4 - Friday, Novenmber 11, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily~o 4-.Friay,.Noenmber11,.211.TheMichign.Daiy ...mih.gandilyco Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com MICHELLE DEWITT STEPHANIE STEINBERG and EMILY ORLEY NICK SPAR EDITOR IN CHIEF EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS 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. Imran Syed is the public editor. He can be reached at publiceditor@michigandaily.com. l~U.U A refuge in Detroit Wildlife clean-up will have positive impact t's difficult to envision the transformation of a land plot used for manufacturing into an environmental protection arena, but it is happening in Detroit. A 44-acre property on the Detroit River that was previously used for manufacturing will soon be renovated and added to the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge - an initiative to protect and restore the habitats of hundreds of species. This federally funded project will improve Detroit's natural environ- ment and potentially produce revenue from tourism. Environmental projects like the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge will help rebuild Detroit. Right now, I'm not the football coach, and that's something I have to get used to." - Pennsylvania State University coach Joe Paterno said to students outside his home about the Board of Trustees' decision to fire him, as reported by the AP on Wednesday. 0 Don't 'rave' about drugs The 44-acre property will be the newest addition to the refuge that is celebrating its 10th anniversary next month. Starting with only 300 acres, the Detroit Refuge now holds more than 5,700 acres of protected land. The territory lies directly in what once was the industrial core of the Motor City. The new addition to the refuge will include a visitor's center along with a dock and fish- ing pier. The makeover is already underway and is funded by $1.2 million in federal funds with another $1.4 million from independent agencies. The current project is paid for by fed- eral funds, giving Detroit the benefit of all the profits. It's good to see the federal government take an interest in Detroit and support the city financially. The property was once a part of the Chrys- ler Corporation and was utilized by the com- pany for 44 years. As Michigan moved away from a manufacturing economy, the site was abandoned and sat behind barbed wire for 12 years. During its active operation, the site con- taminated the surrounding area with waste and industrial byproducts. Today, the Detroit Refuge is attempting to change an abandoned wasteland into a source of pride for the city. The initiative is replanting grasses, restoring wetlands and capping off contaminated areas. As Detroit recovers from its economic hard- ships, becoming more eco-friendly should be at the top of its priority list. The waterfront will become safer and cleaner because the project will help reduce the contamination. Aside from the site's natu- ral beauty, the refuge will house endangered species, like bald eagles, and include attractive recreational opportunities, like kayaking and canoeing, that could generate revenue. Detroit was once an industrial environ- ment, but rather than mourn the now aban- doned buildings, city officials are making positive changes by converting vacant areas into natural environments. The new addi- tion to the Detroit River International Wild- life Refuge will do exactly that. City officials should seek out similar sites in the Detroit area and investigate their potential to join the refuge. Instead of reflecting on the city's eco- nomic and physical downfall, residents and officials should focus on developing Detroit's green future. Neon lights flash in the dark, reflecting off the sea of white shirts. Glow sticks swim through the crowd. Plas- tic sunglasses and pacifiers in the form of Ring Pops bob up and down in sync with the music. Pills are popped. The music pul- LEAH sates, putting POTKIN listeners in a sed- ative trance. The beat grows stronger and faster - rave culture at its finest. Until recently, rave culture - including both the music and the drugs - was most frequently associ- ated with past generations. We were still in diapers during the late '80s and early'90swhen raves were at the height of their popularity. However, the recent reemergence of electronic music has brought with it a reemer- gence of notonly raves, butalso drugs like as ecstasy. Often referred to as "rave drugs," stimulants like ecstasy are reportedly taking center stage at concerts worldwide, and there is no exception here on campus. Rolling on ecstasy is becoming increasingly trendy and, notsurprisingly, the drug is also becoming increasingly acces- sible. However, despite the drug's availability, it is by no means safe and there are still serious dangers associ- ated with its use that students should not disregard. MDMA, the drug that ecstasy is primarilymade ofhasbeen shown to have negative effects on the brain and body. While the allure of the drug lies inthe euphoric sensationitproduces, the sensation does not come without risk. Not only does long-term use of MDMA damage the brain, but short- term, and even single-use, can be harmful and in some cases deadly. However, it appears that more and more often people use popularity as a way to measure safety and figure that the more people are doingit,the safer it must be. With some of the biggest DJs in house music - such as Avicii and Deadmau5 - making appearances either on or near campus, students immersed in the electronic music scene - or possibly eager to experi- ment - have likely had little trouble finding excuses to "roll face." How- ever, it is not only those students who identify with the house music scene who pop pills for concerts. As DJs make sets that cater to their drugged-out audiences, concertgo- ers feel it is necessary to