4 - Tuesday, January 14, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 4 - Tuesday, January14, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom 4C f iigan Bat'6y Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com MEGAN MCDONALD and PETER SHAHIN DANIEL WANG KATIE BURKE 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. T e l Investing in the future The state's budgetary surplus is an opportunity to invest in the future T he state of Michigan can expect a $917 million budget surplus, according to estimates from the Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference on January 9th, where the representatives of the State Treasury and the House and Senate fiscal agencies met to discuss economic forecasts. As the state continues to recover from the national recession, the bulk of the surplus should be spent on education funding and tax rebates for pensioners who were unfairly targeted by recent policy changes. The state government should also allocate funds for infrastructure, the civil service in Michigan M(an)Hacks Hacks, the biennial hackathon on campus, is an event where pro- grammers and engineers intensively collaborate on software or hardware proj- ects. Although the event attracted more than 1,200 students from more than 100 schools in its NIVEDITA KARKI Detroit and renewable energy. The budget for 2013 amounted to $48.2 bil- lion, and included the $400 million budget sur- plus from 2012. While this is the second year in a row that the state of Michigan has seen a surplus - 2011 saw a budget deficit that totaled $1.5 billion - it has certainly come at a cost. To get there, the state made significant cuts to education spending for the second year in a row, despite hinting that a reprieve may come after the 2012 cuts to per-student allocation for schools. Gov. Rick Snyder has also cut funding fromhigher education and should restore fund- ing to public universities. A plan to aid strug- gling school districts is also critical, as50 school districts ended the 2013 fiscal year with budget deficits. Pension recipientswere also negatively affected by Snyder's budgetary policies. Both public and private pensioners saw increased tax rates from 2011, significantly burdening their limited, fixed income. These two groups deserve a share of the budget surplus, especial- ly as their reasons for needing the money stem from budget cuts and taxes that were levied by the state. However, even if education funding is increased and pensioners receive a tax rebate as a result of the surplus, Snyder does not deserve to be lauded as an advocate for education or a friend to retirees - something that would be expedient in an election year. Michigan should take note of other munici- palities that are trying out innovative ways to promote education. San Francisco has created a program that creates a savings account for every kindergartener, and places a seed of $50 in the account. It then partners with business to match contributions by friends and family into the fund. It helps students save for college starting at a young age, and should be used to make college more affordable for families with financial need. Other priorities for the surplus money should include infrastructure, renewable energy and Detroit's civil service to help the city pay employees and pensions. Michigan's roads and road clearing systems have proven inadequate this winter. Major Michigan roads were not cleared for up to two weeks after the storm Jan. 4, caused by the polar vortex. Some roads were cleared quickly, but many remained icy and snow covered long after storm had ended, making travel difficult for students and faculty returning to campus after holi- day travel. Grants to counties in need to aid in winter cleanup could help people all over the state get to work and school, as well as reduce the dangers of driving on inadequately cleared or un-cleared roads. Looking to Michigan's future, investing in renewable energy will help the state wean itself off of fossil fuels. Wind energy in particular has become much more efficient. In 2009, the cost of wind energy was about $100 per megawatt-hour. This has since decreased by about half. Furthermore, a state energy commission report has concluded that Michigan is on track to meet its require- ment that 10 percent of electricity come from renewable sources by 2015, and it will be eco- nomically viable to increase that standard to 30 percent by 2035. Additional funding from the state government could provide the necessary push to make that happen. Finally, some of the money should be set aside to help Detroit as it restructures, especially to help it meet pen- sion obligations and meet its obligations to its current employees. Snyder's surplus was created through sac- rifice by specific constituencies in the state. Michigan schools and pensioners deserve to be repaid for their contributions in creating the surplus in the first place. The rest of surplus needs to be spent on Michigan's infrastructure and investing in its future. Educated students and a clean environment will ensure a promis- ing future for the state. fall 2013 edition, the