I 4 - Tuesday, January 10, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michiganclaily.com 4 - Tuesday, January10, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com c4c fitichinan l 43ablu JEFF ZUSCHLAG E-MAILJ EFFAT JEFFOZ(ciUMICtsEON'0 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com ASHLEY GRIESSHAMMER and ANDREW WEINER JOSH HEALY EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS MANAGING EDITOR Look, kid, you can't just keep taking free tastes all day. At Sigh...I guess I'll go with vanilla. JOSEPH LICHTERMAN EDITOR IN CHIEF 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. nutty Reman-Tea Peroty Oneh--O*W,. ni erty"--a.*,od An -fantorm swiri-Polio nterg navar-Hialf-Raked Ran Paul-$ gar Qaln-Vanilla Mitt- Sustainable reso lutions A home for all he new yea Ann Arbor needs affordable off campus housin g - a timet Pout that las Affordable student housing is becoming an increasingly seri- ous problem on campus as a surprising number of high- rise luxury apartments now dominate Ann Arbor's skyline. With expensive amenities like hot tubs and large televisions offered by such apartment buildings, students are asked to pay considerably high rent prices, some of which exceed $1,000 a month per person. These prices are a result of new complexes built close to Central Campus, and force students who don't wish to reside in University Housing farther from campus. The University and the city of Ann Arbor must work together to attract and create affordable housing options for all students. The University announced in November that the Baits I Residence Hall on North Cam- pus will permanently close after the winter semester due to serious structural damage. East Quad Residence Hall will close for reno- vations for the next school year. Freshmen and sophomores will also now take precedent over upperclassmen in choosing rooms in the residence halls. These decisions, coupled with the city of Ann Arbor's approval of a num- ber of lavish apartment complexes, such as Zaragon West on Thompson, Landmark on S. University and most recently, The Varsity on Church St., are limiting the number of afford- able housing options available to students. It's becoming nearly impossible for the majority of underclassmen to find housing that is affordable, comfortable and close to campus. The campus-housing deficit is spiraling out of control. Students are stressed due to the lim- ited optionstheyhave to find reasonably priced lodging. Increasing prices and a system that encourages predatory landlords are not ben- eficial to students. In order to secure reason- ably priced housing for the following school year, students are forced to engage in an insane housing rush that begins as early as October and gets earlier each year as students hope to get a head start on the search. New apartment complexes are popping up close to Central Campus. These new build- ings, however, come with expensive amenities and high price tags. Since many students pay or contribute to their own rent, it's not prac- tical to design new housing that comes with unneeded features, which drive up rent con- siderably. Instead of building Landmark, more affordable housing - more along the lines of University Towers - should be built. Apart- ments need to be designed more practically, keeping in mind that many of their occupants will be college students on a budget. The area surrounding Central Campus is small, but the University needs to actively seek developers who are willing to build affordable housing complexes on or near campus. Ann Arbor City Council is respon- sible for approving all high-rise buildings proposed by developers. Students are in des- perate need of affordable housing, but noth- ing's been done to mitigate the problem thus far. As the largest employer in Ann Arbor, the University has influence with the city. It should use that influence to work for all of its students and be sympathetic to all students' financial position. Students deserve to live comfortably and affordably. They shouldn't be forced to live in the residence halls, apartments or homes far from campus because expensive high- rises are the only other options. The Univer- sity must have its students' interests in mind when working with the city of Ann Arbor to provide more housing options. ments or swear off Big Macs for good. Every- one has a plan for change, but unfortunately even some of the best resolutions can fall by the wayside. There should be a sim- pler approach to the resolution business. Insteadc change, try contin done well in the pa Since killing O again is out of the r ity, let's examine w the field of renewa the benefit of the package. A continu breaks for clean en' perfect achievabler new year. The tax break f wasn't just a ruse, ronmentalists acro actually created jol clean energy out to a Dec. 13 article zine, the tax break panies pursuing re endeavors has cont a 37-percent annua power in the past duction tax credit 2.2 cents for eac of clean energy p always increased t of renewable ener gigawatts. The increase inr output serves not o ment but also pro r is a fresh start of jobs for American workers. Even to finally throw with successful implementation of t pack of Parlia- a government-spending program, the funding provided to renewable energy projects could come to a halt at the end of 2012. The article points out that some would contend that spending money on a field too weak to sustain itself without financial backing is irre- sponsible and the government should instead be focusing fund- JOE ing on uncovering new locations SUGIYAMA of fossil fuels - energy sources