4A - Thursday, October 1, 2009 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu 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 ofttheir authors. Research rewards University research creates jobs, grows the economy or Michigan, research means economic growth. At a time when the state economy is failing and the state govern- ment's revenue sources are dwindling, investing in the work of research universities is a necessity. According to a report commis- sioned by the University Research Corridor, Michigan's economy increased by 1500 percent because of its investment in university research - a fact that slash-happy state legislators should keep in mind as they attempt to predict the state's financial future. Research universities are injecting needed jobs and growth into the economy, and they deserve continued support from the state. 4 The guy just cares so much about the institution. I mean, that's what he told us." - Charles Gifford, a board member of Bank of America, commenting on the resignation of CEO Kenneth Lewis, who recently came under fire for possibly illegal practices, as reported yesterday by the New York Times. A ha i-assed alternative The URC is a coalition of the state's research universities - Michigan State Uni- versity, Wayne State University and the Uni- versity of Michigan - formed in 2006. The report, conducted by the Anderson Econom- ic Group, showed a total of $1.4 billion was spent on research in the 2008 fiscal year. of that, $880 million came from state appropri- ations and the rest was funded through fed- eral money and local organizations. The URC generated an estimated $14.5 billion for the state's economy through job opportunities and estimated alumni earnings. It also cre- ated 28 startup companies over a 12-month period.- up 10 percent from 2007 - and has swelled $1.6 billion since the inception of the URC. The study shows that funding higher edu- cation, and particularly research, is not an irrational or idealistic idea, but one that dra- matically benefits the state. In additionto the potential to cure diseases and develop alter- native energy solutions, funding research creates jobs and attracts employers to the state. It also brings Michigan an intrinsic respect and vitality that gets people inter- ested in living and conducting business in the state. The opportunities provided by the URC can help foster this kind of community. The fact that research is important is no surprise to University of Michigan students and faculty, many of whom chose this school in part because of its research reputation and opportunities. More than 1000 fresh- men and sophomores alone participate in the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Pro- gram, a program that allows them to spend a year working with faculty on cutting-edge research. Opportunities like this to provide hands-on learning are attractive to aspiring minds, and bring more faculty and students here. But as it stands, the state's universities are like oases in a desert of unemployment. The wealth this state once derived from manu- facturing is gradually vanishing. Many ofthe tasks performed by working-class Michigan- ders are too easily shipped to places where labor and resources are cheaper. The value of the state shifting from manufacturing to research-based fields is hard to overestimate. Wayne State's research on biodiesel develop- ment, Michigan State's on biomass conser- vation and the University of Michigan's on organic solar cells have all contributed to economic development by promoting jobs in alternative energy fields. As important as it may be for the state gov- ernment to spend responsibly, money is never more valuable than when in the hands of the best and brightest innovators. Both state and federal governments should do their part to support research in the university setting and the opportunities it provides. When I first walked into East Quad upon my recent return to Ann Arbor, I was pleasantly sur- prised by much of the dorm's summer renovation. The lobby's new color scheme was mark- edly more tasteful and the new wood floors in many of - - ' the rooms were aM needed upgrade MATTHEW fromtheghastly,old GREEN linoleum. But when I walked out of the new basement laundry room to find that the Halfway Inn had been closed, I had to do a double take. I could see the need for certain improvements in the structure of the cafe, but to remove it entirely seemed extreme. For those who are perhaps unfamil- iar with the East Quad of old, the Half- way Inn was a retail-dining spot in the basement of the dormitory. It was dubbed "the Halfass" as a joke refer- ence to the lovably lukewarm attitude its workers had toward efficiently pre- paring food. But in fairness, the delay in food preparation probably had more to do with inadequate kitchen resourc- es rather than the indifference of the staff. The food, though hardly dietetic, was both well prepared and pleasing to undergraduate palates. And the ambience was everything one would expect from a caf6 in the basement of the quirky Residential College. An old piano sat in a corner of the room, against wallslined with eclectic record album covers. Couches and comfy chairs, in addition to standard cafete- ria tables, created a community caf6 feel out of an otherwise institutional space. And the odd, alternative music that often issued from a stereo in the kitchen was a reminder that the Hal- fass was a place in which conformity was not required of