4A - Wednesday, February 23, 2011
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
4A - Wednesday, February 23, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
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Wfiiigan]):al
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Engineering innovation
STEPHANIE STEINBERG
EDITOR IN CHIEF
MICHELLE DEWITT
and EMILY ORLEY
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS
KYLE SWANSON
MANAGING EDITOR
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board. A
All other signed articles and illustrations representsolely the views of their authors.
F R OM T HE D AILY
Share the load
Budget cuts should be equally distributed
At a time when an alarming number of Americans are unem-
ployed and facing financial hardship, many people rely on gov-
ernment aid to supplement their incomes - or lack thereof.
The Republican controlled House, however, seems apt to balance the
budget on the backs of low-income Americans - specifically women
and children. On Feb. 18, an amendment to an important budget bill
was passed 240-185 that would end federal funding for many service
organizations, including Planned Parenthood.
nnovation has become quite
the buzzword. Josh Silverman,
the CEO of Skype, stressed it
during the Uni-
versity's Entre-
preneurship
Hour speaker
series two weeks
ago. Googling
"Mary Sue Cole-
man Innovation"
yields more than
50,000 results. ERIK
Let's imagine TORENBERG
Evan the engi-
neer, inspired
after leaving Entrepreneurship
Hour. He spends 40 hours of his next
week doing problem sets. While he's
developing his quantitative abilities,
he isn't relating this work to other
information that may spark new
ideas. Thinking innovatively is for-
eign to him because he spends much
of his time not being innovative. His
current box - his available cognitive
space - is so full he can't think out-
side of it.
It's no wonder Evan - although
this applies just as much to Hill-
ary the history major - has trouble
altering his mindset. While people
tell him to challenge conventional
wisdom, his reward mechanisms
encourage him to be subservient. He
is incentivized to solve problems and
regurgitate information, not to come
up with ideas even his professors
haven't thought of.
Evan hears Republican Gov. Rick
Snyder speak the following week
to announce winners of the Clean
Energy Prize competition and nods
in agreement as Snyder urges the
audience to be innovative. Then
Evan undergoes a similar, non-inno-
vative workweek. The cycle contin-
ues.
Evan's problem isn't awareness
- it's implementation. He has step
one down. He knows he needs to be
innovative. He just doesn't know
how. He doesn't need continuous
doses of step one. He needs steps
two, three and four. Evan can't
learn how to be innovative by con-
tinuously hearing inspirational
anecdotes. To learn the next steps,
he has to radically transform how
he views his education. He will not
attend class to receive an education
- he will acquire it. one mindset is
passive, the other is active.
While he values a knowledge
base, he will also value the abil-
ity to manipulate, connect and
produce information from that
knowledge base. He will carry a
notebook with him at all times that
stores all his ideas, no matter how
crazy. He knows that the process
will improve his ability to gener-
ate ideas. Even if he won't use them
again, he acknowledges that they
may spark a tangential idea three
weeks from now. Those collec-
tions of ideas may lay dormant until
culminating into the big one that
strikes in a couple years.
He will share his ideas with
friends and those who may provide
insight, while inturn seekingto hear
their ideas. He will read relevant, as
well as random, information out of
genuine curiosity. He'll harass pro-
fessors about the things they didn't
mention. He will understand that
becoming innovative is an active
process in which he will receive lit-
tle feedback.
Evan can't directly be taught how
to be creative, but he can place him-
self in an environment conducive to
developing innovative thinkers - a
culture that encourages making and
learning from mistakes and having
a physical and mental space where
people can gather and engage in
self-designed projects. What if the
University encouraged students to
allocate time and cognitive space to
pursuing collaborative projects in
the same way Google does with its
employees? Google's concept of 20
percent time - a policy that allows
engineers to spend one day a week
working on a non-work related proj-
ect - is known for cultivating a cul-
ture of innovation.
Writer Steven Johnson high-
lights the importance of incen-
tives, proclaiming that great ideas
don't result from solitary eureka
moments in the woods. They arise
from liquid networks - environ-
ments where ideas are in constant
contact with each other.
The University has started to
value such an environment. It offers
classes where students work in
teams to pursue ventures. The 1,000
Pitches competition encouraged stu-
dents to present and work on their
business ideas. While the project
is primarily business oriented, the
same concept could be aimed toward
students who are more interested in
targeting specific social issues. It
could be called something like Solv-
ing 1,000 Problems.
*I
The amendment's sponsor Rep. Mike Pence
(R-Ind.) has been a longtime opponent of
Planned Parenthood. According to the Detroit
News, Michigan Planned Parenthood clinics
alone will lose $5 million in funding if the bill
passes through the Senate. This amendment,
along with other parts of the bill, stems from
the simple fact that $50 billion of cuts need to
be made. But taking away necessary programs
and funding aimed to help woman and the poor
is irresponsible.
