The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

SPEECH
From Page 1A
economically, but that Michigan
needs to re-invent itself first.
"The greatest challenge to
make that happen isn't any piece
of legislation I've mentioned; it's
not any of the great reforms we've
already done. The greatest chal-
lenge in doing that is really sim-
ple: We just need to go look in the
mirror," Snyder said.
The state needs reformed edu-
cation, more jobs and an annual
billion-dollar investment in safer
and better roads, the governor
said. He added that it is unac-
ceptable that 60 percent of stu-
dents in Michigan need remedial
classes, and that he has a com-
mitment to various state pro-
grams that help children, like the
Department of Natural Resourc-
es' summer youth employment
program.
He said his administration has
FLU
From Page lA
tendency to mutate. If it were to
mutate it may not be well covered
by the vaccine, which could cause
a problem."
" Amanda Simanek, assistant
research scientist in the
Department of Epidemiology,
said to avoid viruses and bacteria
individuals should avoid touching
their eyes, nose or mouth.
Practicing healthy habits such as
getting adequate sleep, engaging
in physical activity and eating
healthy will ensure the immune
system is strong enough to fight
the flu, she said.
Most importantly, Simanek
added that the Centers for
Disease Control andk Prevention
recommends, "individuals who
YOUTUBE
From Page 1A
taking my expertise and stuff
that I teach and making it much
more accessible to a wider audi-
ence through the underground
YouTube bandwagon," Maynard
- said.
Maynard said his daughter's
interest in YouTube inspired
him to use the site as a medium
to explain his expertise.
"I was blown away by the
emerging YouTube culture
where you've got young people
getting deep, educational con-
tent from sources that aren't
within universities," Maynard
said.
Maynard's fascination with
social media as a communication
tool didn't start with videos. He
has used blogging for four to five
years to connect with a broader
audience as well as to relate and
communicate current affairs
effectively. He also created the
Twitter handle @2020science to
join the developing community
and exchanging of ideas. -
Maynard began creating the
videos in November, each one
focusing on an area in his field of
study, as well as other topics that
fascinate him. In response to the
recent shooting at Sandy Hook
Elementary School in Newtown,
Conn., Maynard created a video

assessing the risks of gun vio-
lence.
Maynard said he has a list of
140 ideas to discuss in his videos,
most of which are taken from
the classes he teaches, including
"Principles of Risk Assessment,"
"Environmental Health Policy"
and "Communicating Science
through Social Media." He hopes
to continue posting videos for
at least the next six months but

seen government play a stronger,
friendlier role in certain elemen-
tary schools where social work-
ers have been renamed success
coaches.
In an interview after the
address, State Rep. Jeff Irwin
(D-Ann Arbor) said he hopes that
Snyder will change his uncom-
promising approach with state
Democrats, but fears that will not
be the case.
Irwin said Snyder spoke in
platitudes about higher education
but the governor's past policies
contradict that.
"Time after time, the governor
talking about something that is
import for us in the future, appar-
ently he wants to focus on, then
sort of glosses over the fact that
the past two years he's done just
the opposite," Irwin said.
Snyder's approach to education
has been contradictory, Irwin
suggested. He cited unprecedent-
ed cuts to the state's K-12 and
higher education contributions.

Irwin said many of Snyder's
policies drive young, capable
residents out of the state. He said
Snyder has spearheaded legisla-
tion such as the targeting of gay
and lesbian employees in local
government and colleges, which
is regressive to state development.
Newly inaugurated State Rep.
Gretchen Driskell (D-Scio Twp.)
said she questioned whether Sny-
der was as committed to educa-
tion and making a more attractive
state for graduates as he claimed.
"They made a 15-percent cut
in higher education funding and
they cut K-12 funding. There
was no conversation about that,"
Driskell said.
Driskell added that Snyder
talked about making the state
more innovative after the decline
of the auto-industry, but said pro-
tecting education funding would
have been critical to that goal.
No elected officials represent-
ing Ann Arbor in the state legisla-
ture identify as Republicans.