participants were almost completelymale. Hackathons are the most awaited and attended collegiate computer science events, and the gender imbalance is almost reflective of the demographics of the tech industry as a whole. From a cool 37.1 percent in 1984, to less than 12 percent in 2011, the pro- portion of Computer Science bach- elor's degrees awarded to women has taken a nose dive. what shocked me was that things aren't different here on campus. U of M is Ranked No. 7 in the Computer Science and Computer Science Engineering track in Amer- ica. Yet, word is that you can count the number of female students in middle-level to upper-level Electrical Engineering and Computer Science classes on your fingers. Since most of the students in com- puter science are male, male students are able to form a tight community of friends much faster. Outside of the classroom, they end up spending most of their time with each other, and some even decide to live together after leaving the dorms. For them, collaboration begins early on. Inter- actions don't stop at classrooms and living spaces; they interact with like- minded peers - and potential col- leagues - at hackathons, internships and even tech startups - all of which are male-dominated. They're con- stantly networking, even uninten- tionally. Knowing the kind of people they're going to work with makes it easier for them to find their place in the industry. Why is the gender ratio dramati- cally skewed in the tech industry? Is it merely a matter of interest? Are men just naturally more skilled at coding? History suggests otherwise; in fact, in the mid-1980s the number of women majoring in CS and CSE was increasing. Those days are gone, and women like Grace Hopper remain underap- preciated. Now we hardly ever see female figures in computer science. There's the projected stereotype of a Computer Science major being a "gamer," "geek" or "nerd." Sadly, mainstream media doesn't portray any of these as females. The more pressing issue, however, is the lack of mentorship and role models available to female students. According to a 2012 report on the Institutional Indicators of Diversity for faculty at the Univer- sity of Michigan - referred to as the AY2012 report - 23 percent of all Science, Technology, Engineer- ing and Mathematics faculty at the University were female. For Engi- neering, the figure stands at 16 per- cent. The dynamics are even more skewed at the highest rank for full professors in STEM, where only 17 percent were females. Although I, too, can walk up to professors with questions regarding course selections, where to apply for internships, etc., my male counter- parts usually have more people they can easily approach. I know that's not a good excuse, but seeing some- one similar to you makes them more approachable; it's easier to have con- versations with them. With so few female instructors in the introduc- tory courses, female CS majors are deemed as different right from the beginning of their college careers. As a college campus with an amazing reputation for computer science, the University should have a more inclu- sive and diverse faculty. There are definitely efforts being made by female students to make CS and CSE more inviting for under- graduate females. Student organiza- tions such as Girls in EECS, Women in Science and Engineering and Soci- ety of Women Engineers, manage to receive funding and regularly hold events for students to interact with each other, as well as with poten- tial employers. However, for what- ever reasons, participation remains extremely low and their efforts largely remain unheard of. Male students, on the other hand, can't comprehend what stops women from being an active presence in the tech community on campus. When I attended one of the core meetings of Michigan Hackers at the start of fall 2013, I was the only female. "Yeah, right now we're pretty much a boys club. I don't understand why can't girls just join Michigan Hack- ers," said one of the social chairs of the organization when I asked what he thought of the gender dynam- ics in the room. When I inquired if they had made any efforts to con- tact gEECS or WISE, he said the team hadn't thought of that. "I just focus on promotion of tech talks and other events that we host." Michi- gan Hackers, along with MPowered, organizes MHacks. For CSE junior Natasja Nielsen, an active member of MPowered Entre- preneurship, it has always been about taking action. "Being a woman in CS isn't easy, but eventually you've got to ignore the sexist side of it and tough- en up. There is no difference between female and male hackers, and that is why I decided not to join any gender- specific tech student orgs. I think it is necessary for every student to devel- op their own support system, and having both male and female friends in and outside of my major has helped me a lot." CS sophomore Anna Rode said it's necessary for girls in CS classes to be able to regularly interact with their male counterparts. "Person- ally, it has always been easier for me to be friends with guys, so the gender imbalance didn't personally bother me much. But if you want to be