3-News
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Wednesday, January 20, 2016 — 3A
NEWS BRIEFS
after watching the crisis unfold
and realizing the far-reaching
impacts of the contaminated
water.
“Our
center
has
worked
directly with the Flint community
for over twenty years,” she said.
“We know people who live in
the community; they are our
partners, our friends and our
colleagues. We just wanted to be
able to do something.”
The
Black
Student
Union
at
the
University
has
also
started a GoFundMe campaign
to raise money that will be
directly donated to help the
citizens of Flint. The funds
will
go
to
providing
fresh
fruits and vegetables — which
help combat the effects of lead
poisoning, according to LSA
senior Christopher James, BSU
mass communication chair — to
be distributed at schools and
childcare centers. The BSU is
partnering with local elementary
schools and the Community
Foundation of Greater Flint in
their efforts.
James said the BSU decided to
contribute to the effort to support
the residents of Flint after the
increased national attention to
the crisis.
“It’s
getting
national
recognition now, but it’s always
been
a
problem,”
he
said.
“Nationally, everyone had been
rallying behind them, so we
thought we’d do the same thing
here. We cannot be the leaders
and the best and not help them
out.”
The
Michigan
Republican
Party contributed to water bottle
collection efforts Tuesday by
collecting water bottles on the
steps on the Michigan Capitol
building.
During
Tuesday’s
State
of the State Address, Snyder
discussed several long and shot-
term funding efforts to aid the
city, including a $28 million
request for funds from the state
legislature.
“This is a challenge we
must work together to solve,”
Snyder said. “We will not stop
working for the people of Flint
until every single person has
clean water every single day, no
matter what”
CRISIS
From Page 1A
less sensitive to phone alerts.
Using the Psychology Subject
Pool, University researchers
created
an
online
survey
to analyze the increasingly
common
phantom
phone
vibration phenomenon — which
a cell phone user believes they
felt a phone vibration or heard
a notification erraneously. The
survey consisted of different
measures to gauge the link
between the sensation and
the subject’s attachment style
in relationships, considering
anxiety responses vs. avoidance
responses, specifically.
Daniel
Kruger,
research
assistant
professor
of
health behavior and health
education, collaborated on the
research with assistants in
his Undergraduate Research
Opportunity Program in his
lab. Kruger said he studies
evolutionary
theory
to
understand
the
psychology
of behavior, and has done
previous work with attachment
styles, which are ways we feel
attachment to others. He was
also part of a previous study
with a former UROP research
assistant who observed people
and saw that cell phone use is
contagious.
The project began with
looking into the intersection
of virtual social space and
in-person space, specifically
researching social media.
“If you have a couple of
people
and
they’re
sitting
together in a coffee shop and
talking
together,
and
one
person picks up their cell
phone, the other person is more
likely to do so,” Kruger said.
Considering
this
phenomenon,
research
assistant Jaikob Djerf, an LSA
junior, suggested researching
phantom vibration, or phantom
cell phone ringing.
“I was curious why some
people feel it more than others,
why people are even feeling it
in the first place,” Djerf said.
“It’s a cultural phenomenon —
so many people do experience
it, and it’s significant in the
sense that we found personality
traits
that
influence
this
phenomenon.”
Though Kruger said the
phenomenon was something
he has experienced before
while driving, he was at first
unaware this was a common
sensation. However, because
there is not much research
being done about phantom
vibration, Kruger said they
designed the study to analyze
several different aspects that
were related to this sensation.
“In one way, [cell phones are]
a practical device,” Kruger said.
“You can get information, you
can find out where the bus is,
you can read the news. But it’s
also your connection to social
world, with Facebook, Twitter,
the other different social media
applications and websites.”
Some of the reasoning behind
having attachment cravings is
simply individual differences,
Kruger said. However, he noted
a craving for reassurance could
be a combination of genetic
variation and environmental
and
developmental
experiences.
Normally,
attachment style develops in
infants and young children and
can potentially in adult social
relationships.
“Because the cell phone isn’t
just this objective, practical
tool for objective information,
because
it
has
the
social
component, detection is going
to be influenced by these
psychological
factors,
such
as a craving for relationship
stimulation,” he said.
Djerf said researchers used a
popular personality scale called
the Big Five to create their
survey. The Big Five is a five-
factor model which refers to the
five dimensions psychologists
use in analyzing personality
—
openness,
agreeableness,
conscientiousness, neuroticism
and extraversion.
According to Kruger, inn
addition to the Big Five, the
researchers
also
used
the
Dark Triad, another group of
personality traits psychologists
use that holds a negative
connotation.
The
Dark
Triad
includes
narcissism,
Machiavellianism
and
psychopathy, indicating that
scoring high in these traits is
related to malevolence.