INCLUSIVE
From Page 1A
Student Government on how to
develop a gender inclusive com-
munity beyond the arrange-
ments in Northwood.
"Students were grateful (for
Northwood housing) ... but they
were interested in (the commu-
nity) being more than what was
offered at the time," Simpson
said. "They desired a supportive
community based around their
gender identity."
Simpson added that their
efforts were met with under-
standing and passion from the
University community.
"Everyone has been very
supportive and open to having
conversations about providing
COMPETITION
From Page 1A
dents to be more aware of their
actions. She saw a marked
improvement afterward.
"Students in South Quad, I've
noticed, tend to be very competi-
tive, so that was definitely prob-
ably an incentive for people to
participate," Wells said. "When I
would be walking around and I'd
see doors open, the TV wouldn't
be on or the lights would be off,
so people were definitely partici-
pating, which is good to see."
Wells noted that since the six-
week competition's end she has
seen more lights and appliances
left on, perhaps a sign students
are reverting back to former

opportunities and spaces that
represent inclusion," Simpson
said.
Navvab echoed Simpson's
comments on the progressive
evolution of gender-inclusive
housing at the University.
"I think it really helps to have
a lot of strong student voices both
from students who identity as
gender non-conforming as well
as students who were allies that
thought it was important to cre-
ate (a) more inclusive student
space," Navvab said.
Navvab added that she
thought the Open Housing Ini-
tiative could serve as a model for
working with the administration
to pursue change in the Univer-
sity community.
LSA senior Noel Gordon said
gender-inclusive housing repre-
habits.
LSA freshman Patryck Piekos
said living in a single dorm room
makes it easier to be environ-
mentally responsible and that
focused his efforts on conserva-
tion after his RA informed him
of the contest.
Piekos said he did what he
could to help his residence hall
in the contest.
"I did turn off the mini fridge
in my room because I wasn't
using it and it was pretty much
just sitting there wasting ener-
gy," Piekos said.
Although the competition is
over, Piekos said he will likely
continue this simple practice and
enjoys being environmentally
responsible.
Fellow LSA freshman Lucas

Thursday, January 17, 2013 - 5A
sents a huge step in developing
a safe space for transgender and
gender non-conforming students
to live in.
"Having that option available
to students will be one step clos-
er to allowing them to feel safe,
secure and sort of comfortable in
their environment," Gordon said.
Logan said he was excited
about the new gender-inclusive
living opportunities because
they support the "diverse needs
of the student body."
"This is part of our growing
efforts to support gender. non-
conforming students, and we
hope it succeeds and grows,"
Logan said.
-Daily Staff Reporter
Ashwini Natarajan
contributed to this report.
Junginger said he was encour-
aged by his friends to partici-
pate in the competition.
"Whenever I used to leave
my room and the light was on,
they'd be like, 'dude, turn off the
light,' so I'd turn off the light,"
Junginger said. "So that was a
step forward for me."
He believes that making small
changes to his daily routine is
worth it because he "loves the
environment." Like Piekos,
Junginger said he'll continue
these practices even though the
contest is over.
"I think that anything that
positively impacts the environ-
ment is a good thing," Jungin-
ger said. "If it takes a contest to
get people involved, then that's
what we should do."


think they have the flu stay home
when they are sick and practice
good hand hygiene to prevent
their illness from being spread to
others."
Simanek said that it may help to
wear a facemask to prevent germ
spreading.
Chief Health Officer Robert
.Winfield, who is director of the
University Health Service, said
it's important to wash hands with
soap and water or an alcohol-
based solution, such as hand
sanitizer. He added that it is
critical to cover mouths while
coughing and sneezing in order to
prevent germs from spreading.
Winfeld said the best way
to stay healthy is to get a flu
vaccination.
"We know that (the flu
vaccination) decreases the
chance of getting influenza
plans on making it a long-term
project.
"The plan is to build a body of
seriously educational resources
that are also interesting, engag-
ing and fun," Maynard said.
Tracy Swinburn, the manag-
ing director of the Risk Science
Center, said Maynard is at the
forefront of using social media
to convey scientific knowledge.
As for his YouTube series, Swin-
burn said she believes he effec-
tively communicates the topics
to a broad audience.
"I think Andrew does such a
great job of making these expla-
nations easy to understand,"
Swinburn said. "It's great that
we can communicate to a broad
range of people on risk science
topics."
However, Maynard said he
hopes to target a younger audi-
ence that uses YouTube as a pri-
mary source of education.
"I think this is going to be
a slow process," he said. "But
what we're finding is that there
is an increasing recognition with
more views going up."
His most-viewedvideo, titled
"Does wearing a hat keep you
warm while dancing naked?"
currently has more than 10,000
views.
Public Health student Adam
Siddiqu said the provoca-
tive titles of Maynard's videos
grabbed his attention.
"At first I was confused about
it, then I definitely learned a lot
from the video," Siddiqui said.
"That just shows that those vid-
eos can be a great learning tool
for people at all levels of educa-
tion."
Siddiqui said he was first
introduced to Maynard's videos
after he spoke to his class at ori-
entation. He added that Maynard
remarked there has to be a way to

