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4A - Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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GARY GRACA ROBERT SOAVE COURTNEY RATKOWIAK
EDITOR IN CHIEF EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR
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.
Bulking up rec programs
University must renovate campus recreational facilities
he University's recreational sports facilities need to
get in better shape - or at least that's what a Univer-
sity committee determined last spring. But instead of
implementing the committee's suggestions, the University has
decided to slim down the hours that recreational facilities will
remain open. Citing financial reasons, less-attended morningand*
evening hours at the Intramural Sports Building have already
been cut. But the quality of the buildings will only continue to
worsen if they aren't improved for faculty members who pay
to use them. The University needs to invest in the health of its
students and faculty by investing in the health of its recreational
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sports facilities.
In 2007, the University created the Rec-
reational Sports Task Force to examine
how to improve recreational sports facili-
ties at the University. The task force's find-
ings, which were made public in March,
showed the University lagging far behind
its peers. For example, only Purdue and
Penn State have fewer square feet of rec-
reational facilities per student than Michi-
gan, and only Penn State and Michigan
haven't built new facilities since 1983. The
task force's findings have been for the most
part set aside, and the decision to cut the
IM Building's early morning and evening
hours seems to contradict the intentions of
the task force's recommendations.
Administrators have argued that the
change in IM Building hourswas necessary
because income from faculty membership
dues to University recreational facilities
has decreased. But declining member-
ships have probably been brought on by
neglect of these facilities. Cutting hours
in the morning and the evening will only
further discourage faculty use by increas-
ing overcrowding at facilities during peak.
hours, and in turn lose the University more
memberships. Unless the University starts
making improvements, the facilities will
only get worse.
And they're already in poor condition.
Gym users frequently complain about
long waiting lines, inadequate equip-
ment and unsanitary conditions. The task
force has recommended increasing floor
space by 60,000 square feet, replacing
old machines, reworking space to create
a more inviting feel and making needed
improvements to things like the ventila-
tion systems. These aren't unreasonable
changes - schools like Miami University
in Ohio have opted to build entirely new
facilities - and if administrators are seri-
ous about encouraging a healthy campus
community, they must fix the recreation-
al centers.
Considering that health care costs are an
enormous expenditure at the University,
fitness centers shouldn't be where cuts are
made. While the budget is certainly tight,
increasing the quality of recreational cen-
ters is an investment in the future health
of the University community. The enor-
mous necessity to students and faculty out-
weighs the costs.
The University's comparatively deficient
facilities are embarrassing, especially con-
sidering the University's supposed dedi-
cation to a healthy community. While the
University should look for ways to cut costs
and keep tuition affordable, it shouldn't do
so at the expense of recreational facilities
that are already lagging. Administrators
should expand services and upgrade exist-
ing facilities to the level of quality that stu-
dents and faculty deserve.
Before we get to today's exciting
topic, I'd like to clear up some
rumors:
It's true that I
solved the health
care problem
before any other ~
Daily columnists.
But I have more
important news.
Yesterday, the
autumnal equi-
nox occurred for WILL
the billionth time GRUNDLER
in a row, meaning
today it's officially
fall, meaning our
warm weather will disappear soon.
Honestly, you would think just once,
we could have a year-long summer. But
thisis Michigan. Fall isn'tsobad,right?
There are pretty colors and nice smells
and a profound sense of the cyclical
nature of life as our little world starts
to die, only to be reborn in the spring,
and also the squirrels start to starve,
right?
Wrong. As everyone knows, fall is
the best weather for walking animals
like dogs and children. What does
this mean? It means we can expect
to see more dogs and children on
leashes. Specifically, and in an alarm-
ing trend, we can expect to see more
men walking little dogs around Ann
Arbor. Has anyone else noticed this?
Does anyone find it odd and possibly
threatening in some way, besides the
Michigan Review?
Well, I don't feel threatened, exact-
ly. This is because the men have MOL-
ECULE-SIZED dogs. What's going on
here? Where are the Dobermans, the
German Shepherds, the Black Labs?
Was a Bichon Frise really intended
to be man's best friend and not, say,
something fun to feed to alligators?
I suppose I'm confused. Maybe
these guys just like little dogs. Or
maybe they're professional dog walk-
ers. Then again, maybe I'm going to
graduate with a job. The only realis-
tic conclusion that comes to mind is
that these men have created a new
strategy to meet women. Women love
a Bichon Frise, right? Women see a
Bichon Frise and say, "Wow! THAT
could go with my shoes," right? So
I getr at. But does havinga small
dog really make a guy more date-
able? Doesn't guiding a Papillon or
a Pekingese around and talking to
it affectionately give off some weird
vibes? Doesn't it seem to say, "I also
have an unmarked white van, not just
my littleLuluhere?"
There's also the sheer amount
of effort involved. Like most guys,
I didn't even know what a Bichon
Frise was before I started writing
this. It sounds like an entree, doesn't
it? (Actually, it's a white dog that's
approximately the size of a soccer
ball, only you can kick it further.) I
had to look itup on the Internetso you
think I know what I'm talking about.