The amendment is largely an anti-abortion
measure. Planned Parenthood is one of the
major providers of abortions in the nation -
though they can't use federal funds to pay for
abortions except in cases of rape, incest or
when the mother's life is at risk. The organi-
zation is constantly targeted by conservatives,
including Fox News host Glenn Beck. Critics
don't realize that an overwhelming majority
of Planned Parenthood's patients visit clinics
for reasons other than family planning. These
include HIV counseling, sexual identity coun-
seling, sexually transmitted disease testing
and cancer screening. These are necessary ser-
vices that go beyond party politics.
Equally troubling is the plan for this bill to
slash 10 percent of funding for Woman, Infant,
and Children - a service of the United States
Departfient of Agriculture that provides food,
health care referrals and nutrition information
to low-income mothers.ADec. 2003 University
of California Los Angeles study showed that
pregnant women who participate in WIC have
healthier babies than those who do not. This
program, vital to the survival and nutrition
of many American families, is set to lose $747
million. While a10-percent cut seems insignifi-
cant, it would do great damage to the women
who rely on WIC to provide essentials for their
children.
Most patients of Planned Parenthood and
WIC recipients are poor women. Cutting
them off from effective and inexpensive med-
ical care and financial support isn't the right
way for Congress to go about balancing the
budget. There are other areas of the budget
that should have been brought to the bargain-
ing table first. The enormous Department of
Defense budget, the Bush-era tax incentives
and cuts for the wealthy should also be exam-
ined as possible areas to reduce spending and
generate revenue before welfare programs are
completely eliminated.
There is no doubt that cuts and sacrific-
es need to be made by all Americans as the
nation's budget woes are addressed. But it's
important that those sacrifices are distributed
equally throughout every sector of the popu
lation.
Many Republicans may be opposed to abor-
tion, but using personal morals to make budget
cuts at the expense of those less fortunate is
unacceptable. The general well-being of low-
income Americans shouldn't be a bargaining
chip in a political game.
The problem isn't
awareness - it's
implementation.
While providing incentives will
encourage innovation, students
should value the inherent ben-
efits involved in cultivating such
an environment. Is there a better
environment for liquid networks
than the University? Students have
the ability to share ideas with their
peers, knowledgeable professors
and eager alumni - they just have
to care to do it. Evan may organize
a meeting to do this after Entrepre-
neurship Hour.
The next time he hears that he
needsto challenge conventional wis-
*dom, he will stop and look around.
As the crowd nods their heads in
unison, Evan will consider: How so?
Which conventional wisdoms? And
in challengingthem, what new ques-
tions will he propose?
He may even skip the talk alto-
gether, opting to pursue some other
self-designed project instead. He
may hypothesize that those speak-
ers probably would have done the
same thing.
-Erik Torenberg can be
reached at erikto@umich.edu.
-he B logging Blue: Will Butler explains why Republican Gov.
Rick Snyder's proposed budget stinks.
Od IUm Go to michigandaily.com/blogs/The Podium
In defense of snowflakes
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS:
Aida Ali, Will Butler, Ellie Chessen, Michelle DeWitt, Ashley Griesshammer,
Melanie Kruvelis, Patrick Maillet, Erika Mayer, Harsha Nahata, Emily Orley,
Harsha Panduranga, Teddy Papes, Asa Smith, Seth Soderborg, Andrew Weiner
L E TTERS TO TH EDITOR SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@MICHIGANDAILY.COM
9I
GEO objectives need to be
properly represented
TO THE DAILY:
I was disappointed by the many misrepre-
sentations contained in The Michigan Daily's
recent editorial concerning the efforts of
graduate student research assistants to form
a union (One union doesn't fir all, 02/22/2011).
The editorial said that the Graduate Employ-
ees'Organization had "overstepped its bounds"
in efforts to unionize GSRAs. The piece's tone
also indicated that GEO was trying to bully the
University into making GSRAs join GEO.
Both of these suggestions are false. First,
in the current contract negotiations between
GEO and the University, the subject of GSRAs
is what is known as a "permissive subject" of
bargaining, as the Daily points out. The Uni-
GSRAs are enthusiastic
aboutjoining GEO
versity is within its rights not to discuss the
issue. However, GEO also has a right to bring
the issue up at the table - it's not somehow
out of bounds.
But more important is the misrepresenta-
tion of what precisely GEO wants. The union
isn't trying to get GSRAs incorporated into
the union by the stroke of a pen against their
will. Instead, we want the Universityto agree
to a process under which GSRAs can make
their own decisions about whether or not
they want to have a union. Specifically, we
want the University to remain neutral during
the organizing campaign and not spread mis-
information among GSRAs while they think
about their decision to sign a card signifying
that they want union representation.
