Opinion JENNIFER CALFAS EDITOR IN CHIEF AARICA MARSH and DEREK WOLFE EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS LEV FACHER MANAGING EDITOR 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 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. The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com 4A — Wednesday, March 18, 2015 Finding our way there Claire Bryan, Regan Detwiler, Ben Keller, Payton Luokkala, Aarica Marsh, Victoria Noble, Michael Paul, Anna Polumbo-Levy, Allison Raeck, Melissa Scholke, Michael Schramm, Matthew Seligman, Linh Vu, Mary Kate Winn, Jenny Wang, Derek Wolfe EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS I magine, for a moment, the University suddenly devoid of women. All female students, professors, staff members and administrators vanish from campus. A multitude of seats in lecture halls and classrooms would be vacant. A number of classes would lack instruction from professors. Administra- tive issues would remain unresolved. The progress of research projects and initia- tives would slacken. Dining halls would operate under- staffed. Portions of on-cam- pus residences — without the contributions of staff members — would remain unkempt. Student organizations and committees across campus would struggle to function without a vast portion of their mem- bers and their leadership. Without its female writers, copy editors, videographers, design- ers, photographers and editors, the publi- cation you’re currently reading would lack content to provide to the student population. In short, the University, as it currently stands, would struggle to function during this hypo- thetical scenario. Although the scenario I describe above is merely my own personal musing, March 8, on International Women’s Day, women van- ished from advertisements, posters, publica- tions and billboards throughout New York City in an effort to raise awareness of the gender inequality continuing to permeate our society. Sponsored by the Clinton Founda- tion, the disappearance of female bodies, in combination with displaying the web address Not-There.org, was meant to call attention to data compiled by the foundation’s No Ceil- ings initiative to measure and gauge the worldwide condition of all women. By enter- ing the web address into a browser, members of the public were able to view a female celebrity-filled YouTube video explain- ing the disappearances, and they were presented with the opportunity to discover alarming facts and figures regarding the contemporary magnitude of gender inequality. Aptly titled, the cam- paign illustrates that gender equality remains out of reach for women throughout the globe. Of the numerous facts given to describe the current state of inequality, the website notes that the United States stands as “one of nine countries worldwide that doesn’t provide for paid maternity leave.” Highlighting the danger- ous prevalence of violence against women, the No Ceilings initiative provides the statistic that “one in three women suffers physical or sexual violence” within society. The site also address- es issues surrounding the gender pay gap, inac- cessibility to education, Internet service and child marriage. According to an estimate from the Clinton Foundation, “the Not There website had been viewed at least 104, 680 times” as of the evening of March 8. Gathering data and promoting a forum of discussion is crucial to making progress for women’s rights. Succeeding in its attempt to capture attention and garner support for equal- ity among genders, the Not There campaign is certainly a poignant and powerful one. Katie Dowd, the director of digital strategy at the Clinton Foundation, noted in an interview that one of the goals of the campaign was “to cre- ate a moment that feels meaningful.” However, no matter how revolutionary the campaign was in its commencement last week, the commit- ment to dismantling gender inequality must not remain limited to a single day. The effect of this campaign shouldn’t just be a noteworthy news event with a notoriety that fizzles out over time. In addition to the mysterious departure of women from newsstands and advertisements, another component of the campaign featured erasing the voices of females from contempo- rary music featured across roughly 186 radio stations owned by iHeartMedia across the nation. As a heavy critic of the usually over- sexualized and over-photoshopped manner in which women are often portrayed in ads and magazines anyway, I found this removal of voices to be more significant. In my opinion, demonstrating the lack of voices is more impor- tant than a lack of today’s societal depictions. Providing spaces for women’s voices to be heard is instrumental to achieving true equal- ity. In regards to remedying the ridiculous pay gap between men and women, I have often heard cultivating a larger number of women in STEM fields proposed as a solution. More women in STEM careers, as suggested by an article on the No Ceilings initiative’s website, would propel women into “some of the fastest growing, best paying, and highest-need fields in today’s economy.” Increasing the number of women in these careers would most likely aid in alleviating the pay gap as women with STEM careers earn 33 percent more than their female counterparts in other sections of the workforce. However, the pay gap is merely one issue, and equality isn’t obtained from the shifting of a comma on a paycheck. Women, in numerous fields, are absent from positions of leadership. According to the Center for American Progress, they possess 52 percent of all professional-level jobs, yet only 14.6 percent of American women hold executive officer positions. Women, in a profitable sector of the economy such as the legal field, consist of 45.4 percent of associ- ates. Yet just 25 