understood to be both reliable and lucrative. But this is exactly the of resolving for a mindset that the U.S. needs to avoid ruing something if it wishes to create a country that st year. can sustain itself in the future. sama bin Laden Opponents of the renewable ealm of possibil- energy subsidies may cite the vhat was done in recent expiration of the ethanol tax able energy with credit as a reason to let the current 2009 stimulus green energy subsides run out as cation of the tax well. Even without a government ergy could be the tax credit, the ethanol industry resolution for the isn't expected to see a downturn in production. In fact, Matt A. for clean energy Hartwig, Director of Communica- to appease envi- tions of the Renewable Fuels Asso- ss the country; it ciation, has gone as far as saying bs and increased "the tax incentive is less necessary puts. According now than it was just two years ago" e in Time maga- and they expect to "produce the offered to com- same amount of ethanol in 2012 as enewable energy in 2011, or more." ributed to nearly The same can't be said for solar i growth in wind panels and wind farms. If the same four years. Pro- train of thought is used in the case ts - which pay of these renewable energy sources, h kilowatt-hour the U.S. is likely to see a downturn roduced - have in production of both solar and wind he total amount power. According to Time, the wind gy output to 43 industry alone would suffer nearly a $10.1 billion drop in investment - enewable energy costing nearly 37,000 American jobs nly the environ- - after the 2009 stimulus runs out vides thousands at the end of the year. This will dev- astate the industry, and without a renewal of the production tax cred- its for wind farms, it could spell the end of the trade altogether. This is why - even with the upcoming election - the public can't forget that there's still work to be done. It's an issue that must be addressed, not in a presiden- tial debate, but by Congress - and soon. Renewable energy shouldn't be viewed as a superfluous expense, but rather as an investment in America's future. Keep investing in alternative* energies. At the moment it seems like renewable energy might be a poor investment. But daily research to increase the efficiency of wind turbines and solar panels has the potential to make these alternative energy resources viable options in the future. Though that future may seem a long way off, it would be foolish not to believe that it can be achieved. Denying the U.S. the opportunity of realizing the full potential of solar and wind power would be a mistake. Sticking to a new year resolu- tion can be tough, but this isn't a cold turkey request. All I ask is that we continue down a path that has proven to be environmentally and economically sound. -Joe Sugiyama can be reached at jmsugi@umich.edu or on Twitter @JoeSugiyama. EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: Aida Ali, Kaan Avdan, Michelle DeWitt, Ashley Griesshammer, Nirbhay Jain, Jesse Klein, Patrick Maillet, Erika Mayer, Harsha Nahata, Emily Orley, Timothy Rabb, Adrienne Roberts, Vanessa Rychlinski, Sarah Skaluba, Seth Soderborg, Caroline Syms, Andrew Weiner CAROLINE SYMS . Have a backup plan CONTRIBUTE TO THE COVERSATION Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor and viewpoints. Letters should be fewer than 300 words while viewpoints should be 550-850 words. Both must include the writer's full name and University affiliation. Send submissions to tothedaily@michigandaily.com. RIDHISHA RUGHANI I Spark your start-up Backup plans are a college student's best friend. We use them when the classes we want to schedule are already full, when we don't get accepted to our preferred academic major and even when planning social events and activities on weekends. Backup plans become lifesavers in a variety of situations, and all they require is a little creative fore- thought in order to find alternative answers to the question, "What if?" When there is an absence of a logically thought-out backup plan, the door inevitably opens for disaster. College students across the globe can learn a valuable lesson about the importance of thinking big and preparing for the unexpected by understanding how a local government failed to generate a plan B for running its city. The city of Detroit has recently been on the verge of succumbing to complete state control as its financial standing crumbles. In better times, Detroit was an industrial pow- erhouse, greatly prospering because of the pivotal position it held in the American and worldwide automotive industries. As soon as foreign competitors - with their higher quality standards - broke into the automo- tive market, Detroit couldn't keep up and the industry collapsed under the economic pres- sures exerted by foreign competition. Detroit is not the only city in Michigan to experience a financial crisis requiring state government intervention. Detroit, however, is guilty of putting all of its eggs into one basket. Investing every dollar in the auto- motive industry eliminated the possibility of diversifying Detroit and allowing the city to prosper in other sectors. Detroit's budget was poorly managed and the future of the city was not a top priority for its city council. These fatal errors, committed decades ago, are now responsible for putting the entire state of Michigan at risk for a further eco- nomic downturn. So, what does Detroit's economy mean for college students across the world? As a young group of individuals charac- terized by a sense of adventure, eagerness to gain independence and a desire to adapt