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Thursday, July 2, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com OPINION
The University of Michigan
and Michigan State University,
the two largest universities in
the state, together purchase
more than $2 billion of goods
and services each year, includ-
ing
everything
from
desks
to
high-powered
computers.
Much of this money is spent
in Michigan, supporting local
businesses, even through tough
economic times. Unfortunately,
state policies have prevented
the University and MSU from
fully using their purchasing
power for the benefit of all of
Michigan’s business owners.
According to the most recent
census, only 30 percent of Michi-
gan firms are owned by women
and 13 percent by minorities.
One of the major causes of this is
an unfair lack of access to capi-
tal: women and minority entre-
preneurs are less likely to have
loans approved and more likely
to pay higher interest rates, even
after controlling for credit score
and other factors. This lack of
entrepreneurship opportunities
hurts job growth and drives both
wealth and income inequality.
Many universities around
the country have recognized
similar
conditions
in
their
communities and used their
purchasing power to help give
a fair shot to all entrepreneurs.
For example, by focusing on
local suppliers and increasing
its purchases from minority-
owned firms from $41.4 million
to $105.7 million, the Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania has gen-
erated about 200 jobs and $6
million in local wages. Region-
ally similar schools like Ohio
State University, the University
of Illinois, Indiana University
and the University of Wiscon-
sin have all set specific spend-
ing goals for businesses with
women and minority owners.
However, two current state poli-
cies inhibit Michigan’s universities
from making a similar impact.
In 2006, a state constitu-
tional amendment was passed
banning affirmative action by
publicly
funded
institutions.
While much has been written
about how the ban has affected
minority enrollment in higher
education, there has been far
less discussion about how the
ban has affected university pro-
curement departments. Point 2
of Section 26 of the amendment
states that “the state shall not
discriminate against, or grant
preferential treatment to, any
individual or group on the basis
of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or
national origin in the operation
of public employment, public
education, or public contracting
(emphasis ours).”
Because of this specific ban on
affirmative action in public con-
tracting, universities in Michi-
gan are unable to systematically
support disadvantaged business
owners through their procure-
ment. This prevents both the
University and Michigan State
University from setting specific
disadvantaged business spend-
ing goals, like many universities
in the Midwest.
Additionally,
unlike
many
states — both red and blue —
there’s no comprehensive state-
wide agency that’s set up to
support or certify women- and
minority-owned
businesses
(WBEs and MBEs, respectively).
While the Michigan Department
of Transportation maintains a
small
transportation-specific
database (as mandated by federal
law) and the nonprofit Michigan
Minority Supplier Development
Council maintains an MBE certi-
fication, both of these programs
include only incomplete listings
that are not publicly searchable.
As a result, neither public
nor private institutions have an
available list of such businesses.
So even if MSU, the Univer-
sity or another local enterprise
believe they might be able to
use a WBE or MBE for a spe-
cific contract, they have to rely
on a variety of private groups
for information. (MSU once
maintained its own diverse ven-
dor database, but it was lost in
a software switch and is only
slowly being reconstructed.)
While other states’ diverse
business programs vary, Michi-
gan’s lack of an agency or pub-
lic database is unusual. Every
state that surrounds it in the
Midwest, including Ohio, Indi-
ana, Illinois and Wisconsin,
maintains a searchable data-
base. Some states, like Ohio,
actually set benchmarks for
state agency procurement.
There’s nothing partisan or
left-leaning about these other
states’ MBE and WBE programs.
Alabama’s
Republican-domi-
nated state government not only
certifies
businesses
through
its Office of Minority Business
Enterprises, but also advocates
for and offers training to small
and diverse businesses. South
Carolina’s Republican governor,
Nikki Haley, maintains a Gover-
nor’s Office of Small and Minor-
ity Business Assistance. This
office has established a data-
base of diverse vendors, works
with state agencies to moni-
tor minority contracting, and
offers policy guidance on issues
involving small and minority-
owned businesses.
These states have recognized
that creating entrepreneurship
opportunities for all of their
citizens creates jobs and com-
bats inequality in their commu-
nities. It’s time for Michigan to
do the same.
Michigan’s legislators must
support universities’ efforts to
purchase from disadvantaged
businesses throughout the state.
