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Thursday, May 24, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
OPINION
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Ann Arbor, MI 48109
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
Edited and managed by students at
the University of Michigan since 1890.
I
’m several weeks into my first
spring semester at University of
Michigan, and I still can’t believe
it’s actually happening. My mind
can’t juxtapose the warm weather
and greenery with the formerly bitter
atmosphere surrounding the Diag.
Every time I exhibit winter-like
behavior, like subconsciously reaching
for a sweater or waking up with
anxieties about final assignments, it
becomes increasingly clear that the
aftermath of semesters past has me
shell-shocked. After enduring what
seemed like the longest semester of
everyone’s life this past winter, I find
my mind significantly lagging. It’s as
if I’m waiting to catch up — as if time
is moving forward without me while I
passively go through the motions. And
no matter how far back in history last
semester becomes, I still can’t rid my
mind of its debris.
I had certain expectations going into
this semester. As a transfer student, I
was excited to relish in my first and only
remaining opportunity to experience
spring in Ann Arbor. I was told that
campus is quieter, more peaceful.
And aside from campus, I looked
forward to exploring the greater Ann
Arbor community, which promises an
eventful season for those who choose
stick around. For me personally, the
beautiful natural elements of this
city hold an important responsibility.
Spring is when everything comes to
life, at the same time I’m supposed to
be resurrecting my own spirit. Going
in, I felt that I earned the trees, that
I deserve the flowers and that the
wonders of the Arb are anticipating my
arrival the same way I did for the sun’s.
Yes, campus is peaceful. And yes,
Ann Arbor is a sanctuary for the free-
spirited. But in these two weeks, I
learned quickly that a fresh season
doesn’t necessarily coincide with a fresh
and prepared mind. My expectations
were quickly shot down, and I’m
beginning to think that the pressures
of a “fresh start” could be the reason
spring has been so difficult.
It’s hard to start fresh after weeks
of adhering to the same routine over
and over again. While this holds true
for every semester, the one-week
pseudo-break between winter and
spring doesn’t exactly warrant enough
time for a clean mental transition.
Realistically, it’s just a week of old habits,
like feeling your heart sink at 11:59 p.m.
when assignments are normally due
and habitually refreshing Canvas for
no reason. The stress of the school year
carries over, which may be the reason
why I’m struggling to come to terms
with the present. Walking to class
feels stale, almost robotic. Everything
feels like an extension of last semester.
In fact, I’m writing this from the same
and only spot I was able to get work
done in the winter. And believe me, it’s
not that I want to be in this same spot.
I would much rather be under a tree,
tackling my vitamin D deficiency. But
I feel like a caged flower, and while the
hands of spring have unlocked the cage
door, I don’t have the means to escape.
So I remain put. My mind and body
are victims to the abstraction of time,
nestled between the routine of weeks
prior and the anticipation of a distant
summer. It also doesn’t help that the
windows in Mason Hall tease me with
a visual of the latter.
I’m sure other people can relate to
the way I’m feeling. I don’t know what
the consensus is on campus, but most
people I’ve spoken to can agree that
spring semester is at least a different
experience than its colder counterparts.
And I’m not just talking about the
weather. It’s not that the classes are
longer, or that the rooms are stuffier.
It’s not that professors lecture just a
little bit slower. It’s something about the
glassy-eyed look on everyone’s face that
really brings me down. But at the same
time, I find comfort when I look across
the classroom and notice a community
of spring-semester zombies that are
experiencing the same phenomenon.
Maybe we are living in a simulation
and spring semester brings out the
Cartesian skepticism in all of us. Just
because I think I’m in a classroom
doesn’t mean it actually exists, right? My
senses could very well be deceiving me
into thinking that winter ended. Maybe,
upon closer reflection, spring semester
is just winter in disguise. Maybe there’s
an evil genius deceiving us all, wanting
us to believe in the trees, sunlight and
most importantly in the Diag dogs. As I
continue to reflect on this term, I’d like
to extend my optimism to anyone else
in this funk. I’m still hopeful that spring
will fulfill our expectations eventually.
