ii1710 4A - Friday, December 7, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com hemidlinanC4al Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com TIMOTHY RABB JOSEPH LICHTERMAN and ADRIENNE ROBERTS ANDREW WEINER 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. FROM THE DAILY Sit down, Brandon Athletic director must listen to advisory board A ccording to the Board of Regents' bylaws, the Universi- ty's Advisory Board on Intercollegiate Athletics exists as "advisor to the director on the program in intercollegiate athletics." The athletic director is to "seek and consider" the rec- ommendations of the ABIA "on all major financial and policy deci- sions" However, on Dec. 3, The Michigan Daily reported that the ABIA wasn't told about the Big Ten Conference's expansion until well after the decision had already been made. In the future, the ABIA should be consulted regarding structural or policy changes within the Athletic Department before decisive action is taken. NOTABLE QUOTABLE When (right-to-work legislation) arrives on my desk, I plan -on si gn ing it!' - Mich. Governor Rick Snyder said after a rowdy day at the state capitol, according to The Detroit Free Press. The state senate's passage of right-to-work legislation brought crowds of protestors to Lansing, and police made several arrests. KATE HERTLER AND ANAND KUMAR I VEWPOINT Consider D-SIP q The Athletic Department's decision to allow the University of Maryland and Rutgers University to join the Big Ten conference was highly relevant to the purpose of the ABIA, and Athletic Director David Brandon was bound by the obligations of the board to consult its members before moving forward. The board, which is chaired by Brandon and comprised of "faculty members, alumni, Michigan athletes (and) an executive officer," would have been especially interested in the expansion since it will result in a greater burden of time and lon- ger travel distances for the student-athletes, among other considerations. But Political Sci- ence Prof Edie Goldenberg, a member of ABIA, said she didn't get word of the expansion until she "heard it on the radio." This practice of "shoot first, ask questions later" is nothing new when it comes to Bran- don's relationship with the ABIA. In May 2011, mere weeks after Brandon was first instated in the powerful position, he met with the men's lacrosse club coach to discuss his plan to promote the. club to a Division I varsity team. Members of the ABIA said they didn't hear about the change until the day before it was publicly announced. When asked to com- ment on his decision, Brandon "opted not to comment,"instead sending David Ablauf, asso- ciate athletic director for media relations. In light heightened security at University Board of Regents meetings and a widening rift between University administrators and the students they represent, this is simply one more example of University officials presum- ing themselves and their decisions beyond reproach. If it wasn't troubling enough that students feel slighted by the collusions of their superiors, this recent offense to our institu- tion's distinguished faculty should be seen as an opportunitytodraw a line in the sand. Considering that the entire purpose of the ABIA is to oversee and advise the policies of the Athletic Department, Brandon's attempts to circumvent the faculty are inexcusable. Our University and its academic mission supersede Brandon's agenda, whether or not that agenda fills the athletic program's coffers. Get with our program! As a Michigan student, your summer possibilities are endless. You could.intern at a hedge fund, a marketing firm, an engineering company or an arts organization. You could travel or end up living with your parents for four months and working in your hometown. Or you could intern for the University of Michigan's award- winning Development Summer Internship Program, and in our opinion, that's what you should do. Why development, you may ask? Development is philanthropy. Look around you. If you've sat in the UGLi and sipped a delicious drink from Bert's Cafe, then you've experienced philanthropy. If you've stud- ied at the Rackham or Ross buildings, designed in a studio at Taubman or danced in the Power Center, you've experienced philanthropy. Have you been to a Michigan football game? visited the art museum? Spun the cube? Then guess what, you've experienced philanthropy. Michigan thrives off the philanthropic, gifts from donors, and D-SIP is an incredible oppor- tunity for students to witness this process firsthand and learn critical skills for creating positive changes in the world. Interns are placed in a development office on cam- pus in locations ranging from the Business Engage- ment Center to the School of Nursing to Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum. Four interns are also placed in local non-profits to gain experience in development outside of the University. Each intern is assigned his or her own project to work on throughout the summer. These carefully designed projects cover a multitude of areas, from benchmark- iig to data analysis to developing social media strate- gies. In addition to being meaningful, these projects are impactful and highly valued by the community. One of our projects created strategies for getting grants of more than $25 million to support research. Another focused on engaging international alumni on five continents. After