NEWS
The Michigan Daily - Monday, March 29, 2004 - 5A
It takes two to tango
Volunteer day links
'U'
to Detroit community
By Marie Handfield
Daily Staff Reporter
More than 1,000 students gathered
in Detroit this weekend to make a visi-
ble difference in one of the city's run-
down communities in only one day.
The Detroit Project, which culminat-
ed in Saturday's DP Day, offers students
a unique opportunity to devote as much
time as one day a week or as little as
one day a year, working with other non-
profit community organizations to clean
and beautify the Brightmoor neighbor-
hood in northwest Detroit.
Brightmoor, a community founded
by' Henry Ford in the 1900s, has suf-
fered the consequences of the loss of
auto industry jobs. According to the
1990 census, 44 percent of all resi-
dents and 60 percent of children live
below poverty level.
DP Day is intended not only to
enable students with little time to make
a meaningful contribution, but also to
unite the Brightmoor community and
volunteers in celebrating the accom-
plishments of the year.
"We were extremely selective with
our sites this year. We tried to find sites
that would give our volunteers a full
and satisfying day. (They) seemed real-
ly happy with what they were doing
and it seemed like a really good expe-
rience," DP External Director Kristen
Hewell said.
Special events at the end of the day
included a rally in Detroit's Stoepel
Park, featuring two poetry slammers
and keynote speaker Eleanor Josaitis,
co-founder and chief executive officer
of Focus: HOPE. Focus: HOPE is a
Detroit-based civil and human rights
organization.
"We really tried to have an educa-
tional focus for our volunteers to
learn something about Detroit in
addition to volunteering," said
Hewell, an LSA senior.
DP Day looks to attract volunteers
with varying interests and talents by
offering a wide variety of jobs. Planting
trees and flowers, painting murals, build-
ing playgrounds, tutoring children and
picking up trash are among the options.
"I was doing landscaping and yard
clean up.... It was a great day because
we actually worked alongside the resi-
dents. It was nice to see how apprecia-
tive and helpful they were in turning
around their neighborhood and in try-
ing to keep it clean," said LSA senior
Kaitlin Murphy, a first-time site leader.
Many students said they were drawn
to the DP by the visible results of their
work - the appreciation of the com-
munity members elicited by the trans-
formation of a littered and run-down
park, for example, is enough to keep
them coming back.
"When I first heard about DP Day, I
thought, 'What can we do in only one
day that's (going to) make a difference?'
But at our site specifically it was a
mess, and when we left it looked amaz-
ing. It makes me think that we can real-
ly make a difference," said LSA
sophomore Aisha Jukaku, a site direc-
tor. "It is such an amazing opportunity,
and I plan on getting involved in their
weekly projects as well."
Weekly activities include mentor-
ing neighborhood children and teach-
ing them computer skills.
EUGENE ROBERTSON/Daily
Isabelle Carbonell and Troy Dixon dance the Argentine Tango at the Latino Culture Show '04, titled
"Dejando Huellas" or leaving our mark, yesterday at the Power Center.
Speakers focus on climate changes, health consequences
By Andrea Carone
For the Daily
People in the audience stood up and
encouraged others to become involved in
campaigns focusing on climate change
when Robert Watson, chief scientist at the
World Bank, said, "The clinate issue is
nonexistent in the U.S." He added that he
was disgusted with the lack of attention the
media pay to the issue.
Watson was a speaker at the 3rd Isadore
A. Bernstein Symposium, held this week-
end at the School of Public Health and
School of Natural Resources and Environ-
ment. The University community gathered
Friday to hear distinguished speakers in the
areas of public health and climate change.
The Department of Environmental Health
Sciences organized the symposium.
Watson spoke first regarding the politics
and science of climate change. He stressed
the need to look at science and policy togeth-
er as one interconnected system. "A sustain-
able Earth is the foundation for a good
economy," Watson said.
He continued by showing charts and
graphs that illustrated changes in green-
house gases and temperature. "Literally
every part of the Earth warmed in the last
25 years," he said. These changes, Watson
added, lead to more extreme weather
events, which affect certain regions more
than others.
Watson said climate change exacerbates
the World Bank's main objective to meet the
needs of the poor. He added that the problem
of controlling the impacts of climate change
can lead a developed
country to tell a less "A
developed country not to Asustain
exploit resources and to is the fou
instead focus on climate
issues, possibly hamper- a good ec
ing the developing coun-
try's economic growth.
Jonathan Patz; environ- Chief sc
mental health resources
professor at Johns Hop-
kins University, examined the relationship
between health and climate change hotspots.
What people need to realize, Patz said, was
that slight changes in temperature can impact
human health. "Heat kills people," he said,
la
n
o
iei
referring to death from heat stroke. Patz
added that higher temperatures could also
increase the spread of
vector-borne diseases,
such as those carried by
dation for mosquitoes.