able to comfortably work in the tech industry, you have got to find those people who will be sup- portive and cut out those who treat you different." Both Neilson and Rode think that it is extremely important for girls to find support among male students, since they form the majority of their peers. However, the CS student orga- nizations almost mirror the situa- tion in classrooms - as if there is an almost invisible line separating girls from the good old boys club. Not surprisingly, the decline in the numbers start right from high school According to the Col- lege Board in 2013, a total of 5,485 girls and 24,070 boys took the AP Computer Science exams. Colleges need to encourage participation of females in tech-related concentra- tions. Ever since Carnegie Mellon University started hosting programs to bridge this gender gap in 1995, the number of female CS undergradu- ates rose from 7 percent in 1995 to 30 percent in 2004. These programs included reaching out to high school students and efforts towards chang- ing the peer culture on campus. Andrew DeOrio, a Computer Science Engineering professor said he wants all his students to feel supported. "Regardless of what social, cultural, or gender demographic a student fits in, they should feel supported, and I would definitely encourage any endeavor to make CS classrooms on campus more diverse." But the question remains: Who should be taking action? Should stu- dents take the initiative first, and work on programs like those at Carn- egie Mellon themselves? Or is the administration responsible? Right now, italmostseems as if the administration is blatantly ignoring this gender disparity. Even if they were making efforts, they aren't doing a good job of making them known. It is essential that incom- ing freshman females be supported; acknowledgement by the adminis- tration shows that they are willing to put in work to bridge this gender gap. I have only mentioned figures and opinions concerning the gender binary. Diversity as a whole in com- puter science is a story for another time. With the dependence on tech- nology increasing by the hour and its influence on culture exponentially rising, dictation of terms in the tech industry by a single, like-minded majority isn't, to say the least, fair. As MHacks looks to its winter 2014 iteration this weekend, it's time the University administration and stu- dent body started making efforts to live up to their reputation in the tech community. - Nivedita Karki can be reached at nivkarki@umich.edu. ALLISON RAECK I The 'Rundown' Languages Bldg. Thirty minutes after the hour, nestled in the basement of the Modern Languages Building, my French class glanced from the clock to the door, bewildered as to the whereabouts of our professor. Like a herd of lost sheep, we anticipated her arrival in echoing silence. At precisely 12:35 p.m., our professor made a grand entrance, proclaiming, "Excusez-moi, j'etais coinced dans '616vateur!" "Excuse me, I was trapped in the elevator." Tosomethismayseemlike atraumatic, rare occurrence. But to us MLB regulars, getting stuck in the elevator is a casual rite of passage. I remember my first time being trapped in the MLB elevator like it was yesterday, mainly because it was yesterday. On the way to my professor's office hours, I was naive enough to pass up the stairs and board the University's very own Tower of Terror only to come to a jerky halt somewhere between the third and fourth floors. On my way out of the contraption, after thanking the maintenance worker and kissing the seemingly stable floor beneath my feet, I came to a dramatic realization: nobody should ever have to endure the nightmare that is the MLB. As if LSA's foreign language requirement isn't inconvenient enough, the University has its students learnthese languages in a building reminiscent of the set of "Saved by the Bell." Its basement, home of many failed conjugation quizzes and a few lost hopes and dreams, sets the foundation for a building which, contrary to what its title may suggest, is anything but modern. Though the University's 2011 financial report states that renovation for the basement and second floor of the MLB started three years ago, the basement continues to look like something from 50 years ago. Students are shoved into tiny classrooms with desks I have not experienced since my elementary school's field trip to a one-room schoolhouse. I am still waiting for someone to explain why the writing space of these desks is not big enough for a piece of paper. The white, brick walls symbolize the emptiness of the building's soul, with abandoned lockers and blackboards adding a nice, vintage touch. Everyone knows that the MLB is the "Throwback Thursday" of University buildings, paying homage to the dismal, underfunded days of high school. While I realize that one's ability to learn is not fully dependent on the interior design of his or her classroom, I have experienced unrest in the basement's classrooms that have inhibited my ability to focus. Snuggled elbow- to-elbow with two of my classmates every day, I sometimes question my life choices when coming to class. Though my minor