working from Monday to Thursday, interns come together for Friday class. The morning part of class focuses on the role of philanthropy at the University and teaches about the different roles one could explore in the field of development. The best part of Friday mornings is guest speakers.including University leaders and donors. Professional development is the focus of the afternoon class. We practiced networking, participated in mock interviews, completed online portfolios and partook in exercises that helped us grow as leaders and prepared us to present our best selves in future interviews and pro- fessional situations. Our favorite part of the program was the non-profit consulting. We helped the HIV/AIDS Resource Center develop marketing strategies to increase participation in one of their annual events, a process that not only exposedustonon-profitconsultingbutalsobenefitedour community. Theteamwith the winningstrategywenton a tour of the entire Big House, locker room included. This program not only builds your professional character and gives you an amazing experience, but also introduces you to some incredible students and professionals in the University community. Our cohort ate lunch together every Friday, tried to pack as many. people as possible into the elevators of Wolverine Tower, explored Ann Arbor on weekends and bonded over a shared passion for the University and the power of philanthropy. Philanthropy changes lives, and D-SIP is a firsthand look at the process and an introduction to the profes- sion of development. So, consider a summer filled with eye-opening, behind-the-scenes views of the Univer- sity. Consider meeting donors and listening to their incredible stories about how they've become positive agents of change. Consider pushing yourself to discov- er how you want to change the world, and leave know- ing exactly how you can. Consider D-SIP and checkus out on Facebook. Kate Hertler is an LSA senior and Anand Kumar is an Engineering senior. I U I EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Kaan Avdan, Shanik Bashir, Barry Belmont, Eli Cahan, Nirbhay Jain, Jesse Klein, Melanie Kruvelis, Patrick Maillet, Jasmine McNenny, Harsha Nahata, Timothy Rabb, Adrienne Roberts, Vanessa Rychlinski, Sarah Skaluba, Michael Spaeth, Gus Turner, Derek Wolfe FROM THE DAILY Don't talk and drive Cell phone law not comprehensive enough n Jan. 24, 2010, Michigan teen Kelsey Raffaele was killed in a car accident caused by talking on her cell phone while driving. To prevent further tragic fatalities, a law in her name aims to ban young drivers from talking on their cell phones. This week, supporters of Kelsey's Law gathered at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing to urge the House Transportation Com- mittee to discuss the bill before the end of the month. Though this law is a step in the right direction, it's not comprehensive enough. Kelsey's Law should be expanded to not only include young drivers, but also the rest of the population from distracted driving. CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION 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. Send the writer's full name and University affiliation to tothedaily@michigandaily.com. BERRY BELMONT IVIEWPOINT Thoughts aren't property I The bill proposes that level one and two driv- ers can be pulled over for a primary offense for talking on their cell phone while driving. More than 30 other states have similar laws that ban cell phone usage while driving. Statisti- cally speaking, using a cell phone to talk or text while driving causes nearly 28 percent of all- car accidents. Nationwide found in a January 2007 study that 73 percent of drivers admit to talking on the phone while driving. All people are distracted when they talk on a cell phone, not just teens. Furthermore, of those who told Nationwide they supported legislative restric- tions on cell phone usage, 75 percent said they felt the restrictions should apply to everyone, rather than a specific demographic. According to the Human Factors and Ergo- nomics Society, drivers talking on cell phones are 18 percent slower to react to brake lights. They also take 17 percent longer to regain the speed lost when they stopped. These statis- tics are indicative of the importance Kelsey's Law has and the necessity of its enforcement to everyone on the road. Opponents to the inclusion of the general public in the law say that it's necessary to use phones to multitask while commuting. In recent years, however, car manufacturers have introduced vehicles with built-in, hands- free Bluetooth systems. The car communi- cates with the phone wirelessly and the phone call comes in through the car's speakers. Automobile manufacturers should continue- developing such technologies to make com- munication safer en route. With Bluetooth systems built into new cars and headsets readily available for drivers who don't have a built-in system, there are plenty of options for drivers who want to follow the law and retain their phone calls while driving. Currently, only texting while driving is outlawed in Michigan. While inexperienced drivers lack familiarity with the roads and are more likelyto be distracted in the car than. experienced drivers, there are other ways to target the teenage group specifically. Driver's education programs and the literature they teach should place a greater emphasis on the severity of the