5
OPINION

Thursday, June 22, 2017

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

I

f you know me, then you
know there are about four
things I need to survive in

life: Drake, Lush Cosmetics,
Buffalo Wild Wings’ chicken
wings
and
basketball.
I

can remember one of my
first birthday gifts being a
basketball and creating an
entire imaginary team I would
play against in tournaments.
As the years passed, I started
collecting
NBA
jerseys,

starting with Michael Jordan,
then after that Allen Iverson,
LeBron James, Derrick Rose
and Rajon Rondo. After my
fir st honor roll report card
in
elementary
school,
my

dad bought my first hoop,
and I spent hours outside
practicing my shot. Though
I am only 5’4’’ on a good day,
I was able to join both my
middle school and high school
teams, serving as a member of
the starting lineup and was a
captain for both teams.

I have always been a fan

of the NBA and WNBA. I
remember asking my mother
to
purchase
extra
sports

channels from DirecTV so
that I, a Chicago native, could
watch the Boston Celtics, my
favorite team, play. Some of
the best memories I have from
my childhood include going to
the United Center and seeing
the Chicago Bulls play. Sitting
at the game, I was able to feel
the excitement and energy of
the crowd, the passion of the
players and the overall love
for the game which makes
any sporting event a blast to
attend — as I am sure anyone
who has been to the Big House
on gameday can attest to. I am
excited to tell my children that
I was able to witness Derrick
Rose’s campaign to winning
the
2010-2011
NBA
MVP,

along with the rise of LeBron
James — the 2nd greatest
basketball player of all time,
the awe of Stephen Curry and
the
seemingly
unstoppable

Golden State Warriors or even
the farewell tour of one of the
greatest players the game has
ever seen, Kobe Bryant. I have
seen so much in relation to
this sport, yet when it comes
to women in it, I have seen so
little.

Just a few weeks ago, my

boyfriend sent me a text
which said, “If I were a girl

it would suck creating a
MyCareer because I couldn’t
design a player to reflect my
own identity.” As a recent
Playstation 4 owner, he had
been tinkering around with
the different features on the
game “NBA 2k17.” One of
these features was the widely
popular “MyCareer” where the
gamer creates a customizable
player and develops a story/
career in the NBA through
gameplay. Knowing that I
too play “2k12,” he shared
his thoughts regarding the
lack of diversity within the
game, which inspired me to
write this piece. Though he
is a writer for male sports
and, as I put it, a “know-it-
all,” I was impressed with

his
refreshing
reflections,

as
he
usually
does
not

consider female perspectives
regarding
professional

athletics.
His
text
was

referring to the fact that each
of the NBA 2k games which
have been released to date
with the “MyCareer” feature
lack the ability to customize
and develop the career for
a female basketball player.
Instead, the game limits the
gamer to customizing from
default
settings
a
man’s

identity/persona,
and
then

pursuing his dive into the
professional basketball world.
You would think, “Of course
there isn’t an option to design
a woman on ‘NBA 2k’ because
it reflects the likeness of the
NBA, which does not include
women athletes.” This is a
reasonable
argument,
one

which could be easily settled
if there were a “WNBA 2k”
game to reference. However,
there is a complete lack of any
WNBA related video games.

I can reflect upon the

days my cousin and I would
battle it out on the game

“NBA Street Vol. 2” using the
original Xbox console. As a
young girl admiring the sport
and the fun of the games,
related toys and other fan
paraphernalia, the fact that
women were left completely
underrepresented in regards
to it all went completely over
my head. Now, in my older
age, as I sit with my younger
sister, who is also a basketball
player
and
complete
our

career on “NBA 2k” as men
or lace up our Kyrie Irving
basketball
shoes
designed

and marketed for men, I
wonder, “What happened?”
These inequalities don’t just
exist in video games, or in the
basketball world, it reflects
real life. In real life, women
experience
unequal
pay

and restricted reproductive
rights, access to health care
and
education,
and
many

women around the world are
subjected to violence without
ever receiving justice.

