4A - Friday, October 21, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 4A - Friday, October 21, 2011The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom I WC i an 4 at 11 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com HANNAH DOW E-MAIL HANNAH AT IIDOW@UMICH.EDU STEPHANIE STEINBERG EDITOR IN CHIEF MICHELLE DEWITT and EMILY ORLEY EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS Saturday's football game has cau sed major flooding in the city of Ann Arbor 'Christmas' is about the spirit NICK SPAR 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. A clear schedule 4 spent fall break staying with Regents must ensure meeting times are known my best friend at Barnard Col- legein New York City. Barnard t cannot be said enough, the University Board of Regents must maintain complete transparency. The public's trust was violated when the start time of the Oct. 13 regents meeting was unexpectedly changed. The regents also violated the Michigan Open Meetings Act by moving the start time without enough prior notice, according to an attorney familiar with the law. The regents are entrusted with making important decisions that affect students and must make every effort to ensure their doors are always open - literally and metaphorically - to University students. Last Thursday, the Board of Regents held* its monthly meeting. The meeting was origi- nally scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. in Flint. But that morning, its start time was moved to 2 p.m. The Michigan Open Meetings Act of 1976 stipulates that a public body must give "a pub- lic notice stating the date, time and place " no less than 18 hours before a regular meeting is being rescheduled. University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald con- firmed the decision to change the meeting time was made Thursday morning. A notice was posted on the board's website and certain members of the University of Michigan-Flint community were informed via e-mail. While this wasn't considered a legal viola- tion of the Open Meetings Act by the Univer- sity's Office of General Counsel, it was still unethical of the board to change the meeting's start time on such short notice. The Univer- sity is a public institution, and the regents are electedbythe Michiganvoters. As aresult, the public expects the regents to be open about all proceedings and discussions at meetings in accordance with state law. Thus, it should strive to always keep the public informed about meeting times and locations well in advance, and ensure adequate notice of adjust- ments. The regents are responsible for making important decisions concerning the student body. As Southfield, Mich.-based attorney Lisa Rycus Mikalonis told The Michigan Daily, "you need to have access to the decision- making processes of the public bodies." The board's recent action limits students' access to them and the decision making process. Many important decisions were discussed at Thursday's meeting, including granting an honorary degree to Winter Commencement speaker and New York Times Executive Edi- tor Jill Abramson. The regents argue there were no members of the public signed up to speak during the public comment period, so the time change had little effect. Though no one was signed up to speak in advance, any student should have the opportunity to attend the meeting - even at the last minute - and listen and contribute to the discussion. The matter comes down to the principle of transparency. Whether the meeting is well attended or not, the regents have a duty to ensure that everyone's voice can be heard. This means making an effort to present cor- rect information about the meeting and ensur- ing that if any changes occur, the public is notified according to the Open Meetings Act. The regents cannot make decisions behind closed doors, and students should always have the opportunity to be a part of discussions. is the women's liberal arts col- lege of Colum- bia University and is known for its alternative core curriculum called "Nine Ways of Know- LIBBY ing," as well as ASHTON its impressive list of recent commencement speakers: Hillary Clinton in 2009, Meryl Streep in 2010, Cheryl Sand- berg in 2011. I've visited Barnard five times, which I believe - wrongly - earns me dual school citizenship. I've joined my friend more than once as she guides prospective students (and the occasional Rwandan prin- cess) through campus, I've lurked in the back row of three of her classes (who knew dramaturgy was a thing?) and I've bonded with a handful of the college's employees while watching the Dr. Drew show at Barnard's student center. I even crashed a Barnard event in London in search of free hors d'eourves and a babysitting job. With each visit, I become a bet- ter skilled Barnard poser. I am - for all practical purposes - a Barnard woman. Except that I go here, and that "here" is aBig Tenschool. Until last weekend, going to a school that identifies strongly with its football tradition didn't seem so relevant to my identity. But last weekend at Barnard, it was for that reason all the Columbia students posed as me. Well not me, us. Last weekend was Colum- bia's homecoming football game. Homecoming at Columbia is called Christmas, and it's a really big deal. The goal, I think, is to flood the streets of the (upper) Upper West- side with the spirit, fandom and debauchery of state school football game days. Because I was the only one celebrating Columbia Christ- mas who knew intimately well their ideal game day, I became a de facto authority on wildness. (That always happens.) I observed throughout the day how "state school" these city kids could be. We woke up at 10:30 a.m. to buy fresh fruit for our homemade pan- cakes. We should have woken up at 8 a.m. to buy a case of cheap beer to wash down (by way of a funnel) our pancakes from a box. And we should have done it all on the fire escape, which, I guess, is the city's version of a front porch. We walked down Broadway on our way to the fraternities, stopping alongside children and the elderly to admire baked goods that were being sold at the Broadway street market. Wrong. State schools don't contain those demographics and, on game day, the only thing we ever stop to admire is an expertly carved ice luge. By the time we got to the fraterni- ties (by which I mean brownstones filled with boys in bow ties), they were almost out of beer and some- one unqualified had hijacked the iPod. But there was a trulylimitless amount of bagels and schmear. Not a state school, but awesome. As the pregame thinned out, groups of students in jerseys asked each other with scrunched up faces, "Are you going to the game?"''Yeah! It's senior year! Plus, they're giving away free stuff!" At state schools, you make dumb excuses about why you're not going to the game. Then we started our trek to the stadium. In New York City, that means a 25-minute bus ride, which, for me, means a25-minute nap.And in New York City, when a friend says she's grabbing something to eat onthe way, she might come back with a skewer of chocolate covered strawberries instead of a Panche- ro's burrito. Barnard tries to mirror Football Saturdays at 'U.' When we got to the stadium (let's call it the little house), I felt like I was at a carnival instead of a foot- ball game. Face painters wanted to draw C's on my cheeks, the pop- corn machines flowed freely and the moon bounces - yeah, there were moon bounces - stood firm. Columbia students wrestled their way past the young children of alumni to climb inflated surfaces. I respected their determination because at state school football games, the students matter. During our half-time subway ride back to campus, I talked to some guys in plaid about the day. "Sowhat'd you think? Was it any- thing like a Michigan game day?" Yeah, I think it was. Isn't Christmas all about the spirit? -Libby Ashton can be reached at eashton@umich.edu. 4 4 4 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@MICHIGANDAILY.COM L O E 0 Coleman should continue to push sustainability forward TO THE DAILY: Dear University President Mary Sue Cole- man, The Student Sustainability Initiative would like to recognize and thank you for your com- mitment to an environmentally sustainable University. The long-awaited sustainability goals you announced were widely celebrat- ed across campus and represented a truly momentous day for the University. We com- mend you for your leadership and thank you for listening to the voice of the students. The first steps we take moving forward now are crucial for setting the pace at which we pursue a sustainable University. With this commitment, the University has moved towards institutionalizing the pursuit of sus- tainability; however full institutionalization requires translating the speech and written commitments into a fully embraced culture of sustainability. It means imparting in all Uni- versity decision-makers a strong understand- ing of what sustainability is and what it means for them. It means integrating sustainabil- ity into their decision-making processes and instilling a willingness to make changes, try out new things and even accept the occasional failure. It means taking the responsibility for the success or failure of a single event or ini- tiative off the shoulders of an individual and placing it inthe broader context of the Univer- sity's commitment. We embrace the boldness and vision in the guiding principles of carbon neutrality and zero waste, but the 2025 timeline and the 2006 baseline establish an incremental, not a visionary, framework. These stated goals do not capture the true potential of the Uni- versity; however we are very optimistic about the ability of the University to surpass the quantitative targets that it has set for itself. We encourage you, as the decision-makers, to always keep the guiding principles in mind and let their boldness drive and inspire you. We should monitor global climate change trends and listen closely to University cli- mate scientists, realigning our goals periodi- cally based on the latest data and analyses. We should collaborate with other bold institu- tions and strive to surpass them in our pursuit of sustainability. Now that you have defined long-term sus- tainability goals for the University, the Student Sustainability Initiative is excited to partici- pate in making these goals a reality. We are eager to build on recent developments and pur- sue new initiatives. We thank you for support- ing the Planet Blue Ambassadors Program, which has already begun educating University dorm residents on how they can live more sus- tainably. We thank