risk taken when one chooses to talk or text when driving. While this is cur- rently a facet of Michigan's curriculum, it is only mentioned in passing. Whether or not a broader version of Kelsey's Law is imple- mented, a concerted harm reduction effort should take place before new drivers ever get behind the wheel. On May 5, 1998, a patent for human gene BRCA1 was issued to a company by the name of Myriad Genetics, Inc. and the University of Utah. Less than six months later, Myriad Genetics was granted anoth- er patent for a related gene, BRCA2. These were neither the first nor the last patents granted for human. genetic material, but these instances have been the source of constant controversy for nearly a decade and a half. One of the principle reasons for this controversy stems from the fact that women with BRCA - a breast cancer susceptibility gene - mutations are five times more likely to contract breast cancer than the general population and have a life- time risk 10 to 30 times greater than average to suffer from ovarian can- cer. Because these genes are patent- ed, anyone wishing to look for them - be they researchers, doctors or patients - has to pay Myriad Genet- ics. And pay dearly. In May 2009, the Association for Molecular Pathology and several other advocacy groups aided by the American Civil Liberties Union brought a case against Myriad, Uni- versity of Utah officials and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office claim- ing that BRCA genes are not patent- able as parts of nature. The original decision of the court in that case was successfully appealed twice and to this day, the BRCA genes have remained patented. However, on Nov. 30 the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the plaintiffs' argu- ment on the patentability of human genes during its current session to decide once and for all whether human genetic information is sub- ject to a protective government monopoly. Proponents of gene patents con- tend that they incentivize scientists, inventors and engineers in bio- technology to create novel devices, develop new methodologies and promote further innovation by not keeping research or technology secret. This is the classic argument in favor of patents that views them as a trade of public disclosure for a guaranteed window of exclusivity to recoup costs and increase potential profits. Some see this as fair. Others do not. Most opponents of gene patents argue that they stifle further research and limit patient treatments by forcing others to- pay exuberantly high premiums. Fur- thermore, as an intrinsic part of human beings, our genes shouldn't be subject to any sort of patent. It would be absurd, they reason, to live in a world where the notion of patenting someone's blue eyes was dismissed but where patenting the genes used to make those eyes was embraced. The problem with all of this is the uncertain nature of intellectual property as a whole. Regular prop- erty is simple and easy to under- stand. To own regular property means that one mixed some natural resources with their labor or legiti- mately traded with someone else who did. I plow my garden, the potatoes are mine; I trade my potatoes with someone for a new plow, the plow is mine. Simple. Property of this sort can also be protected. I can put a fence around my garden and lock my plow in a shed. If one can't potential- ly exclude something from others, then one can't really own something after all, we don't steal the air we breathe. But what of ideas? Ideas do spring from a sort- of combination between one's resourc- es and one's effort, but they are not as easily protected. Certainly one could keep something secret, but this only prevents the transmis- sion of an idea and doesn't exclude another mind from thinking it. And, this case has to do with the fact that information - the stuff of our thoughts - isn't so much invented as it is discovered. Our world is awash in information, and all we tend to do is collectively accumulate knowl- edge and piece it together to do new things for us. We merely take from the marble of nature the statues our limited time and present resources allow us. In crafting our knowledge we don't deprive anyone of crafting their knowledge, and vice versa: If I teach you about genes, I don't suddenly forget about them. That is until some folks feel entitled to the information they have happened upon and wish for others should they come across the same infor- mation. Hence, patents. Patents are ephemeral fences surrounding thought-of gardens erected with real force. Myriad Genetics found a strip of'information in the human genome and declared it theirs. Unfortunately, it's no different than anyone else claiming that any other piece of information is exclusively his or hers. The solution to all of this is to have tangible marketplaces; for ideas, for products, for everything. We should freely trade and exchange our limit- ed time and resources with as many people as we can so that everyone, everywhere may benefit. Gene pat- ents should be struck down. They should be struck down for the very same reason all patents should be struck down: Intellectual property is not property. The price we've paid propagating the failed intellectual property system has been far too great thus far, and it's about time we discount them entirely. Berry Belmont is a Rackham graduate student. 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.