4 - Tuesday, November 16, 2010 311: g ll4811 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.co E-MAIL ELAINE AT EMISRT dUMICH.EDI ELAINE MORTON Cl~-si)om slilr!um - N- VGr-)RG&IXLAT ION Jvfdy sAest? JACOB SMILOVITZ EDITOR IN CHIEF RACHEL VAN GILDER EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR MATT AARONSON 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. Combating mental illness 'U' should increase resources and funding to CAPS he mental health of students is a serious concern on col- lege campuses. College students simultaneously manage a heavy course load, busy social lives, internships and extracurricular activities - and they do this all while adjusting to life as an adult. The combination of so many expectations and responsibilities can lead to depression and anxiety. This is by no means a new problem, but studies show that the number of stu- dents with mental health issues has increased in recent years, prompting increased need for a University response. The Univer- sity must respond to students'needs and devote more resources to developing and improving systems that help students cope. 3 1 1 1 r Cs sic on al dr th la' fr' st' ist lo se a ne A Loko reason for regulation he nannies in our government a drink very similar to Four Loko. Phusion Projects, Inc.'s website, the are at it again. Citing health In other words, the measure will producer of the drink. The Michi- dangers, the Michigan Liquor likely have no effects whatsoever gan Liquor Control Commission can'4 ontrol Commis- on University drinking habits or the seriously ask anyone to believe that on announced number of students hospitalized for consumers don't know what they're Nov. 4 that 55 alcohol-related harm. Central Wash- purchasing when they buy Four Loko) coholic energy ington University Police Captain It's difficult to believe that anybody has 'inks, including Mike Luvera informed me during a been misled into thinking that clearly- e recently-popu- Nov. 8 phone interview that there marked Four Loko cans aren't alcohol4 r Four Loko, will had been several alcohol-related cita- ic or caffeinated. on be banned tions issued to students who reported An unconsidered aspect in all this is om the shelves of drinking Four Loko and other alco- the negative effects for the consumers. ores statewide. holic energy drinks - even after the By supplying the public with an inex- This paternal- ALEX school president and mainstream pensive alcoholic beverage, Four Loko tic response fol- BILES media alleged that caffeinated alco- was responding to consumer desires. ws an alleged hol was the latest threat to public People who once had to deal with anot- xual assault of health. so-tasty array of $3-beverages could 14-year-old girl Thereis absolutelyno empirical evi- choose to consume a fruity alcoholic 'ar Detroit and another episode dence behind the warnings that these energy drink if they wished. According to a Nov. 10 article in the Daily, the National College Health Assess- ment from this past spring found the the number of students with feelings of depression, anxiety, stress and sleep trou- bles have risen from previous years. This fact worries health officials including Director of University Health Services Dr. Robert Winfield and Tim Davis, associate director of the University's Counseling and Psychological Services - more com- monly referred to as CAPS. To address this problem, UHS is working to start routine student mental health evaluations. CAPS is attempting to increase the size of its staff to accommodate students' needs. Officials are unsure of the reason for these recent increases in reported mental health problems. But it's possible that the decreas- ing stigma surrounding counseling for the stress of college life has contributed to the rise. More students are also coming into the University with mental health diagnoses and may require continual assistance dur- ing their time here. In addition, students must also adjust to and deal with Michi- gan's competitive academic environment - an environment that creates high levels of stress. The University should be aware of this concern and ensure that its students are well-informed about where to seek help and advice when they feel overwhelmed. Mental illnesses often go undiagnosed and untreated, which can allow a small, solvable problem to grow into something potentially unmanageable. UHS's plan to expand mental health screenings should help decrease how often these problems go unnoticed. This is a crucial service - and students should make use of it if they begin to feel unreasonably stressed, depressed or otherwise unwell. Though diagnosing an issue is important, it's only half of the battle. The next part of the process is treatment. Students at the University are fortunate to have the CAPS program available, but they need to be able to access it. Currently, CAPS simply can't handle the influx of students who need its services - there are too many students seek- ing counseling and not enough employees or space to accommodate everyone in a timely manner. The University must make sure that CAPS has the necessary resources to ade- quately meet all students' needs. Mental illness as a result of stress is an unfortunate reality for college stu- dents, but it doesn't need to cripple stu- dents' functioning. The University should increase funding and resources to CAPS and encourage students to participate in screenings. It should do everything pos- sible to help students - and make them aware that help is available. involving nine Central Washington University students who were hospi- talized upon excessive consumption of the caffeinated malt liquor. In the caseofthe 14-year-old, the loth-grader testified that she had been drinking a mixture of Four Loko and rum, and later Hennessy at a motel room outside of Detroit. But there were numerous factors that contributed to this tragic assault - including the girl's age, the large quantity of alcohol consumed and the actions of the men who alleg- edly assaulted her. To single out Four Loko as the main villain is a rash and reactionary decision by the state. Across the country, Central Wash- ington University President James Gaudino banned Four