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.”