take drugs like ecstasy in order to be on par with other concertgoers and fully appreci- ate the music. Bootstrapping the growing accep- tance of ecstasy is its sister-drug, Molly - a drug that boasts deliver- ance of pure MDMA to its users. While ecstasy can often be laced with other drugs unbeknownst to the user, Molly has a reputation for being a purer form of the drug that delivers the same desired effects. Though log- ical to users, this idea is actually quite skewed, seeing as it often gives users a false sense of safety and security - the I'm "only" doing Molly attitude. Sure, Molly mightbe the lesser of two evils, but just because the drug is sup- posedlypure in form,itstill posesthe same risks associated with MDMA. It's all 'rolls' and games until somone gets hurt. While it is easy to ignore the risks of "rave drugs" when many of your peers are taking them, students must remember that it is all fun (or rather, rolls) and games until someone gets hurt. To counter the potential dan- gers related to the resurgence of this rave culture, it is vital that students stay educated about drug use and effects beyond the confines of what they learn from their friends' experi- ences with drugs. Students should also familiarize themselves with the many resources available on campus, such as the Uni- versity Alcohol and Other Drug Pre- vention Program and others listed on the University Health Services web- site, which aim to help educate stu- dents about drug use and help users in need. As DJs and house music con- tinue to grow in popularity, students must take caution and learn the facts about drugs before glibly assuming they are safe merely because "every- body is doing them." -Leah Potkin can be reached at lpotkin@umich.edu. 4ETTERS SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@MICHIGANDAILY.COM Bins should better reflect single-stream recycling TO THE DAILY: When I moved into Bursley Residence Hall my freshman year, I distinctly remember reading a sign in the trash room at the end of my hall stating, "Here in University Hous- ing, we recycle!" Sure, there were separate bins marked for paper, cardboard, plastic and waste,but didthis implythat the recyclingsys- tem set in place was efficient? All the bins in the trash room were tan and indistinguishable until I looked closely to determine what mate- rial belonged in each bin. Although I made a conscious effort to sort mytrash, I often found trash inthe recycling bins and vice versa. Luckily, the University has since made the switch to single-stream recycling, so the days of sorting waste into different recycling bins are history. However, the recycling bins on campus have not been updated to reflect this switch. From the Modern Language Building to Angell Hall, I still see the visually displeas- ing tan bins indicating paper, plastic or waste. A lack of uniformly labeled recycling bins has led to general confusion in the student body. Although some of the bins have lids that help New fund gives students the chance to boost sustainability students better understand what waste goes where, this form of identification needs to be updated. For example, some of the recycling bins in the UGLi have rectangular lids, implying that paper can be placed in the bin. This con- flicts with the idea of single-stream recycling because it sends a message to students that trash must still be sorted. The beauty of sin- gle-stream recycling is its simplicity, so there should be a University-wide effort to make recycling bins more distinguishable from trashcans. I am not suggesting that the University needs to replace the current recycling con- tainers. The University could instead update the existing recycling bins by painting them blue and attaching clear, single-stream recy- cling signs. Single-stream recycling has already become more apparent in the Diag due to the prominent blue bins with infor- mative signs indicating what can be placed in the bins. Updating the bins in University buildings would help to increase the volume of materials recycled at the University while also promoting a general understanding of recycling. Beatrice Holdstein LSA junior EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: Aida Ali, Michelle DeWitt, Ashley Griesshammer, Nirbhay Jain, Patrick Maillet, Erika Mayer, Harsha Nahata, Emily Orley, Teddy Papes, Timothy Rabb, Vanessa Rychlinski, Caroline Syms, Seth Soderborg, Andrew Weiner The valueof a degree ollege is expensive. We can all attest to that. And for those goingto out-of-state or private colleges, it is often twice the price. With constantly ris- ing tuition costs, there has been speculation as to whether or not a college degree is really worth the financial burden. While the new student loan pol- HARSHA NAHATA term sustainabilit Since Coleman's been many article Michigan Daily ur boost sustainabilit TO THE DAILY: way or another. Nc On Sept. 27, University President Mary Sue than simply talk a! Coleman announced the University's new sus- - it's our chance, tainability goals, as well as the creation of the PBSIF offers an opI Planet Blue Student Innovation Fund (PBSIF) pus sustainabilityi - an exciting new program offering $5,000 only cultivate the s to $50,000 grants for student-initiated, large- to see, but to show scale campus sustainability projects. With are willing to get ou guaranteed funding of $50,000 per year for the work to move the U next three years, PBSIF provides an unbeliev- able direction. able opportunity for students to build a sus- PBSIF is for bigi tainable campus based on our ideas and visions. ing the boundaries These funds are intended to encourage done at the Univers a wide range of collaborative and interdis- University you wan ciplinary sustainability projects that will projects are needed reduce the University's ecological footprint vision for Planet B and enhance the culture of sustainability