Loko from his campus. Administrators at Central Washington hsave heavily discouraged use of the drink. And while Gaudino and MLCC Commissioner Patrick Gagliardi will tell you that their bans are about protecting your health, take their words with a grain of salt. The regulators want it to seem like they're doing students a favor by curtailing irresponsible behavior. But the ban's effects on the drinking habits of University students will be immaterial. To meet the desire for caffeinated alcohol, many students will simply resort to purchasing energy and alcohol drinks separately and then combining them, producing products are more dangerous than other drinks that combine alcohol and caffeine. The mass hysteria created by the media and regulators in response to a product that the Food and Drug Administration has yet to complete testing is premature and ill advised. In fact, figures show that Four Loko is a less dangerous alternative to the practice of combining alcoholic and caffeinated drinks independently. The volume of alcohol in Four Loko is comparable to the amount in five shots of vodka. Holding this level of alcohol constant, mixing a regular can of Red Bull with five shots of vodka would result in a caf- feine-to-alcohol ratio that is 1.3 times greater than Four Loko. Four Loko isn't especially dangerous. The fact is overconsumption of anything can be hazardous to one's health. Modera- tion is the best policy. But health concerns about Four Loko aren't the only figures that fail to hold water. According to a Nov. 4 release from the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth, Four Loko's "packaging is often mis- leading" - though the body offers no facts to back up this claim. But in fact, a glance at a can of Four Loko shows that its alcohol by volume warning of 12 percent is prominently displayed in large letters - the largest font size allowed by federal law, according to The MLCC's Four Loko ban is rash and reactionary. And while I would pass on any offer to drink Four Loko, that doesn't mean that everyone should be required to. The move of two government regula- tors on the MLCC to reduce the choices of a state of millions of people with no data or testimony to back their deci- sion amounts to nothing but the low- est form of government paternalism. A panel of two individuals should not have the power to turn their personal preferences into moral imperatives that require imposition through force. With a ban in place, Gagliardi and liquor regulators are reducing the choices for Four Loko aficionados to spend their money as they see fit. Without a shred of scientific evidence to back up their claims, the rash and reactionary government decision to ban caffeinated alcohol needs to be reconsidered. Alex Biles can be reached at jabiles@umich.edu. I I EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: Aida Ali, Jordan Birnholtz, Will Butler, Eaghan Davis, Michelle DeWitt, Ashley Griesshammer, Will Grundler, Jeremy Levy, Erika Mayer, Harsha Nahata, Emily Orley, Harsha Panduranga, Teddy Papes, Tommaso Pavone, Leah Potkin, Roger Sauerhaft, Asa Smith, Laura Veith, Andrew Weiner ZACK GRANT | 'U' should hold spring concert LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor. Letters should be fewer than 300 words and must include the writer's full name and University affiliation. Letters are edited for clarity, length and factual accuracy. All submissions become property of the Daily. We do not print anonymous letters. Send letters to tothedaily@umich.edu. The power of nuclear plants Last May, I visited a friend at Cornell Uni- versity for their annual Slope Day event and saw hip-hop artist Drake perform. That same spring, my friends at Syracuse University were graced by the up-and-coming superstar's pres- ence at their MayFest, while another friend at Brown University enjoyed performances by MGMT and Snoop Dogg at Brown's annual Spring Weekend. Since the University has such an early end to the academic year, there was a noticeable group of Wolverines in attendance at Slope Day. As we all discussed our summer plans and waited for Drake to start his set, the same thought was on everyone's mind: we could do this so much better - if only we had such an event. Ann Arbor isn't generally a stop on the tours of the majority of headline acts. Artists who choose to perform in Michigan typically stop in Detroit or at The Palace of Auburn Hills. For an act to play Detroit one night and Ann Arbor the following night doesn't make any sense for an artist. Between the overlapping of ticket markets and the current struggling state of Michigan's economy, artists don't have any financial incentive to perform in both Detroit and Ann Arbor. This is an unfortunate reality that University students looking to attend con- certs have had to accept. With the accessibility of mass transit into Detroit lagging far behind other major cities, traveling from Ann Arbor is often limited to driving or taking a costly taxi. For many students, these options are simply implausible - and the void of music continues. But what if there is a way to make perform- ing in Ann Arbor not purely a business decision? What if there was a systematic way to make see- ing music easier for all Michigan students? If the University of Michigan, like Cornell, Syra- cuse, Brown and countless other schools around the country, created its own music event, more major artists would perform in Ann Arbor. An annual, school-run concert would transform Ann Arbor from its role as second fiddle to Detroit on the musical spectrum, to a city with a legitimate musical event with a massive and enthusiastic student audience. Students who previously struggled with the logistics of traveling to Detroit would have the opportunity to see their favorite artists without having to worry about the difficul- ties of transportation. The economy in Ann Arbor would also stand to benefit because a music event would bring an influx of people to the city and to its local restaurants, bars and other establishments. But most importantly, an annual music event would give major musical acts a definitive reason to put the University down as a stop on their tours. I'm confident our student