case of claustrophobia has only caused me to dramatically exit the room on one occasion, I can't help but wonder how the MLB basement experience is for other students at the University. Its seating is problematic for people who physically cannot use the wrap- around desks, and the elevator is a necessary risk for those relying on its accessibility. Small desks have even been shown to cause back pain, especially among tall students. For the most part, most other buildings at the University accommodate those with special needs. Still, the MLB remains stagnant, showing very little alterations since its construction in 1965. While a repair for the building's elevator is scheduled to take place this June, the MLB needs to see many other changes as well. The University prides itself on being at the pinnacle of academic excellence, supplying its students with what they need to succeed. But what Michigan students need isn't a $4.4 million fishbowl redesign or a $4 billion fundraiser. What they need is a place to learn without getting stuck in a desk, elevator or overcrowded hallway. A crudely graffittied quote in one of the MLB's women's bathrooms says it all: "I hate this f***ing place." Let's get with the times, spend our money, responsibly and give students a reason to come to class. Let's renovate the MLB, already. Allison Raeck is an LSA junior. EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Kaan Avdan, Sharik Bashir, Barry Belmont, James Brennan, Rima Fadlallah, Eric Ferguson, Nivedita Karki, Jordyn Kay, Jesse Klein, Kellie Halushka, Aarica Marsh, Megan McDonald, Victoria Noble, Michael Schramm, Matthew Seligman, Daniel Wang, Derek Wolfe MACKENZIE HERON I Themir foptions Birth. It's not a topic that many college studentsstress over. Ifwe do, it's probably because we're stressing to avoid it, right? But for those of you (I'm talking to my male peers, too) who have thought about becom- ing a parent, have you ever actually considered how you, or your part- ner would give birth? It may seem like a ridiculous question, but why? Most of us explored other colleges and universities before deciding to attend the University of Michigan. A number of us won't choose our major until after our expected grad- uation date - hello, fifth year. And, let's not get started on the countless hours we've all wasted scouring the Course Guide for that perfect three credit, Tuesday/Thursday, after- noon-but-before-4 p.m. elective. We dedicate our valuable time to researching options before making even the most trivial of decisions. So why don't we spend a comparable amount of time exploring our birth- ing options? You're only bringing a kid into the world. Take the time to think about it. If you or your partner were to have a child someday, what would your child's birth look like? The experi- ence most of us picture is an ago- nized mother laboring on her back in a hospital bed, too many painful hours later a doctor decides to end the misery with drugs and push- ing or drugs and a C-section. An image like this comes as no surprise because it reflects the reality of a typical American birth. The Center for Disease Control and Preven- tion reported that 98.7 percent of all births in 2011 were delivered in a hospital, and of this overwhelm- ing majority, 86.1 percent were attended by doctors. It's no wonder we don't spend time thinking about birth. Our overall perception of the process is negative. There is good news, though. Childbirth does not have to be a feared or negative expe- rience. This common perception is just that, a perception. Despite their rarity, there are other birth- ing views and options out there that are just as safe and definitely worth your exploration. If you want children someday, you will truly be doing your future self a favor if you take the time to research childbirth. While a home birth with a professional midwife and doula might be the ideal birthing experi- ence for one individual, a delivery in a birthing center with a certified nurse midwife may sound appealing to another. A laboring mother may choose to manage her pain with pres- sure point massage therapy, but a dif- ferent woman could prefer the pain relief that a warm bath can provide. These birth scenarios may sound for- eign to you, but that's exactly why you should do some research for yourself. There are many options available to us in order to uniquely shape our own experiences with childbirth. In the end, the power you will gain when you know you've made an informed decision will become more valuable than the options themselves. Wheth- er you choose to enjoy the birth of your child in your home, in a birthing center or at the hospital in the com- pany of doctors, nurses, midwives or doulas, do so with the knowledge that you consciously chose your experience. We often overlook a par- ent's experience with birth in order to ensure the safety of a new life, but one does not have to come at the expense of the other. Childbirth can be a positive and empowering expe- rience if you just take the time to research the options that will bebest for your or your partner. Mackenzie Heron is an LSA senior. I t r