anyone. Yes, that's a predictable, clich6 sen- timent from a student in the RC. But East Quad's distinctive history as a haven for unconventional students is an important consideration that Uni- versity Housingseemstoignore. Hous- ing believes that by converting one of the two ground floor dining halls into a new retail dining cafe, it is recreat- ing a center for dormitory recreation. In some regards, it has succeeded - there are more tables in its substitute cafe, for example, and residents do buy food there. But it has failed in main- taining the time-honored tradition of offering made-to-order food. And more importantly, it has eliminated - the offbeat flair that made the Halfass worthwhile. The University certainly has the right to make structural changes to retail dining, but in moving away from the Halfass, the University has ignored the caf6's other function of providing a cultural center for the RC. I under- stand that the intended purpose of the Halfway Inn was to provide snacks and necessities to East Quad residents, and not simply to cater to the implicit and unusual needs of the Residential College. But students with alterna- tive interests are already relegated to the periphery by a University culture that deifies football players. They need a place where they can be comfortable in their own skin. At the moment, the Halfass still exists as the home of the East Quad Music Co-op. The EQMC will keep it breathing as the last vestige of the glo- rious, old East Quad until some distant Housing official decides that this is no longer a reason to keep the facil- ity maintained. But this is not good enough.Housingshouldkeeptheneeds of East Quad's historically uncommon students in mind and reverse the deci- sion to remove retail dining from the Halfass. If that proves too costly, then they ought to at least bring back the tradi- tion of prepared-to-order food to their new caf. This was a staple of the erst- while Halfass, and since the current facility has an even greater capacity than the basement kitchen to prepare ordered items, there's no reason why such food cannot be offered. More- over, the new cafe should be decorated and furnished in a way that caters to its community. Housing ought to let East Quad residents paint murals on the walls, perhaps, as administrators permit in the residential hallways. 'U' should change its plans for the quirky cafe. Lastly, I've heard that many in Housing were upset by the seemingly disrespectful name, "Halfass." But as freshmen male residents are quick to point out, the new name, "The Other Way Inn" is embarrassingly sugges- tive. Though I think this name evokes colorful imagery, I think a different I name might suit it better. It's sad that Housing found the "Halfass" moniker so objectionable. Because more than ever before, that name seems fitting for the retail dining option Housing is currently offering us. - Matthew Green can be reached at greenmat@umich.edu. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor. Letters should be less than 300 words and must 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. Extending HPVprotection SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU Daily misinterprets LGBT City Place housing isn't issues in Banton article worth the historical losses I I TO THE DAILY: I was so excited to see that the Daily decided to cover the Buju Banton concert controversy, and I appreciate the attention to LGBT issues on campus (Blind Pig: Controversial act still on, 09/30/2009). But I was very disappointed in what was missing from the article. I can see the value in including the perspective of Ms. Woods in the discussion, but her statements completely misrepresent the complexity of this issue. I wish your writer had done his own research to counter them. Buju Banton still performs, and proudly ref- erences, "Boom Bye-Bye," which clearly contra- dicts the argument that he has moved away from the beliefs he held when he wrote it 20 years ago. Also, since his signing of the Reggae Compassion Act two years ago, he has publicly denied signing it so that he can continue to include hate speech in his performances. Your article concerns me because it plays directly into a troubling trend on campus, which is to discount LGBT activism as whiny, petty and over-reactive. We did do our research. We live this hate every day, and we have the right to speak out about it. Diana Parrish School ofSocial Work TO THE DAILY: Regarding Monday's editorial, I agree that providing housing for all types of people is an admirable goal (From the Daily: Defeat by delay, 09/28/2009). However, the Daily should note that the seven houses proposed for demolition by City Place already provide affordable housing right now for students. New housing is more expensive than older housing, and anything new on that site will increase the cost of rent. The historic houses pro- vide green lawns and large trees - adding to the "green" aspects already in place. There is no need to dump tons of construction debris in a landfill if we preserve what is already there. We have a win-win situation with affordable housing for students and preserving important historic buildings. The houses are connected to important figures in Ann Arbor history that have given names to our streets and schools and provided a link to the past that many residents appreciate. I would also note that the city has approved an affordable housing project on North Main Street. In the long run, the