(English majors: This is called adding
"ethos" to your writing.) I tend to do
this with most issues when their key
concepts elude me, which is why my
editors only let me write about cer-
tain things and fail to invite me to
parties. Anyway, if you're like me and
don't have a solid grasp of small dogs
in general, I'll save you some time. It's
safe to say that all small dogs either:
1. Look as though they've been
tossed ina dryer, or
2. Look as though they've been
tossed ina washing machine, or
3. Have no dog friends.
But let's get back to the effort of
becomingasmall-dogdude.Afteryoti-
do some research you actually have to;
buy one of these things, and that must.
be embarrassing.
Guy: Hi, I'm here for the - um
what's it called - Filet Mignon?
Breeder: You mean the Bichon
Frise?
Guy: Oh. That's it.
Real men don't buy
Dobermans. They,
buy Shih Tzus.
But who knows? Maybe small dogs
will be huge in a few years. Perhaps
in a short time, everyone will own
a small dog and large dogs will be
frowned upon and we'll be one step
closer to stopping global warming.
Perhaps the Chihuahua could be the
new symbol of masculinity. Maybe
in the near future when we turn on
the TV and a Wrangler Jeans com-
mercial comes on, it won't be guys'
playing football and enjoying one'
another's pants just a bit too much. It
will be guys walking their Shih Tzu's
and enjoying one another's pants just,
a bit too much, and we'll just have to
accept that.
In other, but not wholly unrelated,
news: Guys with small bikes who go
around doing stunts are still dumb.
Sorry.
- Will Grundler can be
reached at weruumich.edu.
The Daily is looking for a diverse group of strong, informed, passionate writers to
join the Editorial Board. Editorial Board members are responsible for discussing and
writing the editorials that appear on the left side of the opinion page.
E-MAIL ROBERT SOAVE AT RSOAVE@UMICH.EDU FOR MORE INFORMATION.
ALKA CHANDNA
Don't sacrifice animals for science
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EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS:
Nina Amilineni, Emad Ansari, Emily Barton, Ben Caleca, Brian Flaherty,
Emma Jeszke, Raghu Kainkaryam, Sutha K Kanagasingam, Erika Mayer,
Edward McPhee, Harsha Panduranga, Asa Smith, Brittany Smith,
Radhika Upadhyaya, Rachel Van Gilder, Laura Veith
DIANA FLORA |
The other side of Detroit
"This is an exciting time to be in Detroit,"
said Grace Lee Boggs, a 94-year-old activist.
"We're engaged in creating something new."
As I sat in the dimly-lit upstairs of the Boggs
Center, where many social justice activists had
sat before me, I looked to the other participants
of Semester in Detroit and saw women who
were as deeply moved and inspired by Grace's
words as I was.
This was April, and we had all spent the past
four months living, working and taking classes in
the city. Many of us had been challenged by the
harsh reality that Detroiters live with daily, but
beyond that, we had spent the past four months
having our preconceptions of Detroit shattered.
For this self-selecting group of liberal arts
students (and one arts student), the opportu-
nity to live in Detroit meant a variety of things.
For me, it was a way to connect with a city that
I was interested in on both an academic and
human level. After the program had finished,
we had collectively spent 3,000 hours volun-
teering for social service agencies, community
development corporations and community arts
organizations. I chose to work with Rashida
Tlaib (D-Detroit), the state House of Repre-
sentatives member for Southwest Detroit and
one of the few state legislators with an active
district office.
Largely because of my positive experience in
Semester in Detroit, I decided to take root in
the city after I graduated in May, and chose to
live in the district that I once served. Nestled
in the heart of southwest Detroit, I have more
daily interactions with my neighbors than I did
even in Ann Arbor. There's a community gar-
den two blocks from my house where I can go
pick a head of broccoli that I know was tended
to by neighbors and friends.
Though I'm still involved with Tlaib's office,
I now work as an AmeriCorps member for
Gleaners Community Food Bank on the east
side of the city. I set up nutrition education and
cooking classes for low-income folks in south-
east Michigan through a national program
called Operation Frontline. These classes are
facilitated by volunteer chefs and registered
dietitians who teach participants how to eat
healthily on a limited budget.
After living and working here for nine
months, I can't deny that there is some truth
to the media's negative portrayal of the city.
Violence and institutional corruption are pain-
ful realities that result from a history of racial
segregation and deindustrialization, which has
divided Detroit's population for more than a
century. This history is like a scar - physical
proof of the trauma the city has suffered and
yet evidence that there has been healing.
There is this Detroit, the one that people
fear, but the Detroit that interests me is the
one that is realistic about its own potential. I
see this in perspectives like those offered by
Boggs. These visionaries go beyond the idea of
"saving" the city. Rather, they recognize that
a complete restructuring is needed not only of
the city's infrastructure, but of what we think a
city is. Given Detroit's scars, revitalization will
necessarily be painfully critical and rational,
and people have already begun to think cre-
atively about it. This is the "something new"
that Boggs and many other Detroit residents
are engaged in.