We’ll find ways to work effectively —
whether that involves getting some
sunlight or soaking in our indoor habits.
Regardless, we’ll readjust. And we’ll
have to do it all over again when fall
comes around.
MARLEE BURRIDGE | COLUMN
EMMA CHANG
Editorial Page Editor
EMMA RICHTER
Managing Editor
Emma Chang
Joel Danilewitz
Samantha Goldstein
Elena Hubbell
Emily Huhman
Tara Jayaram
Jeremy Kaplan
Sarah Khan
Magdalena Mihaylova
Ellery Rosenzweig
Jason Rowland
Anu Roy-Chaudhury
Alex Satola
Ali Safawi
Ashley Zhang
Sam Weinberger
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s Editorial Board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
ASIF BECHER
Editor in Chief
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
REEMA BAYDOUN | COLUMN
Spring Semester Reflection
Reema Baydoun can be reached at
rabaydou@umich.edu.
Sexual abuse in women’s sports
T
he
culture
surrounding
female athletics is
often
inappropriate
and
usually ignored. We talk
about
the
need
to
stop
objectif ying
women,
yet
the former president of the
International
Federation
of
Association
Football
still
felt
he
could
say
women’s soccer might be
more popular if the players
wore
“tighter
shorts.”
Not that this quote needs
any analysis as it is so
blatantly
disrespectful,
but he is saying women’s
athletics will not be valued
unless there is some type
of
added
sexualization.
Nobody
would
ever
tell
male athletes they might
be more successful if they
played every sport shirtless.
It shows the kind of double
standard
and
inequality
female athletes constantly
face.
The
objectification
and
discrediting of women in
sports
still
exists,
and
female
athletes
continue
to
be
viewed
as
sexual
objects through the male
gaze.
As
English
writer
Virginia Woolf so astutely
pointed out in 1929 – nearly
100 years ago – “The best
woman was … the inferior of
the worst man.” However, to
counteract this destructive
mentality,
many
athletes
have started movements to
gain respect and equality
such as “Equal Play, Equal
Pay,”
the
U.S.
women’s
soccer team’s campaign for
wages equivalent to male
counterparts.“With athletes
slowly acknowledging the
gender inequality in their
fields, there may be hope
for change. But that’s just
the beginning.
The
objectification
of
women athletes perpetuates
both inequality and has led
to an incredible number of
sexual assault cases. As an
institutional problem that is
underreported and ignored,
many female athletes are
uneducated
on
what
to
do when these situations
arise. Most female athletes
are coached by men, most
athletic trainers are men,
most
team
owners
are
men; not surprisingly, the
only
female-dominated
part of women’s teams are
the
players
themselves.
This
discrepancy
has
normalized
a
culture
of
sexual
harassment:
“The
athletes complained about a
thriving sexist environment
where verbal abuse went
unchecked,
sexual
jokes
and sexual allusion to what
athletes must do to make
the team were commonplace
and
there
was
a
high
tolerance for homophobic
and sexist attitudes among
the coaches.”
A
recent
example
of
this that shook both the
University
of
Michigan
community and the entire
sports world is the Larry
Nassar scandal at Michigan
State
University.
Many
administrators
of
both
MSU and USA Gymnastics
supposedly knew he was
sexually assaulting female
g ymnasts. It is clear there
is
a
widespread
issue
when the people with the
authority
to
stop
these
kinds of actions do nothing.
The issue lies in the fact
that
these
incidents
are
happening, the perpetrators
aren’t punished and these
athletes are uncertain about
what they should or can
do. If this kind of behavior
is going to be normalized
by sports, the least that
could be done is to educate
women on their resources
and options for reporting it.
Continue reading on page 5.
“The only
female
dominated part
of women’s
teams are
the players
themselves.”