city is better off without City Place. Susan Wineberg Alum his September marked an important breakthrough in sexual health: an FDA panel recommended Gardasil, the HPV vaccine, for males ages nine through 26. Last semester, I wrote multiple columns about the fact that although men and women have equal chances ROSE of getting genital warts - a symp- AFRIYIE tom of HPV - they don't have equal access to testing or vaccinations. Accurate tests and vaccinations are available for women but not widely available for men. Being the equality advocate that I am, when I learned that the vaccines would now be rec- ommended for both sexes, I started to do an Irish dance - yes, like the ones in the River Dance commercials that air at 5 a.m. - but halted mid-step. It's not my intent to do an about- face on this issue, but now that the vaccine is almost here I am totally conflicted. On one hand, men should take their sexual health more seri- ously because of how life-threatening health outcomes can affect them and, for heterosexuals, their female part- ners. The introduction of this vac- cine gives men an incentive to invest in their sexual health. But there are drawbacks when considering the decision making of Merck, the mak- ers of Gardasil, and the circumstanc- es surrounding how money has been spent to advocate for the vaccine. So, allow me to interrupt the non-stop vaccine related content dedicated to the swine flu to tackle the business of Gardasil. My beef with Gardasil is really a beef with the unethical practices of Merck, the pharmaceutical giant that currently has a monopoly over the HPV vaccine in the U.S. A report pub- lished in an Aug. 27 edition of Busi- ness Week reminded us of Merck's decision in 2006 and 2007 to lobby lawmakers to make the vaccine man- datory in some states. To boot, the article notes that we still aren't in the know about long-term effects of Gar- dasil. other ethical questions arise when we consider how health care provid- ers have been influenced by Merck's monetary muscle. A report in an Aug. 19 issue of the Journal of the Ameri- can Medical Association revealed that Merck doled out grants to profes- sional medical organizations, which ostensibly promoted medical profes- sionals to advocate for Gardasil. This report also noted that Merck's strat- egy put an increasing focus on all women and not populations that were most at risk to contract HPV. Perhaps most intriguing is the need for critical questions that evalu- ate vaccination against preventative testing - something that men still lack in the case of HPV. This was best captured by Dr. Diane Harper, director of the Gynecologic Cancer Prevention Research Group at Dart- mouth, who was featured in a Los Angeles Times report that ran last year on Aug. 11. "If we vaccinate every single 12-year-old, it should reduce by half the number of cervical cancers in the next 35 years... (but) with Pap screening, we've reduced it by nearly 75%," she said. Knowing that, this is my formal plea to Merck to invest in HPV testing for men if they haven't already started to do so. But to Merck's credit, Gardasil can't be all bad if it is one formality away from being widely available for men. A CNN report that ran on Sep. 9 noted that clinical trials revealed a 90 percent reduction in the infec- tion of genital warts and cancerous lesions. Further, in an interview with Medical Director of UHS Dr. Robert Ernst, he confirmed, "The vaccine in men would help to prevent the spread of HPV to susceptible women, and therefore indirectly help to reduce the likelihood of cervical cancer in women." He also noted that Gardasil would vaccinate against penile can- cers and gay men will have an oppor- tunity to prevent strands of HPV that could possibly cause anal cancers. Gardasil for women at UHS costs $173 per shot when you include the health care provider's fee. Side effects from the vaccine include pain where you get the shot and a low- grade fever. Men should start thinking about sexual health, too. I Beyond these facts are also key advantages. First, it's important to note that the college setting makes it easy to get vaccinations. It's acces- sible to go to UHS because it's on campus and it's relatively simple to book an appointment. In the real world, you may have to travel miles away from your residence and cram three appointments in between your nine-to-five work schedule. Second, for both men and women, getting the vaccine can be a gateway to checking up on other aspects of your sexual health and asking your provider sex- ual health questions. Lastly, perhaps most obvious, it will be really hard for you to contract genital warts - an infection that con- doms won't protect you from but the vaccine will. Not getting warts isn't just good for your health but also your genital self-esteem. I can see the Merck commercials now: "With penis size anxiety and maintaining an erection, you'll have one less thing to worry about: warts!" - Rose Afriyie is the Daily's sex and relationships columnist. She can be reached at sariyie@umich.edu. HARUN BUL JINAt E-MAIL HARUN AT BULJINAH@UMICH.EDU Fiscal conservatismrides to the rescue.. - . ' ~ Q 1 \ EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: Nina Amilineni, Emad Ansari, Emily Barton, Harun Buljina, Ben Caleca, Brian Flaherty, Emma Jeszke, Raghu Kainkaryam, Sutha K Kanagasingam, Erika Mayer, Harsha Panduranga, Edward McPhee, Asa Smith, Brittany Smith, Radhika Upadhyaya, Rachel Van Gilder, Laura Veith 4