
parks, attempting to pick out our fel-
low runners. This was much more
difficult than it seemed, considering
running shorts and tennis shoes seem
to be an unspoken uniform for all
theme park attendees. We wondered if
anyone was looking at us, trying to fig-
ure out if we were runners, looked at
each other, and laughed. If they were,
we made it difficult for them to guess
due to the fishbowl-sized margarita
and jumbo-sized order of nachos we
were carrying around.
On Saturday night, we decided
to get serious about the race. At that
point, though, all “training” efforts
would be useless, and the best we
could do was hydrate and carb-load
for our long run the next morning.
Unfortunately, all of the other 20,000
runners came prepared, taking up all
the reservations at the Italian res-
taurants across Disney World. We
settled for tacos from a quick-service
Mexican booth and a pastry from a
French bakery.
The race began at 5:30 in the morn-
ing, and due to the large number of
people participating, Disney sug-
gested boarding the buses by 4 a.m.
Logically, our fellow runners began
leaving the parks around 7 p.m. on
Saturday night to get a good night’s
rest. Crystal and I found the temp-
tation of a nearly empty park and
short wait times for popular rides to
be entirely too strong, and ended up
staying at the park until closing. We
did not see the error of our ways until
our alarm went off just a few hours
after we set it. Time to run.
After stumbling around in the dark
to find our tennis shoes and bibs, we
hopped on a bus. Once we got to the
pre-race area, we were able to stretch
a bit and take some photos. It was 55
degrees that morning, or, as it’s known
locally here in Michigan, a heat wave.
If you’ve never seen pictures from
a Disney race, it looks pretty different
than your typical half marathon. Rac-
ers sport tutus and costumes resem-
bling their favorite Disney characters,
and about every half-mile, there is a
different character photo spot where
you can wait in line to take a picture
with Mickey or Buzz Lightyear. A
fairy godmother sends each of the 16
corrals on their way, and fireworks
accompany each of these starts. It’s
one of the least intimidating long-
distance races, which probably con-
tributes to the fact that over half of
the runners were first time half-mar-
athoners. Solidarity, group of Cinder-
ellas to my left. To quote my favorite
Disney Channel original movie, we’re
all in this together.
Since we were in one of the middle
corrals, we didn’t actually cross the
starting line until 6 a.m. As we ran
past mile marker three, we saw some
of the fastest runners blow by mile
marker 10. Crystal turned to me, eyes
wide, and shouted “life goals!” above
the music. I looked back with my eye-
brow raised. My parents always told
me I could do anything I set my mind
to, but I’m pretty sure running a half
marathon in under an hour and a half
is out of my reach. I was just out there
trying to finish the race.
One of the most famous aspects
of the Princess Half is the fact that
around the halfway mark, participants
get to run through Cinderella’s Castle
in Magic Kingdom. Up until that point
we felt great, which was amazing con-
sidering the last time we ran six miles
was in November. Once we reached
this point, though, Crystal’s ankle —
previously weakened by a September
football pregame-related ankle injury
involving a ledge and a few trips to the
nearest urgent care center — began
bugging her. We hobbled along until
we found a medic tent, which was
about the same time we discovered the
free Clif Shots volunteers were pass-
ing out. These small pouches of saving
grace provided the same effect as if we
were in a video game and collected an
extra life — our fictional battery power
meters returned to 100 percent.
From then on, it was pretty smooth
sailing. We really tried to focus on stay-
ing in the moment, noticing what dif-
ferent causes people were running for
and enjoying this experience the two
of us got to have together. Toward the
end of the race the course goes up an
overpass, and the vantage point allows
runners to see the thousands of people
following them on their journey to 13.1
miles. Around this point, it hit me that
I was going to finish a half marathon
with my best friend and accomplish a
goal I didn’t have the confidence to go
after alone.
We crossed the finish line and col-
lected our medals, not able to fully
comprehend that we actually just
completed the race. We spent the next
few days walking around the parks
in our race swag, looking like two old
ladies who needed canes a result of
not training properly. But that was
worth it.
We’re half marathoners now. Of
course, we definitely should have
trained more consistently. But we
didn’t use our failure to prepare as an
excuse to hold us back from our goal. I
think sometimes all you need is a best
friend and a fairy godmother to ignore
all the reasons why you can’t accom-
plish a dream. I know I’m grateful
for mine.
— Katie Koziara can be reached
at kkoziara@umich.edu.
A best friend and a fairy godmother
KATIE
KOZIARA