by 60 percent," Winfield said.
"Influenza usually lasts seven
to 10 days and you usually miss
about a week of class if you get
influenza."
UHS offers flu vaccination
appointments for $42.
Winfeld said students should
be mindful of the heavy caseload
UHS takes on during flu season
when scheduling an appointment.
Services are most promptly
provided to patients who have
already contracted the flu.
"Ifyouhave ascold - even ifyou
have an exam comingup - there's
not much that we are going to be
able to do for you," Winfield said.
"If, on' the other hand, you're
running a 102 fever, have muscle
aches and a cough, or you have a
fever, a really stiff neck, and head
pain, then we would want to see
you to evaluate what is going on."
bring science to the public to bet-
ter engage them in the field.
Maynard said for his social
media course he has students
write a blog post every week for
10 weeks on the website "Mind
the Science Gap." He said the
students work independently
while writing their blogs.
"I don't read it beforehand.
I don't edit it," Maynard said.
"They are solely responsible for
what they write, and they are
solely responsible for what hap-
pens after they press publish."
Maynard said he would like to
see the University follow his lead
in establishing more of a pres-
ence in online academia.
"You look at the Univer-
sity, and we've got incredible
expertise here, and yet there's
an incredibly small amount of
expertise that trickles out into
the public," Maynard said. "If
you think about us as a public
institution, it's sort of our obliga-
tion to make this accessible to a
wider audience."
The University currently
offers free online courses to
users around the world through
the Coursera platform.
Maynard added that online
education lands between the
formal education of a University
andsthe informal education of a
museum. Before former Social
Media Director Jordan Miller
resigned in December, Maynard
spoke to her about how to reach
this goal.
"We're very, very poor at
understanding how to maximize
the use of the way people are
using those (social media) for
learning," Maynard said. "Just as
we've invested in formal educa-
tion, and just as we've invested
in informal education, we now
need to work how to invest in
informal online education."

Obad Netanyahu seem
headed for U.S.-Israel clash

Israeli PM not
concerned about a
displeased president
JERUSALEM (AP) - Isra-
el's premier on Wednesday
dismissed President Barack
Obama's reported displeasure
with his hard-line policies
toward the Palestinians, a sisgn
that the two could be headed
for a showdown.
Polls suggest Benjamin Netan-
yahuis poised to win Israel's elec-
tions next week and continue in
office.
This week an American colum-
nist with close ties to the White
House describedObama's disdain
for Netanyahu, warning that Isra-
el's all-important relations with
the U.S. could suffer in unprece-
dented ways if the Israeli govern-
ment doesn't change its policies.
Such a clash would come at a
tense time when regional devel-
opments appear to be working
against Israel.
Israel and the U.S. are seen as
disagreeing over how and when
to deal with Iran's suspect
nuclear program, and Islamist

parties that Israel perceives as
hostile are gaining clout in the
Mideast.
As the world deals with those'
issues, even Israel's close allies
are getting increasingly fed up
with what they see as defiant
Israeli settlement construction
on lands the Palestinians want
for astate.
The column Tuesday'by Jef-
frey Goldberg about Obama's
attitudes toward Netanyahu
dominated Israeli news media,
leading some Israeli officials to
fume that Americans were try-
ing to sway the results of next
Tuesday's parliamentary elec-
tions.
Netanyahu seemed to sug-
gest that when reporters asked
him to respond to the column in
Bloomberg News.
"We all understand that
only Israeli citizens will deter-
mine who faithfully represents
Israel's vital interests," he
told reporters, dismissing the
reported criticism.
. In his , column, Goldberg
wrote that Obama seems to
view Netanyahu as a political
coward whose unwillingness to
make concessions to the Pales-