on answer in a prelimi campus. In addition, as an initiative rooted November or in a in engaging students more deeply in sustain- January. ability, all proposed projects are required to Visit sustainabi be led by students or have students on their student-innovation team. Partnerships between students, staff, about PBSIF. faculty and even community members are encouraged as a way to maximize project Abby Krumbein success and ensure completion and long- LSA senior y. announcement, there have es and viewpoints in The rging the administration to y at the University in some ow it's our turn to do more bout what we can do better to take some major action. portunity for us to take cam- into our own hands, to not ustainable changes we want the administration that we ur hands dirty and putin the University in a more sustain- ideas, innovation and push- of what has previously been ity. Envision the sustainable nt to see, and consider what dto get us there. What's your lue? We hope to hear your unary concept submission in final proposal submitted in lity.umich.edu/planet-blue- -fund for more information icy announced by President Barack Obama is a start towards lessening this burden, in scope of how big the student loan bubble is expected to be, it is necessary to begin consider- ing whether such a financial burden - for students and for the economy - is ultimately worth it. In an Oct. 22 New York Times opinion piece, Michael Ellsberg argues that while higher education is good at producing professionals, writers, critics and historians, it isn't necessarily the best at producing entrepreneurs. He argues that the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs dropped out of college and then went on to invent the iPod. Bill Gates dropped out, only to found Microsoft. Mark Zuckerberg dropped out, and we got Facebook. The co-founders of Twitter were also, you guessed cor- rectly, college dropouts. Now this is a pretty convincing list. These ideas have grown into multi-billion dollar companies and all without a college degree to inspire them. Ellsberg argues that a college degree is overrated. In no way is a college degree necessary to produce the job creators of society - suc- cessful entrepreneurs. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the number one job cre- ators in this country are start-ups, not small businesses, as most politi- cians and lobbyists proclaim (how- ever, start-ups tend to be small so the two are often combined). When it comes to start-ups or entrepre- neurship, Ellsberg argues that for- mal education does little to prepare people. And, in a way, he has a point. We grow up learning how to ace stan- dardized tests or write a formulaic five-paragraph essay. We don't learn how to pitch ideas, set up networks of people or build up and manage an organization. And the same contin- ues throughout college. Unless stu- dents are specifically in a business program, they don't get lessons on how to market products, sell things or formulate innovative ideas. For- mal schoolingdoesn't focus on train- ing students to become innovative entrepreneurs. Instead of delving into creative ideas and projects, students are bogged down by rigid syllabi and being tested on constricted, nar- rowly defined subject material. The way most academic classes are set up leaves little room for students' cre- ativity to flourish. Students fall into the routine rut of papers, assign- ments and exams. When entering an increasingly competitive job market, communication skills, networking and originality of ideas are just as, if not more, important than being able to answer questions about last week's reading. But formal education isn't struc- tured in a way that supports this - the most practice students get with these skills occurs due to what they do outside the classroom. There is room for improvement. Curriculums and objectives need to be re-evalu- ated. In addition to having students memorize every carbon molecule structure or all the events of the Cold War, universities should also be teaching them how to communicate ideas, build relations and manage people and situations. Instead of just asking them about how well they know a subject matter, universities should be asking them about what they'd like to create. While it may be true that colleges and schools in general should do a better job of encouraging and allow- ing room for creativity, it is naivete to think that a college education isn't useful. In a Nov. 4 Washington Post article, David E. Drew, chair for the School of Education Studies at the Claremont Graduate Univer- sity writes in response to Ellsberg's column that Jobs and Gates are the exceptions, not the rules. Few peo- ple make it that big without a solid educational foundation. Statistics showing that college graduates con- sistently earn more than non-col- lege graduates reaffirms this point. Moreover, even people like Gates affirm that education is necessary " to prepare the American workforce to be competitive. The truth is not all of us will be the next Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. Many of us will be the workers that the new start-ups employ. And for those positions, a college education isn't just desirable, * but necessary. Formal education should encourage creativity. More than writing off the value of a college education as a whole, it is time to re-evaluate what a college education should provide - what you want your education to pro- vide. A college degree still goes a long way, but at upwards of $50,000 per year, just getting the degree isn't enough. It is about making sure that in addition to the piece of paper and the knowledge, stu- dents have learned the creative and communications skills necessary to make them successful workers and entrepreneurs. - Harsha Nahata is an assistant editorial page editor. She can be reached at hnahatalumich.edu.