I

t all started, oddly enough,
during the height of my
French New Wave obsession.

I was draining
Godard
and

Truffaut films
like diner cof-
fee on a rough
Sunday morn-
ing. These are films that are
compact, usually only an hour
to an hour and 20 minutes long,
and action-packed with a capital
ACTION. High energy: car crash-
es, shootouts, existential shout-
ing matches about one’s place in
society, infidelity and barely any
plot whatsoever. One could tell
Jean-Luc drank a healthy amount
of caffeine while on set and writ-
ing scripts. I watched a movie
entitled ‘Le Mepris’ (Contempt)
four or five times, completely
enthralled by the vices of the
French moving picture.

This was a venture I took on

alone. Friends — who weren’t
that into film in general —
weren’t going to sit down and
watch a French one, that was for
sure. Friends who did thought I
was slightly pretentious in my
selections, which was sort of
understandable. I didn’t care. I
just kept renting.

Finally, after walking into

my apartment with another five
movies of the francophonic per-
suasion, a roommate decided to
ask me where I’d been obtaining
and obtaining said films.

I said, “Askwith, man. I call it

Five-Movie-Friday. They’re not
due back until Monday at mid-
night. Isn’t that sweet?”

Outwardly not as amazed as I

thought he should be, he merely
blurted, “What is Askwith?”

“It’s the movie and media

library in the UGLi. It’s free
too. They have everything and
a lot of it is on Criterion so you
get all the essays and side stuff
too. I joke all the time that I’m
going to get my tuition back in
movie rentals!”

Don’t worry, I’m aware of

everything that’s wrong with
this joke.

Then, my roommate made a

most deep and existential inqui-
ry (I think the most mind-alter-
ing that he’s ever relayed to me

in our brief time living together).
He said, “Why is it called Ask-
with? Like, what are you ‘asking
with?’ I don’t get it.”

Truly, I was stumped. I knew

it was only one word. Askwith.
What does that mean, though?
Like so many of you would while
sitting on the couch on a Friday
night, I Googled it on my phone.

It turns out Askwith was

named after the man who sup-
plied the funds that made the
media library possible, Bert Ask-
with. Sadly, Bert Askwith recent-
ly passed away at the lofty age
of 104 on June 1, but his accom-
plishments in life were lengthy.
He was a University alumni and
an editor of this very newspaper
back in 1931. He started a trans-
portation company in 1928 called
Campus Coach Lines that helped
University students get home
during school holidays.

Bert, what a familiar name, I

thought. Yes, Askwith’s contri-
butions also helped create Bert’s
Cafe in the UGLi where I just
stopped to buy a coffee before I
wrote this column on a library
computer. With much gratitude,
I am feeling Bert’s impact on the
school with every sip.

But this was only the first

domino to fall. Soon, every build-
ing on campus was subjected
to this train of revelations and
enlightenment. These words we
use every day to meet up with
our friends or to direct strang-
ers looking for the spinning cube,
these words are names of people
who actually lived and more
often than not, attended the Uni-
versity, just like us. The light bulb
is popping on. This may seem like
a trivial or obvious observation,
but it was shocking at the time,
if not only due to the frequency
with which I utilized these titles.

Tappan,
Angell,
Haven,

Hutchins, Hatcher, Shapiro and
Duderstadt were all presidents
of the University. Burton Tower
is named after President Marion
LeRoy Burton. William L. Clem-
ents made his fortune supplying
equipment for the construction
of the Panama Canal. Stephen
S. Clark Library is named after
the man who co-invented the
manometer having dual pressure

sensors (which kind of sounds to
me like some sub-surface weap-
onry wielded by Spongebob super
villain Man Ray in a battle against
Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy.)
These are just the things I know.

But please forgive me. I wasn’t

even at the University when he
got the patents for these inven-
tions. For so many of these other
honorable people, I wasn’t even
born yet. Neither were my par-
ents or grandparents. So, this is
more than a fun fact. This is the
unveiling of the pre-me history
that surrounds us. Or at least a
history of some sort.

When you tell me something

new about the library — a place
where I spend so much time,
that’s a part of so many of my
stories, that’s now a part of who I
am — the information is going to
matter. It will strike my interest.

While it’s such a good time

to acknowledge the historical
process, I must admit that I’m
fond of going the opposite way,
too. The brightly-lit future. The
future of me, in particular. I don’t
think it is at all unreasonable to
spend time with the successes
of all these brilliant people and
then to reflect on one’s own path-
way and journey in life. I can see
myself now. I have no idea where
my obsessions with the vices of
French New Wave and laugh out
loud oceanic animation will lead
me, but I’m sure it will be to a
very extraordinary accomplish-
ment worth millions. Then I,
little old me, can give back to the
place that made me who I am.

I will most likely contribute

towards a theatre or an audito-
rium.
Sparkman
Auditorium.

Or better yet, a whole complex
full of Sparkman auditoria that
thousands of freshman will take
chemistry finals and fall asleep
in during their Introduction to
Linguistics courses. Maybe an
improv group on campus will
host a Friday night roast of who-
ever the current president is.
The future can make it grandi-
ose and ornate or minimal and
modern. I’m really, honestly sure
I will love it either way.

— Elijah Sparkman can be

reached at esspa@umich.edu.

5

Thursday, June 18 2015

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com OPINION




—Reality television star Donald Trump said on Tuesday, June 16,

during his presidential candidacy announcement.
“

NOTABLE QUOTABLE

I will be the greatest jobs
president that God ever

created.”

CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION

Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor and

viewpoints. Letters should be fewer than 300 words while viewpoints

should be 550-850 words. Send the writer’s full name and University

affiliation to melikaye@umich.edu

be exciting and personable and
connect to a large group of people
without becoming tired from the
overstimulation of large social
gatherings
or

dealing
with

small talk.

Now, intro-

verts
can be

more
visible

and are able to
create
online

communities.
Some
of
the

most
popular

YouTubers are
introverted,
such as Hank
and John Green. They can cre-
ate bridges between themselves
and others without having to go
through small talk. They can talk
about things they are passionate
about and acquire a fanbase of
individuals who are passionate
about the same things. Similarly,
people can utilize forms of social

media, like Twitter or Tumblr,
to express their ideas to a large
group of people, which tradition-
ally would’ve been more difficult.

It is pos-

sible,
that

without these
platforms,
people would
overlook
influential
introverts,
as
it
often

still happens
in the work-
place,
class-

rooms
and

other
social

situations.

So maybe I will never be good

at small talk or be the life of the
party, but that’s okay, because
if you listen really closely, I’m
hilarious.

— Rabab Jafri can be reached

at rjafri@umich.edu.

FOLLOW THE DAILY ON TWITTER

Keep up with columnists, read Daily editorials, view cartoons and join in the debate.

Check out @michigandaily to get updates on Daily content throughout the day.

They can create

bridges between

themselves and others

without having to go

through small talk.

ELIJAH
SPARKMAN

Inspired by history

—Rep. Lisa Posthumus Lyons (R-Alto) on her bill which would allow

absentee voting for any reason in Michigan.
“
We should give all voters
a convenient way to have

their voices heard on

Election Day.”