percent of women maintain the sta- tus of non-equity partners, while a mere 15 percent of women are equity partners at a firm. Returning once again to the influential mar- ket of advertising, women constitute three percent of creative directors. In other fields where shaping mes- sages and opinion is at the forefront, men continue to dominate. Women in the film industry com- prise only 16 percent of the directors, executive producers, producers, writers, cinematogra- phers and actors responsible for creating the most profitable films in 2013. If this percentage were increased, more complex, intriguing and independent female characters would appear in our narratives. To move women toward our desired desti- nation in society, we absolutely need to under- stand the data, raise awareness of the issues to both men and women and recognize the role women play in our world. However, rather than take away images of women, the next step needs to involve re-imagining the role women play in our society. We need women in the advertis- ing, marketing and communication realms to continue redefining societal notions of woman- hood. We need female representation in gov- ernment and public policy to enact legislation necessary to improve overall living conditions for women. We need women with vast techno- logical knowledge to continue advancing soci- ety. To achieve equality, society, overall, needs women in sectors and roles that are diverse. — Melissa Scholke can be reached at melikaye@umich.edu. MELISSA SCHOLKE O n Saturday, March 7, a video was leaked of students from the University of Oklahoma’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity chapter singing a racist chant in unison. The chant included claims that Black students could never be a part of the fraternity, using the n-word and making a reference to lynching: “You can hang him from a tree, but he’ll never sign with me. There will never be a ***** in SAE.” Since the incident, the University of Oklahoma’s SAE chapter has been suspended by the university and its national chapter. Two students who were identified as leading this chant have been expelled. The video is blatantly racist. Students lightheartedly chanted about lynching, an act that is a reminder of America’s grim white- supremacist past, making it clear that the sentiments are in no way eradicated from our present-day society. Lynching was a way to strike fear into the hearts of the Black community both during and after the post-Civil War, to make them feel weak and like they would never be equal. To bring such a gruesome image back into the minds of Black Americans is unsettling, especially in this day and age. This incident was extremely shocking and eye-opening for many people throughout the nation, although in the eyes of many within the Black community, the only thing unique about this incident is that it was recorded. Megan Johnson, a Black student from the University of Oklahoma stated, “Personally I was outraged, I was upset, but shocked was not an emotion that I had … These racist situations happen every day and we encounter them. It took this group of students to be on camera and caught for it to get national attention.” The incidence that was caught on tape goes beyond just the actions and beliefs of a few fraternity brothers on a bus. Rather, this was a small reflection of much of the racism that is still prevalent within the United States today. Although many Americans still deny that racism is a prevalent issue in America, racial inequality exists in education, the criminal justice system and finances, among others according to a Pew report. Racism infringes upon the rights of Black Americans, even at a young age. Black children are more likely to be suspended for the same infringement as their white counterparts, — even in preschool — and are more likely to be placed in juvenile detention throughout their schooling. This severely limits their ability to reach higher education, which is already impeded by the history of racism in America, which includes slavery and Jim Crow laws. The hope that many rely on is the idea that the upcoming generations are more racially accepting and open-minded than people of the previous generations. Although this generation is statistically the most diverse thus far, the reality, as highlighted by this incident, is that whites within upcoming generations may not be as racially accepting as many may have previously thought. An evaluation of racial stereotype battery in the 2012 American National Election Study shows that 61 percent of white Americans under 30 view whites as more intelligent and hardworking than Black Americans, almost as much as their older counterparts; 64 percent of those 31 and older believe white Americans are more intelligent. As a community, it’s important to realize that racism still is very much alive today, and that the Civil Rights Movement didn’t end with a happily ever after just because we have a Black president. It includes every instance of racism that occurs in society today and it begins and ends with our actions. Many people have ignored the institutional racism and police brutality prevalent in our time. We should learn from the stories of our past and present, and ask ourselves what we want to tell our grandchildren about. I hope to be standing on the side of history that speaks for truth and justice. Malcolm X, a once- misunderstood man, said, “I’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” — Rabab Jafri can be reached at rfjafri@umich.edu. The ongoing civil rights movement RABAB JAFRI It’s important to realize that racism is still very much alive today. ARE YOU INTERESTED IN MAKING LIFELONG FRIENDS AND BONDING AT FLEETWOOD? DO YOU LIKE GIANT TEDDY BEARS AND BEVERAGES THAT COST A MERE 50 CENTS? Check out The Michigan Daily’s