0 4A - Monday, November 29, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com E-MAILSIMON AT SIMKAL@UMICH.EDU C ii t ian Bal Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu SIMON BORST ti 0 f 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. Closed housing 'U' needs to work quickly to implement initiative D espite the best efforts of the Michigan Student Assembly and members of the Open Housing Initiative, gender-neu- tral housing will most likely not be an option for fall 2011 University housing. The proposal, which was presented to Univer- sity Housing last Monday, doesn't appear to be a feasible plan for the fall given the time-frame before housing options become available to students. This proposal's delay shows a clear breakdown in com- munication between student organizations and University Housing. Though this problem may have been avoided if the open housing proposal was submitted earlier, University Housing needs.to work with students to employ the new option as soon as possible to ensure that all students are in a comfortable living environment. I/ ol 0 I I Building safely in China After several months of discussion, Director of University Housing Linda Newman said that she's not optimistic that open housing will be an option for fall 2011 student housing, according to a Nov. 23 article in the Daily. Newman disclosed that as of last Tuesday night she had yet to see the proposal. Open Housing Initia- tive member Allison Horky noted that the group sent the proposal to administrators that day. Newman claimed in the article that since returning students sign up for rooming assignments in late January, there's not enough time to market and set up the housing option. The Open Housing Initiative allows stu- dents to choose open housing and live with a roommate of the opposite sex. The option is beneficial since it provides an addition- al housing choice for students seeking an alternative rooming assignment. The Open Housing Initiative aims to give students the most comfortable living situation pos- sible. University Housing needs to support the Open Housing Initiative because it's important that all students feel at ease in their living situation. Student organizations have been push- ing for open housing for more than one year. In December 2009, MSA passed a resolution asking the University to sup- port the housing option. And when stu- dents gave their input on the initiative last March, 67 percent of survey respondents said they welcomed the option and 38 per- cent said they would select the option. The following April, the Residence Halls Asso- ciation also voted to support open housing. There is clearly a high amount of student support for the initiative. Unfortunately,membersofthe Open Hous- ing initiative didn't submit their proposal for open housing in a timely manner for it to be implemented by fall 2011. Members failed to consider the necessary timeline for Univer- sity Housing to adjust to the new option. At the same time, University Housing should have been more proactive. Administrators could have monitored the Open Housing Initiative's progress and stepped in to help if they thought the initiative wasn't going to be finished in time. Had University Housing been more actively involved in the process, open housing may have been a viable option for students next fall. University Housing should have been more heavily involved in the Open Hous- ing Initiative from the beginning. Until open housing is available, many students will continue to be uncomfortable in their living situations. The Open Housing Ini- tiative and University Housing need to collaborate more closely to see if they can after open housing in a timely fashion. At the.Univers to seeing a ne project start week. In my 21 years of coming to Ann Arbor, I can't recall a time when there wasn't something being renovated or built. Yet the one thing that I have never questioned is the safety of the build- ings being erected. I guess we take for granted the care that goes into the design and constructi ings. Unfortunately, have the same faith in China is current world's fastest gro According to a Nov. zinc article, China nearly 40 percent oft and concrete consu certainly needs these efforts to construct at square feet of new ally. But this incred construction has con workmanship. Poor buildings and negI codes are becomingG cern in the booming c Two weeks ago, the city of Shanghai ing burned down, ki and sending anothe the hospital. The fire to nylon netting th: used to prevent cons ment and debris fri the street. The flam was set ablaze by unl working on the buil the first example of ment of regulations l dents. Last year, a ne' apartment building ity we're used tipped over because it was built atop w construction unstable ground. Recent earthquakes or finish every have also brought into question the stability of many buildings in China. Part of the reason behind the over- sight of proper safetytechniques comes fromChina's accelerated effort tomake buildings sustainable and energy effi- cient. There has been a recent push to go green quickly in the booming nation and that has come at the cost of taking the proper precautions to make sure buildings are up to code during and JOE after construction processes. With the collapse of faith in Chi- SUGIYAMA nese buildings, the question looms of how to fix this problem. The answer seems simple enough - more strin- ion of our build- gent enforcement of building codes China cannot - but this is easier said than done in sits structures, a country that builds such an incred- ly