to unfamiliar environments, college students have the opportunity to avoid a similar fate. As we continue to receive our college educa- tions, we obtain skills that allow us to control our decisions, ponder our options and create backup plans to secure success in the future. Though many of us won't be concerned with budgeting the finances of a major American city in our lifetimes, we have an even bigger responsibility riding on our shoulders - man- aging our own personal finances. Learning how to budget money is certainly a challenge that every individual encounters as they grow up. Some are taught the value of a dollar at an early age while others don't grasp this reality until it's too late. Don't put yourself at a dis- advantage by being careless and naive. Oth- erwise, you run the risk of digging yourself an early grave, just like Detroit has done. We're all young enough to take control of our own lives while there's still time to cor- rect previous mistakes. So take charge of your future, diversify yourself and spread your passions. Become a leader and advance your communication skills so you do not leave your future in someone else's hands. When things don't go as expected, have a backup plan. When you don't land your dream job, have a backup plan. When you're in doubt, have a backup plan. Caroline Syms is an LSA sophomore. The local entrepreneurial scene continues to grow as MPowered Entrepreneurship, a University student organization, aims to spur start-up activity with Startup Weekend Ann Arbor. With a mission to expose students to entrepreneurship and support student entrepreneurs, MPowered is one of the driving forces on campus that is engaging students in entrepreneurship. From January 20-22, East Hall's Psychology Atrium will be buzzing with students and local Ann Arborites alike as teams work around the clock to build start-ups over the course of the weekend. Startup Weekends take place across the world and bring together tomorrow's entrepreneurs. At Startup Weekend Ann Arbor, participants will grow a concept into reality by both pitching ideas and joining forces with other participants to work on their ideas. Participants will test their skills as they rapidly develop a business model and prototype. Throughout the weekend, teams have the opportunity to engage with various prominent entrepreneurs, technological experts and venture capi- talists in the form of mentors, speakers and judges. The weekend culminates with teams pitching their compa- nies to a board of judges. The top team will be awarded a trip to San Francisco, sponsored by the University's Center for Entrepreneurship, where they will have the opportunity to pitch their start-up. Additionally, teams will have the opportunity to receive three months of free virtual tenancy at Ann Arbor SPARK! Back by popular demand, Startup Weekend will be at the University for a second consecutive year, hosted by MPowered Entrepreneurship. Last year, Startup Week- end U of M was the largest Startup Weekend to be held at a university, hosting over 100 participants from various backgrounds around the greater Ann Arbor community. Events like Startup Weekend are highly beneficial for a budding entrepreneurial community such as the one at the University. It provides an ideal environment to find potential partners and learn new skills. But most impor- tantly, it gives individuals a taste of the challenge, fervor and pace of the real start-up world. Through Startup Weekend we can see that it takes a certain environment to build an entrepreneur. It requires highly passionate individuals, access to finan- cial and educational resources, networking opportu- nities and supporting mentors. Such an environment is forming on campus. At the University, students are beginning to make entrepreneurship a part of their education. Along with taking entrepreneurship cours- es, students went above and beyond by submitting more than 3,000 ideas to this year's 1,000 Pitches com- petition. Students are taking advantage of resources such as TechArb and enrolling in the Entrepreneur- ship Practicum - both of which have seen their larg- est classes yet. In Ann Arbor, start-up communities like the Tech Brewery, are filled with companies. Tech meetups occur weekly and monthly through organiza- tions such as a2geeks, Mobile Mondays and A2New- Tech Meetup. We are attracting the attention of new investors who are looking toward Ann Arbor start-ups to invest their money. By bridging the gap between the University and the Ann Arbor community, Startup Weekend aims to further accelerate the momentum already building locally today. We have to continue to act to keep this momentum alive. At the University, we are the leaders and the best. We have the talent and the resources - let's make the most of them. Startup Weekend's tagline is, "No talk, all action". We're not just talking about making change, we are making change happen. On Jan. 20, MPowered Entrepreneurship will show- case Ann Arbor's next generation of entrepreneurs with Startup Weekend Ann Arbor. Undergraduate and graduate students from all majors are encouraged to attend. Past Startup Weekends have seen participants from backgrounds such as education, design, business, law, computer science, engineering and medicine. For more information on how to apply visit annar- bor.startupweekend.org or contact Ridhisha Rughani at rrughani@umich.edu. The deadline is approaching so apply now. Ridhisha Rughani is a Business sophomore, t h e My Ann Arbor: Eli Fenyes prepares to take you on neaItrip around the Big AAsy. Go to michigandaily.com/blogs/The Podium 9 4