editorial board meeting. Every Monday and Wednesday at 6 p.m., the Daily’s opinion staff meets to discuss both University, state and national affairs. E-mail opinioneditors@michigandaily.com to join in the debate. The dangers of plastic T he week before Spring Break, my environmen- tal psych class turned my whole world upside down. I’m sure any read- ers out there who are familiar with environment or psychology class- es know that a little information goes a long way to sending students down doomsday spirals. Now just picture these two topics combined into one and then drop in a passionate guest speaker and you have a clear image of what caused me to question everything. Or, at least, everything I knew about plastic. And honestly, once the guest speaker opened my eyes, I realized I really didn’t know shit about plastic. Because who even thinks about it, really? It makes up my adorable reusable (and therefore eco-friendly, or so I thought) water bottle, my pitcher I use for water, my shampoo and conditioner containers, the knife-fork-spoon hybrid I eat all my meals with and god only knows what else. Plastic is everywhere and it’s wreaking havoc on our world and our bodies. No one even knows what it’s made of, because the people who make plastic do not have to disclose the ingredients that make it up. For example, in the early 2000s, when numerous studies came out explaining that the chemicals in the BPA plastic that make up most water bottles and baby bottles disrupt hor- mones and cause cancer, most people were quick to leap onto the BPA-free bandwagon. I know my family was. Basically, during my entire child- hood, I instinctively knew that BPA- free water bottles were safe. According to a Mother Jones arti- cle, BPA substitutes are unregulated chemicals made into plastic in pri- vately owned businesses which do not have to release this information. Similarly, according to Journalist’s Resource, new studies have shown that the same endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in BPA can be found in its widely favored replacement. This information is frighteningly hidden. Until plastic is more close- ly regulated by the government, it will be impos- sible to know the breadth of dan- ger that comes from these mix- tures of chemi- cals. And plastic, the material that makes up throw- away packaging and non-reus- able grocery bags, will never decompose into nature because, “due to the nature of plastic (it) often can only be ‘downcycled’ rath- er than recycled.” Some plastic is sent to be recycled in developing countries, which often involves open-air burning. But most plastic doesn’t even enter the shoddy recycling system. Thirty-four mil- lion tons of plastic were disposed in the United States in 2008, 86 per- cent of which ended up in landfills. Landfills are deeply unsustainable and diminish land resources. Other options, such as incineration, dan- gerously release carbon dioxide and other air pollutants. It seems to me that the entire recycling and waste removal system needs to be revitalized. But until that day, try to creatively reuse plas- tics, maybe for flower pots or pencil cases. However, do not eat out or off of them. As well as increasing our risk for cancer and disrupting our hormones when plastic leeches from our water bottles and plastic dining ware into our food and water, it’s also destroying the only home we have. Change starts with a small step in the right direction, so switch from plastic to metal or glass today. I did, and my metal water bot- tle holds water in basically the same way! I’m sure some people will read this and think I am crazy for putting so much empha- sis on avoiding plastic. It’s easy to write off these findings as pieces of propaganda and insanity, but that’s just being will- fully blind. Scientists aren’t lying. It’s better to take preventative steps now by cutting as much plastic out of our lives as possible. It’s the only real chance we have at saving this glori- ous planet. And ourselves, too. — Eliana Herman can be reached at erherman@umich.edu. ELIANA HERMAN Decreasing asthma and environmental pollution TO THE DAILY: Did you know that Michigan has an asth- ma contraction rate 10 percent higher than the national average, and that southwest Detroit has the third-most polluted zip code, 48127, in the nation? Environmentalists have established a link between environmental pollutants and adult-onset asthma. In addi- tion, pollution frequently induces asthma attacks in those who already have the disor- der. We all directly or indirectly have people we know who have asthma; obviously this issue is immediate. The Clean, Renewable and Efficient Energy Act, which requires that electric companies in the state of Michigan, such as DTE Energy, have 10 percent of their energy come from renewable resources, expires at the end of this year. The issue is that once 2015 ends, the act expires, and electric companies lack incentive to continue using renewable energy. In order to protect those close to us, we should all advocate for sustainable energy pol- icies that keep us all healthy and worry-free. Gov. Rick Snyder recently announced that he hopes to expand energy policy so that we get 30 to 40 percent of our power from clean renewables by 2025. In order to persuade the Michigan Legislature to vote in the affirma- tive, he needs our help. It’s imperative that we all contact our legislators in order to aid Sny- der in the passing of a renewable energy act, which would reduce air pollutants and thus asthmatic prevalence in Michigan for those around us and our posterity. Lotan Helfman LSA Senior Send letterS to: tothedaily@michigandaily.com LETTER TO THE EDITOR The entire recycling and waste removal system needs to be revitalized. Without women, the University would struggle to function.