Patz linked Watson's
nomy.' comment about the
increase in extreme
- Robert Watson weather events to an
ntist, World Bank increase in diseases. He
said heavy rainfall pre-
ceded more than half of
the water-borne diseases in the United States.
Concluding his speech, Patz said, "We
absolutely need to advocate science, to get it
out there to communicate."
Rackham student Paul Hanna agreed with
Patz's remark, saying, "Both speakers spoke
with an assuredness about how much cli-
mate change is a problem. I am surprised
about it not being discussed in the current
political climate."
On Saturday a panel discussion titled
"What is being done to achieve climate jus-
tice?" was held, followed by presentations
and case studies by faculty from universities
across the nation and world.
Yesterday another panel discussion was
held, followed by workshops, a discussion
titled "Where do we go from here?" and
closing remarks by Tom Goldtooth of
Indigenous Environmental Network.
Among the conference's sponsors were
the SNRE, the Environmental Justice Initia-
tive and the Department of Philosophy.
KERRY
Continued from Page 1A
replace tax incentives to take jobs off-
shore with new incentives for job cre-
ation on our own shores," Kerry said.
Kerry restated his plans to roll back
tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans
while re-investing
"every dollar saved" "So
into the economy. But me n
Friday, the discussion surprised
of tax credits for small
businesses and reduc- Demor
ing corporate taxes by for loWe
5 percent to narrow ,,
the tax gap between rates."
corporations domestic
and overseas was new Democn
to Kerry's platform.
"Some may be sur-
prised to see a Demo-
crat calling for lower tax rates," Kerry
said. "The fact is I don't care about old
debates, I care about getting the job
done and creating jobs in America."
In addition to revising the tax code,
Kerry discussed lowering energy costs
to reduce the burden on businesses and
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consumers while creating half a mil-
lion jobs in the renewable fuel sector to
decrease dependency on oil.
Both Bush and Kerry have called for
development of new industries and
increased competition between compa-
nies. "When you see a product that
says 'Made in the U.S.A' on it, you
know you've got
i beyourself a quality
ay be product," Bush said.
to see a "I want to see 'Made
. ein the U.S.A' all over
t camng the world."
tax On Friday Kerry
said, "No one should
misunderstand me -
-John Kerry I am not a protection-
ic presidential ist, I am a competitor.
candidate American workers
are the most competi-
tive in the world and
they deserve a government that is as
competitive as they are."
Bush and Kerry also have focused on
the technological sector, specifically by
proposing to bolster broadband technol-
ogy and similar industries. The president
called for "universal, affordable" access
to broadband technology by 2007.
Bush tied access to broadband tech-
nology to price reduction through com-
petition. He also emphasized the
importance of competition for small
businesses and homeownership as a
reflection of a growing economy.
"The role of government is to create
an environment in which the entrepre-
neurial spirit is strong and in which
people are able to realize their
dreams," Bush said. "People can own
their own business. People can own
their own home. People have a chance
to say, 'This is mine, this is my proper-
ty.' And we're making good progress
here, doing just that."
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KISS-IN
Continued from Page 1A
members protesting the University's pro-
posed restructuring of the LGBT office.
The changes would include eliminating
the Education Affairs Coordinator posi-
tion, which some fear could lead to the
termination of the Speakers Bureau,
which brings speakers to campus.
Glenn criticized the University
administration for its rejection of pro-
posals that could have possibly saved
the education coordinator.
"The fulfillment of these proposals
would have cost the Division of Student
Affairs no extra money, but (Vice Presi-
dent of Student Affairs E. Royster Harp-
er) and the University can't see beyond
the dollar signs," he said.
Instead of more reports and task-
forces, Glenn called for "substantial
action" on the part of the gay com-
munity on campus.
University administrators have
repeatedly said they must make some
cuts due to a decrease in state govern-
ment funding. The University was
forced to make $37 million in cuts last
year, and may face a $20 million budg-
et shortfall for next year.
Jeffrey Montgomery, executive
director of the Triangle Foundation,
also encouraged his listeners to protest
changes to .the LGBT office. He said
the office is the oldest of its kind in the
nation and offers services not just to
University students but also to LGBT
people everywhere.
Montgomery also said that the com-
munity should take advantage of the
recent publicity given by President
Bush's proposed constitutional amend-
ment, which effectively would ban gay
marriages.
"Bush wants to enshrine and ensure
discrimination towards queer people,
and so it is incumbent on all of us to
work for a regime change," he said.
At the same time, Montgomery said
the gay community should not demand
rights solely for marriage, but instead
should expand their protest to include
demanding rights to privacy, child cus-
tody and equality in the workplace.
"A place at the table is no longer what
we want. We want to be at the table
when the menu comes around and we
want to tell people what we will order,
instead of them ordering for us"he said.
Other speakers at the rally included
Stacy Agosto, co-chair of MSA's
LGBT Commission, and Demetrius
Dennis Taylor, a member of the advi-
sory council of Transgender Michigan.
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