tinians is plunging his country
into diplomatic isolation.
"Israel doesn't know what its
own best interests are," Gold-
berg cited Obama as saying.
While the U.S. will not cut
off aid to Israel or waver on its
commitment to stop Iran from
developing nuclear weapons,
Goldbergwrote, Israel mightnot
be able to count on U.S. vetoes at
the U.N. Security Council, as it
has in the past, when the world
lines up against it.
Goldbergindicated that out of
frustration with the peacemak-
ingdeadlock,Obamamightpres-
ent his own idea about a future
state of Palestine - includ-
ing endorsing the Palestinian
demand to divide Jerusalem
between the two sides, a concept
Netanyahu rejects.
The White House did not
deny the harsh sentiments
Goldberg . put in Obama's
mouth. The tone and timing
of column suggested the U.S.
leader might be readying to play
hardball with Netanyahu if the
prime minister is re-elected -
or conversely, wash his hands
of the Israeli-Palestinian con-
flict altogether.

Mali: French troops begin land
assault in struggle against al- Qaida.

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Same group
occupied Algerian
natural gas complex
Wednesday
BAMAKO, Mali (AP) -
French soldiers pressed north
in Mali territory occupied by
radical Islamists on Wednesday,
launching a land assault that
was to put them in direct combat
with al-Qaida-linked fighters "in
one to 72 hours," military offi-
cials said.
Their presumed destination
was the town of Diabaly, where
fleeing residents said Islamist
extremists had taken over their .
homes and were preventing
other people from leaving. They
said the militants were melting
into the population and moving
only in small groups on streets in
the mud-walled neighborhoods
to avoid being targeted by the
French.
"They have beards. And they
wear boubous (a flowing robe).
No one approaches them. Every-
one is afraid," said Ibrahim Kom-
notogo, who was out of town
when the militants seized Dia-

baly over the weekend but kept in
contact by telephone with other
residents.
In apparent retaliation for
the French offensive, the same
group controlling northern Mali
occupied a natural gas complex
in neighboring Algeria, taking
dozens of people hostage, includ-
ing Americans. Two foreigners
were killed.
French ground operations in
Mali began overnight, France's
military chief of staff, Adm.
Edouard Guillaud, said on
Europe 1 television Wednesday.
He stressed that French infantry
units "will be fighting directly in
the coming hours."
Armored vehicles loaded with
French troops were seen head-
ing toward Niono, a town 340
kilometers (210 miles) northeast
of the capital, Bamako. Some 70
kilometers (45 miles) northeast
of Niono lies Diabaly, with a pop-
ulation of 35,000.
Over the weekend, dozens of
rebel vehicles cut off the road to
Diabaly, seizing the town and its
strategic military camp. French
warplanes have since carried out
airstrikes on the camp.
Oumar Ould Hamaha, whose
fighters are believed to be among

those who seized Diabaly, said
that a convoy of armored French
vehicles attempted to enter the
town to take it back. He said the
Islamists repelled the French
after an intense and close combat.
"I confirm that France came in
by land, but they failed. ... There
was a combat that was (extreme-
ly close). Between 200 and 500
meters away," Hamaha said.
His version of events could not
be verified.
Col. Thierry Burkhard, a
spokesman for the French mili-
tary in Paris, denied that French
troops were in Diabaly or that
they were 500 meters from rebel
lines.
"The French army did not
deploy units in the region of
Diabaly," Burkhard said. Troops
were dozens of kilometers from
Diabaly, he said, refusing to pro-
vide a location.
. Hamaha is a leader of the
Movement for Oneness and
Jihad in West Africa, one of the
rebel groups controlling Mali's
northern half. He is also a close
associate of Moktar Belmokar,
a leader of a local al-Qaida cell
who claimed responsibility for
the kidnapping of foreigners in
Algeria.