These issues contribute to

gender inequality and plague
our world and women every
second. It isn’t virtual. It
isn’t a game. It is damaging,
discriminatory and a threat
to women everywhere. We are
targeted. We are exploited.
We
are
unprotected
and

underrepresented, and one
of the worst aspects of it
all is that we are told this is
how it is supposed to be. We
are told that we should be
subservient. We are told we
should be inferior. We are told
that we cannot and will not
ever be equal to men. It starts
with relatively small things
like video games or sports,
then
it
slowly
infiltrates

the
infrastructure
of
our

everyday lives. Therefore, it is
crucial that we pay attention
and open our eyes to both
overt and covert messages.
Awareness is the catalyst to
both problem solving and
change.

Are your eyes open?

—Stephanie Mullings can be

reached at srmulli@umich.edu.

MY-Player?

W

e, the new generation
of Wolverines. We, the
Victors and the Valiant.

We, the Leaders and Best. We,
make up a group of students of all
colors,
backgrounds,
economic

positions, religions and sexual
orientations. Including graduate,
professional and undergraduate
students, there is roughly 45,000 of
us. Most of us spend four years or
more at the University of Michigan
before we go on to our destined
careers. During our time here,
we face challenges that are often
unique to the college experience,
and unique to us as individuals.
Amid the challenges we all face, we
as students have responsibility to
look out for our fellow Wolverines
and offer a helping hand.

Being a student in college is

a difficulty in itself; however,
minorities experience all kinds of
challenges unique to them. These
include building communities, facing
a new culture, financial difficulties
and
sometimes
discrimination.

Today, 44 percent of college students
in America have at one time reported
feeling symptoms of depression.
Depression is high among college
students, and the statistics are even
higher among minorities. According
to the National Institute of Mental
Health,
African-Americans
and

Mexican-American students face the
greatest barriers to receive mental
health treatment. As it stands right
now, 17 percent of students at the
University come from low-income
families. About 5 percent of students
are first-generation students. As of
the fall of 2015, 14 percent of students
at the University are nonresident
aliens, according to the Office of the
Register. In fact, about 5 percent
of students on campus are African
American, and about 5 percent
are Hispanic. Though there is not
an exact statistic for the number
of LGBTQ students on campus,
LGBTQ-identifying people make up
about 4 percent of the population in
the state of Michigan. These statistics
tells us who the minorities we see
and talk to on campus every day are.

More often than not, first-

generation students are initially
on their own when it comes to
figuring out the ins and outs of
college. Navigating the financial
burdens, choosing a major and
understanding study techniques
are
examples
of
practical

knowledge that first-generation
students are not simply handed
down by their parents. Non-

resident aliens face a new world
away from home without the
benefits that U.S. citizen-students
can take for granted. The current
political scene makes that clear
enough. Students from low-income
families at times experience their
uniqueness on campus by being
unable to afford the daily comforts
that other students never question.
In the past year, African-American
students have felt the spite and
hatred of racism through obscene
flyers
postedaround
central

campus. As a lesbian student
myself, I have come to understand
the “wear and tear” of finding
my way on such a large campus,
especially relating to my sexual
orientation.
The
characteristic

that make individuals “minorities”
are usually sensitive topics and
hard to address until a level of
comfortability is found with others,
and this takes time. I have only
mentioned a few challenges; yet, as
students, we all face obstacles that
are unique to us.

The University has done an

extraordinary
job
of
making

the campus a welcoming place
no matter who you are. At only
a 5 percent dropout rate, the
University has proven that they
will be there for its students. While
the University can always do more,
we as students can always improve
as we come to the aid of our
brothers and sisters on campus. We
must help each other by offering
our hand when we observe the
challenges that our fellow students
are facing. Many times, we read
these kinds of prompts and feel
overwhelmed, as though we as
individuals are responsible to
make change in people’s lives.
What we should understand is
that change takes teamwork. The
answer is simpler. We can make a
difference in the lives of whoever is
around us at that moment, such as
looking out for our friends who we
know are short on money. Coming
alongside a new transfer student
on campus and showing them
around. Taking our roommates
to a campus medical service if
needed. Standing up for each
other. Sure, this is a competitive
university, but what makes us the
“Leaders and the Best” is taking
initiative to understand what our
peers are going through, and being
each other’s support.

— Lena Dreves can be reached

at ldreves@umich.edu.

LENA DREVES| COLUMN
STEPHANIE MULLINGS| COLUMN

Helping each other

We are told
we should be

subservient. We are
told we should be

inferior