Thursday, July 3, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 4 Midiigan Bai 1 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu Thursday, July 3, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com '9 Four deaths Al 0183DFIIIA Klaxons blare jarring me my brief res regretted nodding off with the pager so close to my ear. Despite the display's glowing green backlight, the words themselves were impossible to read, obscured by ordinary 0300 eye-blur and the myopic lens of acute-on-ehronic d in my skull, violently from pite; instantly I MIKE YEE IAN DILLINGHAM EDITOR IN CHIEF AARICA MARSH EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR STEPHANIE SHENOUDA MANAGING EDITOR Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views ofttheir authors. Drying out Detroit DWSD must keep the citizens in mind when collecting funds n Monday, the National Action Network Detroit Chapter and several other community activists from Detroit gathered in front of Republican Gov. Rick Snyder's office to protest the controversial water shut-offs in the city. Starting in March, the Detroit Water and Sewage Department began sending shut-off notices to 46,000 customers whose bills remained unpaid. On June 25, the United Nations condemned DWSD's cutoffs as an "affront to human rights." While it's important that DWSD receives funds to make up for their deficit, the department must also keep the lives of Detroit residents in mind when implementing programs to collect water bills. It's understandable that DWSD needs to collect money to continue funding water services, and in light of $120 million in unpaid water bills, the company must take action to correct this problem. However, shutting off citizens' water, a basic human need, isn't an appropriate solution. Sue McCormick, DWSD director, stated the majority of unpaid water bills stem from residents who can afford to pay but believe they can get away without paying their bills. McCormick also expressed the company's willingness to help anyone legitimately unable to afford the cost. Therefore, DWSD must take an aggressive approach to pursue contact with non- paying customers to discover each person's circumstances and appropriately handle each case accordingly. If contacting each customer fails to help, DWSD must take other actions - like requesting mayoral or governmental assistance - in solving payment issues. During DWSD's initiative to shut off water, the Detroit City Council recently passed a bill to increase water bills by nearly 9 percent. At $75 a month, the average Detroit water bill is nearly double the U.S. average. Poverty- stricken citizens shouldn't face an unreasonable cost for a basic human necessity, especially given the council's justification for the increase. According to the Lansing State Journal, the increase stems from delinquent bills, yet increasing a cost because some can't pay causes a repetitive cycle. Those unable and unwilling to pay their water bill will continue avoiding payments while the city will continue raising water rates. This reality sets a precedent that punishes complying citizens, and with higher bills come more citizens unable to pay their bills which increases the risk of water being shut off. While the nearly 9 percent increase fails to correct delinquencies, it also furthers the poverty that struggling residents experience. While five dollars more a month towards water may not be much for some citizens, this increase is a significant amount to lower socioeconomic families - particularlythose who already can't pay their bills. Adding the risk of water being shut off only increases the stress that citizens experience. While programs are beginning to help citizens, DWSD must make sure all struggling families receive assistance and access to water. sleep deprivation, but the message came through loud and clear: trauma patient en route to the hospital. In the emergency department, the team of nurses, paramedics Ve did e and physicians donned protective equipment, we cou talked idly and teased one another about was all t the quiet shift thus far. The office water- tOO cooler chatter died abruptly as the doors slammed open. In rushed a stretcher bearing a shapeless figure, whisked immediately into the waiting trauma bay. A flurry of activity ensued as each person set to his or her assigned task, starting intravenous lines and placing monitors toward the woman's head, while at her feet we began shredding clothing and searching for pulses. Yet even an inexperienced third-year medical student could see it was all wrong, pressures too low, wounds too many. We did everything we could, but ultimately it was too little, too late. Eventually the order came to halt chest compressions, signaling the end of resuscitative efforts. It was several more seconds before I realized that this was the first time I had ever witnessed someone's death. The attending trauma surgeon must have recognized the look on my face - started my way, mouth hanging halfway open as if to speak - but just then a dozen pagers on a dozen hips began to chirp in crazed, chaotic cacophony: rollover accident, two injured, estimated time of arrival... At the Veterans of America hospital months later, I was assigned to care for a salty, middle-aged veteran with terminal cancer. Agonized by constant pain, bones riddled with tumors, his sole remaining pleasure in life seemed to be the daily haranguing of his medical student. After weeks of struggling, I finally managed to win his grudging respect only after discovering that he had taken to hoarding pudding cups in his room. By unspoken accord, I ensured that any wayward desserts found their way into his drawer, and in return, he directed his ire towards others on occasion. On the penultimate morning of my tenure at the VA, I went to restock the secret stash of sweets only to find the vet's bed strangely empty. When I asked if the patient was in the restroom, his nurse looked puzzled for a moment before