one of the ible amount. The magnitude of the wing countries. situation is all the more reason for 10 Time maga- China to fix its structural problems. accounts for With more than 1.3 billion people in the world's steel the country, China mustbe diligent in .mption. China its efforts to clean up its act and avoid materials in its risking more lives. bout 21.5-billion In many countries, civil engineers property annu- are held responsible for the buildings ible amount of that they design and construct. A ne at the cost of collapsed building due to an error in ly constructed planning on the part of the civil engi- ected building neer in the United States can result a cause for con- in a jail sentence. China is among ountry. those countries that holds engineers tragedy struck and contractors accountable for their when a build- buildings, but the prospect of jail illing 53 people doesn't seemto have muchofaneffect r 70 people to on the rashness of their construction. was attributed Contractors must be forced somehow at was illegally to slow down their construction. The truction equip- best way to do this may be to have om falling onto other companies inspect other build- smable material ings and enforce safety codes. icensed welders China should have no problem ding. This isn't forcing construction companies to dodgy enforce- submit to constant surveillance of eading too acci- their progress. Such surveillance wly-constructed would force companies to stop cut- in Shanghai ting corners and focus on the safety of their buildings at all stages of the construction process. Failure to prioritize safety would result in the company's time and money being spent to fix the mistakes later detected by a third-party inspection agency. If China doesn't see it fit to have strict inspectors monitor con- struction companies, it could turn to the U.S. for help. Our nation - which once constructed cities and buildings at a maddening pace - has insight that could help the Chinese make their transition into the future a safe one. The U.S. also has some of the best civil engineers in the world who could aid Chinese construction com- panies in implementing better build- ing codes and safer practices. As construction soars, China needs better standards. Whatever China is going to do about its current crisis, it needs to do so quickly. Its leniency in safety laws is reflected in its recent prob- lems. Chinese construction contrac- tors have and will continue to neglect security measures if no action is taken. I'm not saying that the con- tractors have no regard for the lives of others, but with no guidance or standards from the Chinese govern- ment, they are overlooking little risks - like a safety net made of an incred- ibly flammable material - in favor of quick results. If China wants to avoid further loss of life and embarrass- ment, the state of its buildings must be addressed promptly. - Joe Sugiyama can be reached at imsugi@umich.edu. 0 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. All submissions become property of the Daily. We do not print anonymous letters. Send letters to tothedaily@umich.edu. WILL BUTLER The need for jobless benefits An ode for my Michigan family My aunt and uncle came for Thanksgiving this year, as they do every year. We cooked a turkey, ate some pumpkin pie and watched a lot of football - like we do every year. And just like every year, a raucous political debate was stirred. Appropriately, we ended up debating what has become another holiday tradition - the extension of (or possible lack of an exten- sion of) federal unemployment benefits. The benefits are set to expire on Nov. 30, leaving 168,520 workers in Michigan without this aid. The expiration date also leaves Con- gress only two days to take quick and decisive action when it gets back from recess to extend the benefits. The debate my aunt and I had reflects a larg- er national debate. Republicans, like my aunt, say that the extension of unemployment ben- efits - which would cost only about $60 billion for one year - are a continuation of the out- of-control spending and deficit ignorance that characterizes the Obama administration. I find this kind of ironic, since she and almost every other Republican support extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest of citizens - a policy that would add an astounding $700 billion to the deficit over the next 10 years. This stance not only seems quite contradic- tory for any "deficit hawk," but there also isn't any proof that the Bush tax cuts would help the economy. Jobless workers who receive aid will - out of necessity for the basics - spend this money, and put it back into the economy. On the other hand, wealthy citizens who reap gen- erously from the Bush tax cuts will end up sav- ing the extra money thatthey would have spent on taxes because there is no immediate need to spend, which inevitably worsens the economy. But what frustrates me more than Repub- licans ignoring the economic arguments in this debate is when they resort to the incred- ibly trite behavioral arguments. These con- descending remarks consist of knocking the unemployed as lazy, whiny and dependent on government aid - as if these so-called gener- ous benefits were more than just a means to subsist. It's absurd to think that the meager amount given to the unemployed could possi- bly dissuade someone from looking for or even accepting a job. It's a fact that there is a scar- city of employment - especially in Michigan where the jobless rate is the second highest in the country. People who believe the image perpetuated