A repeal of the state’s contro-
versial constitutional amend-
ment banning affirmative action
would create lasting change, but
is currently unlikely. Right now,
however, our legislators and
governor can work to establish
an office that creates a data-
base of diverse firms. Doing so
would allow Michigan universi-
ties to join with others around
the country in creating more
vibrant, inclusive communities.
Dominic Russel, Julius Gold-
berg-Lewis, Mario Gruszczynski,
and Julia Christensen are mem-
bers of the University chapter of
the Roosevelt Institute.
Investing in diversity
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ROOSEVELT INSTITUTE | VIEWPOINT
I
went to the movies with a
couple of friends on Satur-
day to see Pixar’s “Inside
Out.”
Having
seen the trailer
and
thinking,
“Wow!
Who-
ever thought of
this must have
been on drugs,”
I knew this was
a movie I had
to see (even if it
meant being the
only
group
of
college students
mixed in with
parents and their
pre-10-year-old kids fighting for the
coveted middle seats that aren’t too
high up).
After winning the battle against
my tendency to fall asleep during
movies, when the film ended, I knew
I had seen something special. Sure,
it was technically a “kids” movie
because that’s what Pixar makes,
but really it was anything but. It was
a movie that I, a 21-year-old rising
college senior, needed to see.
Without ruining it for anyone,
the message of the movie is this: It’s
okay to be sad.
Yes, it’s certainly more pleasant to
be happy, but there are times where
we need help to cope with what’s
going on in our lives. And instead of
pretending to be something we’re
not and repressing our emotions, it’s
simply better for our mental health
to be honest and express our sadness
(or anger, fear and disgust, though at
least according to the movie, these
emotions are less productive in
helping ourselves).
For the most part, the people
closest to me — my friends and fam-
ily — believe in this. We’re open
with each other and tell it how it
is. When we’re happy, upset, sad
or frustrated, we make it known.
Admittedly, this can sometimes
go to the point of offending each
other or just being annoying, but
I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Inside Out” validated this lifestyle
for me.
Over the past couple of years,
I’ve come to terms with the idea
that being “happy” isn’t my ulti-
mate goal. Because if it is, then
I’m most certainly going to fail.
Emotions come and go, so even in
the best possible circumstances,
feelings of joy are only temporary.
Therefore, the goal is letting the
negative emotions, like sadness and
fear, happen, but not allowing them
to latch on for too long and become
overwhelming to the point of
depression. Obviously, that’s easier
said than done.
By no means is this philosophy my
idea. I first came across it when my
aunt recommended that I read “The
Happiness Trap” by Dr. Russ Harris.
Put simply, Dr. Harris presents the
idea that most thoughts are random
and uncontrollable. Therefore, it’s
not worth trying to control what you
think, but rather how much weight
you put on each thought. In order to
determine which thoughts are more
important than others, you decide if
they apply to your beliefs and values,
the things we care about the most. If
they do, you act on it. If not, instead
of trying to actively eliminate the
thought and getting upset that it
exists, you let it wither away. Doing
this successfully takes immense
practice — it’s a daily challenge for
me — but I am convinced it will help
me live the life I want to live.
In my Public Health 300 course
this past winter, Prof. Vic Strech-
er taught something similar. He
preached the idea of living with pur-
pose, that when you live for some-
thing above yourself, whatever that
may be, you will live not only a fulfill-
ing life, but a healthier life. To name a
few benefits, studies have shown that
having a purpose can help us sleep
better and reduce obesity, as well the
risk of a heart attack. So although I
am still searching for my purpose
(it’s not supposed to be easy), this
concept has stuck with me.
The issue with these ideas is that
they’re relatively new. There is a
massive emphasis in this country on
the “pursuit of happiness,” and right-
fully so. After all, we’ve been talking
about it for nearly 239 years.
But perhaps we should take on a
different approach, where we stop
tricking people into believing that
a happy life is a successful life. Per-
haps a life where we learn to balance
our emotions and embrace the good
and the bad is really what makes a
successful life, that is, if we’re deter-
mined to define success. Maybe it’s
time to start preaching, “life, liberty
and the pursuit of purpose.”
“Inside Out” continued a needed
conversation on the importance of
mental health and how our society
handles it. But it’s up to us to keep
talking and educating ourselves — to
change the outdated status quo.
And by the way, how cool would it
be if there were actually little crea-
tures in our heads?
— Derek Wolfe can be reached
at dewolfe@umich.edu.
DEREK
WOLFE
The pursuit of purpose