Samantha Montgomery
Organizing Committee Chair, Graduate
Employees' Organization
ing hundreds of conversations with individual
GSRAs across campus. The vast majority of
these conversations are polite, friendly and
informative for both the organizer and the
GSRA - I should know as I've taken part in
some of them. At the end of the day, roughly
three quarters of GSRAs approached so far
have signed a membership card. Certainly
there are a few GSRAs who don't want a union
- and we don't bully them or anyone else into
signing cards - but they are dwarfed by the
overwhelming numbers of graduate employees
who are enthusiastic about their new member-
ship in the Graduate Employees' Organization.
In its future coverage of this issue, I hope the
Daily backs claims with detailed evidence.
Patrick O'Mahen
Rackham student
travesty is ravaging the city
of Ann Arbor.
Akin to genocide, snow-
flakes - lost and
without a home
are being
trampled left
and right. For
some, this means
melt. For oth-
ers, it just means
the pain of being
trampled. Why? ERIC
Because many SZKARLAT
people are not
shoveling or
salting their sidewalks. Nary in his-
tory has such a widespread geno-,
cide gone so unnoticed.
In 1986, a radical group formed
the People for the Humane Treat-
ment of Snowflakes (PHTS). The
group was founded on the belief that
snowflakes are people too - er, well,
not exactly, but I think you under-
stand the point. "No snowflake,"
states the preamble to the PHTS
charter, "ought to be trampled and
left for melt because a tenant has
not properly kept their property."
Some think snowflakes that land
on sidewalks deserve to get tram-
pled for landing on our sidewalks.
"If they didn't land there, they
wouldn't have been trampled," said
a prominent House Republican.
But this philosophy is noth-
ing short of social darwinism and
should be discouraged. It's not.of
the snowflakes' fault that they land
where they do. PHTS has worked
hard to make sure that people
understand that snowflakes have
very little choice in where they land.
PHTS has a simple solution:
Sidewalks should be shoveled. This
simple gesture would save millions
of snowflakes from ahorrible fate of
melt and refreeze.
PHTS isn't mum on the issue of
salting, either. Their official web-
site policy states: "PHTS recognizes
that salting is a suitable alternative
to shoveling. This spares snowflakes
the .embarrassment and agony of
being trampled." Opponents, of
course, are quick to find this hypo-
critical. They question whether we
should believe that PHTS is actually
invested in improving conditions
for snowflakes, or whether they are
merely invested in their own per-
sonal gain.
And the opposition might be
on to something there. The PHTS
website also goes into great detail
regarding the human benefit from
snow removal: "Laborers, students
and the physically disabled all use
sidewalk paths regularly. These
paths may become dangerous when
walked on repeatedly, as friction
causes melt and the melted snow
then refreezes, forming ice patches.
These ice patches can often cause
people to slip and fall, causing inju-
ries."
I can see the point they're trying
to make. I walk past Alpha Delta
Phi fraternity on State Street every
day, and in the winter, it's a trek. I
can't even make it to the Union bus
stop in time if I run. Between the
boots and the six inches of snow, it's-
almost impossible. And I know that
in just a fewweeks the snowis going
to be completely iced over. Then I
won't be able to walk on it, let alone
run to catch a bus.
Then I consider the mail carriers
who are obligated to report to every
house in the city. At least where I'm
from, the mail carriers have the
option to cease delivery if the mail-
box is inaccessible, but it almost
seems like that never happens here.
I don't think the people on Cross
Street can go without mail for an
entire month. But the snow stays
there the whole time. Mail carriers
should just cease delivery, though,
and as long as they have that option,
I can't offer them any sympathy.
Residents should
keep their
sidewalks clear.
I heard a campus, myth that
you can actually get ticketed up
to $1,000 if you don't shovel your
sidewalks. I laughed when I heard
it first. But really, I can't wait until
The Michigan Daily asks Univer-
sity President Mary Sue Coleman
whether it's true or not.
No, I'm not deranged, high or
stupid. Yes, "People for the Humane
Treatment of Snowflakes" is com-
pletely fictional. But if treating
snowflakes humanely is what gets
you to shovel your snow, I'm not
complaining. The problems and
annoyances of people not salting
and shoveling their sidewalks are
very real, so I implore the citizens
of Ann Arbor to shovel or salt their
sidewalks. It's difficult, I know -
we all have class. But if you won't do
it to avoid the fines, the liability, or
for the students, the mail carriers,
or the physically disabled, please:
Do it for the snowflakes.
-Eric Szkarlat can be reached
at eszkarla@umich.edu.
TO THE DAILY:
Among several slipshod arguments in its
Feb. 21 editorial regarding the unionization
efforts of graduate student research assistants
(One union doesn'tfit all, 2/22/2011), The Michi-
gan Daily flatly stated that "many GSRAs don't
wantto join the union." That's a bold statement,
and I expected to see some solid evidence back
it up. Did the Daily have survey data? Nope.
Perhaps they at least interviewed some GSRAs
to get their opinion for the editorial? Appar-
ently not.
Here are some facts: Organizers (many of
whom are GSRAs themselves) have been hav-
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. We do not print anonymous
letters. Send letters to tothedaily@michigandaily.com
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