body would make it worth the while of any entertainer who comes to perform on cam- pus. Modesty aside, students at the University are pretty good at cultivating some of the most memorable experiences. We're the school that puts on one of the most exciting athletic spec- tacles for seven or eight Saturdays every fall. We're the school that had the president of the United States as its commencement speaker this spring. We're the school that celebrates St. Patrick's Day not just on the day itself, but also on the Saturday before. Simply put, students at the University are masters of magnifying every experience to the grandest scale possible. This attitude needs to transcend into the produc- tion of an annual campus-wide music event. over the summer, my friends and I routine- ly talked about various aspects of our college experiences. When we came upon the subject of spring concerts, my friends all asked, "Who performed at Michigan's spring concert?" and not, "Does Michigan have a spring concert?" Like my friends did this summer, the Univer- sity student body should expect the University to create a signature music event. As a univer- sity, we have proved throughout our rich his- tory that we are capable of almost anything. An annual music event would not only give students a better opportunity to see major art- ists perform, but also would establish another memorable event as part of the impressive fab- ric of the University. Zack Grant is an LSA sophomore. arly this month, German citi- zens gathered in the thou- sands to protest trains and trucks entering their country from France. The con- tents of the trains in question was reprocessed nucle- ar waste. It seems that Germans were upset with their government's recent decision to JOE extend the life of SUGIYAMA their 17 nuclear power plants by 12 years. The exten- sion is under fire because it moves Germany further from its original plan for its nuclear power plants - to have all plants phased out by 2021. Government officials have responded to protests - which have become commonplace in the past few years - by stating that they cur- rently don't have a solid alternative to nuclear power and shutting down current plants would leave the coun- try without a reliable energy supply. But the protesters aren't buying this excuse. They seem to believe that the next Chernobyl disaster is right around the corner. It's easy to understand the protest- ers' concerns. Nuclear plant accidents aren't exactly something that can be taken care of overnight. The 1986 Chernobyl disaster, for instance, dev- astated a large region of Europe after a reactor failed and released a large plume of radioactive fallout. It eventu- ally forced more than 350,000 people to relocate because of unsafe levels of radiation. This is obviously an unac- ceptable result, but that is the most extreme example ofa plant failure ever. Currently, the U.S. has the largest number of nuclear power plants in the --the podium world - but it hasn't constructed a new plant in nearly 37 years. Obama's cap-and-trade plan includes a provi- sion to set aside $36 billion for the construction of nuclear facilities. But due to our current economic situa- tion, there hasn't been a push to raise taxes to create new plants. According to a Nov. 11 CNN article, people like Whitney Stanco - an analyst at the Washington Research Group - sug- gested that using the money as a loan instead of grants could jumpstart the plan, which would reduce our nation's dependence on fossil fuels. Even if the $36 billion in federal subsidies is granted to power com- panies, there's still reluctance to put more workers and civilians at risk of a major accident like Chernobyl. But Chernobyl should be looked at as an anomaly rather than the norm. Though there have been similar acci- dents since 1986, no failures have occurred on the same scale as the Chernobyl incident. A properly main- tained and managed nuclear power plant offers many solutions to our current energy, environmental and economic problems. The capital cost associated with nuclear power plants comprises a large majority of total cost. Uranium is a fairly common element in the Earth's crust. One pound of it has roughly the same energy content as 2 million pounds of coal, meaning we need much less fuel to run a nuclear plant than a coal-fired power plant. Less fuel means lower production costs - even when considering the price of the enrichment process. The environmental impacts can't be ignored, either. Coal-fired power plants release large amounts of carbon dioxide, sulfur - resulting in acid rain - and fly ash. On the other hand, the byproducts of nuclear plants include radioactive waste, but this waste is on a much smaller scale than the outputs of coal plants. With recent advance- ments in technology, scientists and nuclear engineers are finding better ways to reprocess this waste and have the potential to make nuclear plants self-sufficient in terms of fuel. Nuclear power plants would reduce our dependence on foreign fossil fuels, increasing our nation's ability to operate on our own terms. In times of turmoil abroad, it's vital that we become an energy-indepen- dent nation. Nuclear power is a sensible energ alternative. The German protesters seem to have a "not in my backyard" mental- ity. What they aren't grasping is that nuclear energy is one of the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly forms of power. The U.S. should look at the brighter side of this form of energy - lower energy cost, lower carbon footprint and less dependence on foreign fuels. Using nuclear power seems like a no-brainer when considering all the positive benefits. Though the cons can't be thrown to the wind, safer practices and new technologies that prevent accidents and reduce radio- active waste justify the risks. Like it or not, nuclear power is going to be a part of our future. It would be best for our country and environment if we embraced it. - Joe Sugiyama can be reached at jmsugi@umich.edu. J I Seeing Red: Kylie Kagan points out that legalizing recreational sarijuana could be great for the economy - and give citizens back their civil liberties. Go to michigandaily.com/blogs/The Podium.