you for creating the Planet Blue Student Innovation Fund, which will pro- vide $150,000 over three years for large-scale student projects. Moving forward, we should pursue similarly bold initiatives: Making recy- cling and composting available everywhere on campus, instituting a zero-waste University football season and creating a functional, sus- tainable on-campus farm. Thank you once again for your commitment to advancing sustainability at the University. We look forward to continuing our relationship with you this year and into the future. We are confident that the University will make great strides going forward, and we are thrilled to be a part of this historic commitment to sustain- ability and social responsibility. Respectfully, The Student Sustainability Initiative Roundtable and Board Editor's Note: This letter was submitted to University President Mary Sue Coleman and The Michigan Daily. Michigan has simple consent process for bloodspot samples TO THE DAILY: The Life Sciences & Society Program at the School of Public Health thanks The Michigan Daily and reporter Paige Pearcy for the piece ('U' educates community on state neonatal blood bank, 10/12/2011) noting that millions of blood samples from Michi- gan natives can be used for health research without explicit consent. Every Michigander born between July 1, 1984 and April 30, 2010 has bloodspots in the Michigan Neo- natal Biobank. Few realize it. LSS aims to let people know. We'd like to clarify some key details on this topic around the issue of informed consent. The Michigan Department of Community of Health has not banked any blood samples from babies born after May 2010 without signed, parental permission. But MDCH is allowed to keep samples collected from more than 4 million Michiganders born before last May, even though there was never a process in Dining halls should go trayless for significant enviornmental impact SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@MICHIGANDAILY.COM place for collecting permission. "Donors" age 18 or older or the parents of minors can ask MDCH to destroy or remove their samples from the Biobank. These Michiganders have the option to opt out, but they have never had the opportunity to opt in. For practical reasons, MDCH has not tried to collect consent for the bloodspots preserved before last May that represent a potential treasure for researchers. LSS has created a simple online consent form that will not impact Michiganders' "participation" in the Biobank from the state's perspective, but will provide a way for stakeholders to tell us whether they'd like to opt in, opt out, state no opinion or be contacted on a case-by-case basis to say whether they'd allow Univer- sity researchers, like me, to use their bloodspots. There are three ways the University community can participate: Fill out our consent form and find infor- mation at www.mybloodspot.org; sign up via dbthiel@ umich.edu to pilot-test our website (one hour pays $25 through November) and tell friends. 0 Sharon Kardia Chair of Epidemiology at the University and Director of the Life Sciences ft Society However, as wit Sue Coleman's sus ment is a little w expect all dining h less." The Universit TO THE DAILY: will be trayless, onl The Michigan Daily's article, (Dining halls goingtray- are expected tobe1 less, 10/11/2011), explains thatthe Universityis planning the renovations an on going trayless. This idea materialized in the winter that a few dining h of 2009 with a pilot projectby a group of students in the Students will al ENV 391 class who ran a pilot program in the Mary Mar- less, but in order to kley dining hall. This preliminary study for the Univer- institutional shifta sity proved to be very effective,since there was noticing - of being sustain a large drop in food waste during the project. efits of going trayle The following year, another group of students from ate a healthier stud the ENV 391 course conducted a study in the East Quad We have the knowi dining hall that showed some very significant results. versity more susta This data - 38 percent waste reduction, significant footprint, eating m decrease in detergent, water use and waste and a recog- selves and our pee nition of healthier eating choices - was then presented to the dining services and used to inspire the current Avery Robinson commitment to going trayless. LSA senior h much of University President Mary tainability address, the trayless ele- eak. Coleman announced that "we alls we renovate or build to go tray- ty is not declaring that all dining halls ly new and renovated dining facilities trayless. So, in 25 or so years after all d construction, there is a possibility alls will be trayless. ways have the option of going tray- make a difference, there must be an and a commitment - not a possibility able. The University knows the ben- ss - save money, prevent waste, cre- dent body - but is still falling behind. ledge, let's use it. Let's make the Uni- inable. Let's commit to reducing our ore consciously and proving to our- rs that we are the Leaders and Best. 6 EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: Aida Ali, Michelle DeWitt, Ashley Griesshammer, Nirbhay Jain, Patrick Maillet, Erika Mayer, Harsha Nahata, Emily Orley, Teddy Papes, Timothy Rabb, Caroline Sims, Seth Soderborg, Andrew Weiner 0