4A - Wednesday, February 23, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 4A - Wednesday, February 23, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom *I Wfiiigan]):al Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 MIN tothedaily@michigandaily corn 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 e j 4.