I see a lot of hope in this kind of realistic
pragmatism. This is an exciting time to be liv-
ing in Detroit because the moment has come
for its re-imagining and restructuring. Detroit
residents have both the unique privilege and
the responsibility to engage themselves in this
revitalization. I'm happy to be part of this in
some way as a new resident of the city.
For those interested in learning more about
the program and our work in the city, come
to "Engaging Detroit - A Panel and Discus-
sion on Doing Community Work in Detroit" on
Wednesday, Sept. 23 from 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
in Dennison HAll, Room 110.
And a reminder - Semester in Detroit appli-
cations are due September 30. Get the applica-
tion online at www.semesterindetroit.com.
Diana Flora is a University alum.
As oversight specialist for People for the Ethical Treat-
ment of Animals, I spend a lot of time pouring over records
pertaining to the abuse of animals in laboratories - labo-
ratory inspection reports filed by governmental agencies,
animal use protocols outlining graphic details of experi-
ments and veterinary records describing the day-to-day
lives of animals that have suffered painful and deadly
tests in university laboratories.
I am sometimes surprised when I speak with college
students and others who imagine that animals are no lon-
ger used to test cosmetics (they are), that it's illegal to use
dogs and cats in invasive or painful experiments (it's per-
fectly legal), that animals are retired to sanctuaries after
they've been used in laboratories (most animals either die
in the course of the experiment or are killed afterward)
and that every precaution is taken to minimize the suffer-
ing of animals (this is demonstrably false).
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. After all, experi-
ments conducted on animals are done out of public view,
and when animal experimenters do discuss their "work,"
they use euphemistic terms that mask the cruelty that
they inflict on animals.
More than 115 million animals - including 70,000 non-
human primates, 72,000 dogs, 22,000 cats and 236,000
rabbits - are used in U.S. laboratories every year. And
the treatment of these animals is abysmal. Studies from
2005 and 2009 reveal that SO to 60 percent of rats and
mice who are subjected to painful experiments in which
deep incisions are made in their abdomens, chests and
skulls receive no post-surgical analgesic pain relief. A
2003 Harvard study found that nearly 90 percent of mon-
keys caged in laboratories engaged in abnormal behaviors
indicative of extreme psychological distress, including
self-mutilation and repetitive, neurotic behaviors such as
circling madly or incessantly running from side to side in
their cage.
Virtually nothing is prohibited in animal laboratories,
no matter how redundant, pointless or cruel it is. Animals
have holes drilled into their skulls, their spinal cords sev-
ered to cause paralysis, their eyes sewn shut and their
skin burned off. Even when modern alternatives to ani-
mal use are available, experimenters are not required to
use them and most of the time they don't.
There is only one federal law in the U.S. - the Animal
Welfare Act of 1966 - that governs the treatment of ani-
mals in laboratories, although this law fails to cover mice,
rats, birds and fish, who account for at least 95 percent
of the animals used in laboratories. That said, according
to multiple federal audits, even this law - which deals
mainly with caging and husbandry issues and covers only
a tiny fraction of the animals used in experiments - isn't
adequately enforced. These audits have also found that
the animals' last line of defense - oversight commit-
tees at individual laboratories, called Institutional Anir-
mal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs) - are failing at
their jobs, functioning as rubber-stamping committees in
which anything goes.
At the University, where 350,000 animals are used
each year, experimenters have addicted monkeys to every
drug under the sun, including cocaine, ecstasy, barbitu-
rates, methamphetamines, nicotine and alcohol. Rats and
mice have been used in studies of fear, anxiety, depression
and helplessness. One experimenter is using rats to study,
the benefits of green tea and another uses mice to study
the benefits of soy.
It's not just that the University's IACUC seems to be
happy to approve every scientifically fraudulent or cruel
protocol that crosses its desk. The University has also'
failed when it comes to basic, day-to-day animal care.
Mice in University laboratories have died of starvation,
and dehydration because people didn't notice that these.
animals had no food or water for days. In another instance,
cases of live mice were placed out with the trash, and thf
animals were crushed to death in a compactor.
In other instances, experimenters have conducted pro
cedures that had not been approved by the oversight com-'
mittee, causing animals immense pain and suffering. In'
fact, over a 6-month period from 2006 to 2007, the Uni-
versity violated federal animal protection regulations and'
guidelines more than 70 times.
Imprisoning and inflicting harm on other thinking,
feeling beings because they are weaker or look differ-,
ent, or because some people believe that our pain is more
important than theirs, is cruel and unethical. Students
deserve to know what happens inside the laboratories a
their school. I encourage all University students, staff and'
faculty to attend the "Testing ... One, Two, Three" forum'
today at 7 p.m. in Angell Hall, Auditorium B. People of all
opinions and backgrounds, particularly those who work
with animals or may work with animals in the future, are{
encouraged to attend.
Dr. Alka Chandna is a senior researcher with PETA. She,
will be speaking at the "Testing ... One, Two, Three" forum.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:
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include the writer's full name and University affiliation. Letters are edited for style, length, clarity and
accuracy. All submissions become property of the Daily. We do not print anonymous letters.
Send letters to tothedoily@umich.edu.
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