casually responding, "Oh, he died." Oh, he died. An offhand quip, but words that sank into me, weighed heavily on my chest, dense as lead, inert as stone. This was neither the time nor the place for contemplation, e rt n since there was Verytingii~ much work to be ld but it done, as always. More importantly, too little, I had a phone call to make, because late. the responsibility of informing the late vet's mother fell to me. She had been planning on visiting later in the day - how could I ever tell her this grim news now? Whatever I had to say, it would be heartbreakingly too little, too late. On alate winter's morning, the "code" team responded to an emergency in the University Hospital. I followed the feet of the senior resident ahead of me as he flew down the stairs, two steps at a time, while I awkwardly half-stumbled and half-fell behind him. Despite our best efforts, the patient did not survive the resuscitation. I had just witnessed my second death of the week. As for total number seen as a medical student, I had long ago stopped counting. Somewhere deep down, I thought that I might have felt a slight stirring where my heart once resided, but it passed quickly enough. One of the attending physicians took notice of me, led me aside, away from the commotion in the area of the now- deceased individual. He threw his arm around my shoulders, gave me the old "You Can't Save Them All" speech and encouraged me to contact him if I needed to debrief or decompress. It was a great talk, emphatically and admirably delivered, from-the-heart and perfect for the situation. It was also too little, too late. - Mike Yee can be reached at mayee@engin.umich.edu. Stellar new album from genre-mixing How To Dress Well ByKEN SELANDER DailyArts Writer "What Is This Heart?" by How to Dress Well challenged me. Man- behind-the-moniker Tom Krell's soulful, high pitch voice issotranquil that I just want to sit back and listen How to to each song with- out actually pay- Dress Well ing close attention "What Is This to the lyrics or Heart?" various instru- ments that com- Weird World pose the album's twelve tracks. But don't get me wrong, "What Is This Heart?" is a lovely record that com- bines various influences, namely R&B, hip hop and indie, to create an emotional, dreamy album that avoids being dramatic. Most every song on the record has a very loose, serene feel to it and "Repeat Pleasure," is no exception. It starts off lightly, with acoustic guitar strumming and keyboards that could easily double as the intro to a chick-flick. Krell's fragile voice enters the track, and the song transforms into a smooth stream of music. Snare beats seem to line the borders of the song, preventing its peripheral elements from drifting too far off from the centerpiece that is Krell's singing. If I didn't pay close attention to the lyrics and instruments of Tom Krell, the man behind How to Dress Well "What Is This Heart?" "Repeat Pleasure," as well as most trackson "What Is ThisHeart?,"they would all blend together, but not in a forgettable way. "See You Fall" pos- sessesvery calmingqualities for this same reason. The violin intro gives off a feeling of mourning, but the accompanying strings counter this sadness by providing an upbeat feel. The tranquility of Krell's high pitch vocals keep the song afloat, prevent- ing "See You Fall" from drifting away into sadness, creating a driv- ing balance that sustains a blissful feelingthroughout the track. "A Power" is one of the album's more sentimental songs. Krell dis- cusses all sorts of emotions, finding ways to discuss common themes of being a good, loving person while avoiding sappy, cookie-cutter bullshit. Lyrics like "I want to be sympathy, went to seek sympathy, I want to die in peaceful quiet," seem to procure real feelings from Krell, and frantic piano notes are a nice touch. "Face Again," stands in direct contrast to the fluffier "A Power." Unlike most songs on the album, the track has many lower tones that give a haunting, eerie vibe to the song. A demonic, low-pitch voice echoes and responds Krell's vocals, possi- bly delving into his inner conscious. Powerful bass and feedback noises pulse throughout the song, painting a mental picture of a dim light flick- ering on and off during the climax of ahorror movie. Interjected sound bites furtherthe trippynature of the song. The song finally lightens up when Krell muses "I don't know what's best for me," which seems to sup- port the idea that the demonic voice might represent some internal or external voice pushing him away from such a loving, optimistic exis- tence. In "What You Wanted," the use of brass instruments in the back- ground a strong snare and drum beat in the foreground, in combi- nation with Krell's smooth vocals, work to showcase the R&B influ- ences of "What Is This Heart?." After a funny accordion sampled intro, "Very Best Friend" develops a steady clapping beat that seems very true to hip hop, but maintains a secondary electronic feel with the accordion sample. These two songs find their pri- mary influences in R&B and Hip Hop respectively, but that is not to say that songs like "Precious Love," "Words I Don't Remember," and many more don't take influence from both. To be honest, "Words I Don't Remember" is so smooth, with a catchy, basic beat and some fun samplings, thatIcould easilysee it being played in a club setting. The fact that Krell's voice is both high pitch and smooth is definitely a tes- tament to his vocal abilities. In true indie spirit, Krell decid- ed to release "What Is This Heart?" on the album's website prior to its release date (supposedly) without getting permission from his label, Weird World Releases. Whether or not he had permission or not is irrelevant to the album, because as far as I'm concerned this master- piece should sell. The far-reaching influences of the songs make it eas- ily enjoyable to fans of many genres that surprisingly flow together uninterrupted throughout the record.