by conservatives - that the unem- ployed live a luxurious life of free riding - are blatantly and naively ignorant of the reality of poverty and joblessness. It seems as though America is in desper- ate need of rethinking its priorities. While many Americans are struggling and so many are out of work, why are we, as a nation, even bothering to think about keeping the Bush tax cuts? Why are we even debating extending the unemployment benefits? Both legislators and voters alike need to realize that valuing and privileging the wealthy over the unemployed will eventually cause economic collapse. There is no reasonable economic or moral argument for not extending the unemployment ben- efits. Congress needs to act immediately after returning from recess to keep extending aid for the unemployed. Will Butler is an assistant editorial page editor. Editor's Note: This column is the second part of a two-part series in which the columnist reflects upon his experiences at the University. The window that, until recent- ly, was supplying a nice, cool breeze is now turning into a source of brain freeze - as the sun I begins to sink and turn the outdoors a dark orange, the ' temperature is dropping rapidly. As dusk emerges, I 3 close the window ' and turn on the lights. TOMMASO It seems impos- sible to do justice to the task at hand,_ recalling the happi- est memories from the happiest time of my life - my years as a Wolverine. Recalling the sad memories is easy because they are few and far apart. But by what criterion am I to distinguish amongst the golden moments that col- lectively make up the past three and a half years? As I begin to rewind the tape, I realize that what has made the dif- ference is the positive impact from all the friendships I've made while at the University. Breaking out of the shell During my sophomore year, I real- ized the extent to which living in Baits II housing the previous year - as a non- engineering student - had deprived me of the college experience. I never attended a football game, I never went to parties, I hadn't consumed a drop of alcohol and I spent most of my Friday nights writing essays. The transition started with John Hurlahe, a charismatic kid from Fran- kenmuth, Mich., - a town I was only aware of thanks to Bronner's Christ- mas Wonderland, the world's largest Christmas store. We had begun study- ing together for our economics classes, and it seemed that by October, there wasn't a day that went by where Ididn't see John for lunch or dinner. And soon it wasn't just John, it was also Ryan Kartje, John's neighbor, hailing from the little town of Milan, Mich. Itwas Alex O'Dell, John's room- mate, whose mind was in a constant state of creative stream of conscious- ness. It was Orfeh Vahabzadeh, Alex's girlfriend, simultaneously brilliant and hilarious. It was the entire Fran- kenmuth gang, alongwith alight sprin- kling of natives from my hometown of Troy who had also been engulfed by the group's magnetism. By December, I had attended sev- eral concerts. I made the horrible choice of going to one while wear- ing a ridiculous turtle-neck - shoot me now and forgive me later. I also had my first drink. "Yup, I can defi- nitely feel it?" I exclaimed in all my pathetic "lightweightness" after sev- eral sips of a Mike's Hard Lemonade. I finally bought football season tickets and expanded my social circle at an unprecedented rate. They say that you don't realize what you have until it's no longer there. But my sophomore year was the exact opposite - I didn't realize what I had missed until good ol' John and his gang danced their way into my life, addingcolor wherever black and white had been the rule. Branching out By junior year two new social spheres emerged: my fellow incoming classmates at the Ford School of Public Policy, and my resident advisors, com- munity assistants and ResStaff col- leagues in Stockwell Hall. The Ford School crew - a driven community of scholars who will be doing great things in high places while I will likely still be finishing my dis- sertation - provided constant intel- lectual stimuli. Mv Stockwell friends - a group of socially aware and ser- vice-minded individuals who'll offer you support when you most need it - challenged me to embrace social jus- tice and to challenge the status quo. And so it was that by the time my junior year was over, I felt like I had changed more in three years than I had over my entire lifetime prior to coming to the University. Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the great relationships I've had with my professors. I was lucky enough to get to know some brilliant scholars who cared deeply about their students and their individual interests. I attended conferences with them, chatted with them about life over cof- fee and received invaluable advice from them regarding graduate school. It goes without saying that it's because I respectmy professors thatI'm pursu- ing a career path in academia. What has made my Michigan difference. The final statement Despite my decision to attend the University because of its academic prestige, my Michigan years have been defined by positive relationships. The friends I've made here have been an unwavering source of support and have constantly challenged me to become abetter person. To my Michigan family, thank you for shining happiness into my life. I hope, in my own way, that I have held up a mirror and reflected some of it back. - Tommaso Pavone can be reached at tpavone@umich.edu. 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, Julian Toles, Laura Veith, Andrew Weiner