Kruger said the researchers
also made their own scale about
phantom cell ringing, asking
if the participant had ever
experienced it, and if so, how
often and how bothersome the
sensation was. The three types
of
stimulation
highlighted
in the survey included a cell
phone’s ringing, vibration and
notification.
Among the most common
sensation felt by those surveyed
was a phantom vibration, in
which people feel something on
their skin that might be simple
sensation, but they interpret
the sensation as their phone
buzzing.
“This could be due to the
ambiguity of the stimulus,”
Kruger
said.
“Sounds
are
more distinguishable, and it is
more difficult to have a visual
hallucination than it is to
interpret a tactile sensation.”
With the new and rapidly
developing state of technology,
cell
phones
and
social
networking,
Kruger
said
the world is only starting to
understand the psychological
dynamics and implications of
objects like cell phones.
“Still, it just kind of shows
at least some people might
be too dependent on this cell
phone
technology,
so
the
recommendation is it might
be good practice to sometimes
not have your phone on or not
constantly be checking these
applications.”
STUDY
From Page 1A
“(Public
Act
269)
would
prevent factual communication
about matters of communal
interest from municipal bodies
and elected officials, and thereby
impedes voter knowledge in the
voting booth,” Taylor said. “It
warrants repeal.”
Councilmember
Graydon
Krapohl (D–Ward 4), who also
opposes the law, emphasized
the significance of passing the
resolution.
“I don’t want to be known as
the king of resolutions opposing
state actions, but our voice does
matter when it comes to issues
like this in Lansing,” Krapohl
said, adding that Ann Arbor
would be joining numerous
other cities in protesting the
law.
City Council also heard public
comments from Ann Arbor
residents who opposed the city’s
deer cull — a group of Ann Arbor
residents who support the city’s
plan to kill a portion of Ann
Arbor’s deer population — as has
been typical at recent meetings.
In addition to criticizing
councilmembers, multiple anti-
cull activists also criticized
the pro-cull group Washtenaw
Citizens for Ecological Balance,
accusing it of having unfair
influence on the council.
Ann Arbor resident Lorraine
Shapiro pointed to recently
disclosed
e-mail
exchanges
between councilmembers and
members of WC4EB to argue
that they had undue influence
over other citizens when the
council was still deliberating
over the cull in 2015.
“It is apparent that WC4EB
has
privileged
access
to
councilmembers that I and
others do not,” Shapiro said,
referring to the e-mails. “We are
being governed behind a cloak
of secrecy.”
In an interview after the
meeting,
three
members
of
WC4EB
dismissed
these
accusations as absurd.
WC4EB
member
Bernie
Banet said the communications
his
association
had
with
members of City Council were
completely normal and that the
accusations were an attempt to
distort reality.
“All
groups
were
communicating with council as
we have a constitutional right
to do, we have every right to
petition our government,” Banet
said. “The notion that there were
some improper connections or
magical power, other than the
information that we provided is
kind of laughable.”
COUNCIL
From Page 1A
scandals like the poisoning of
Flint’s children with lead and
the throwing away of $134
million
on
new
legislative
offices the state doesn’t need
and can’t afford,” said Brandon
Dillon, chair of the Michigan
Democratic party.
Snyder ended his remarks
by committing to the state of
Michigan to fix the problems he
outlined, admitting to making
mistakes during the last years of
his term.
“Challenges
we
face
in
Flint, Detroit and beyond are
serious but solvable,” he said.
“The question is can we come
together today. Every single
citizen depends on us and we
need to give them a better,
brighter future. They deserve
it.”
For
state
and
federal
Democrats, the reaction to the
address
was
predominantly
skeptical of Snyder’s plan for
Flint’s future.
In a statement released by
his office, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters
(D–Mich.),
condemned
the
governor’s plan for moving
forward with the Flint crisis.
“While I was pleased to hear
the Governor speak directly
to the people of Flint, I believe
the plan he outlined tonight fell
short of what is needed to fully
address the extensive needs of
Flint residents suffering from
lead exposure, especially Flint’s
children,” Peters said.
Lonnie
Scott,
executive
director of Progress Michigan,
echoed
Peters’sentiments
in
a statement released Tuesday
night, also highlighting the
organization’s
dedication
to
hold the state accountable.
“While it’s a good first
step
for
the
Governor
to
release these emails, Progress
Michigan remains committed
to advocating for a complete
repeal of the exemption for the
Governor and legislature in our
FOIA laws,” Scott said. “It’s
nice that now that the spotlight
of national media is shining a
light on Snyder’s failures that
he decides to give lip service to
transparency. We will continue
to shine a spotlight on the
Governor to encourage action
and not just empty words.”
other people,” she said. “It
takes just a little bit of courage
to be uncomfortable enough
to understand life from other
people’s point of view.”
Resolutions
A
new
resolution
on
increasing
voter
registra-
tion on campus was brought
to the assembly floor during
Tuesday’s meeting. The pro-
posal sought to install a popup
window on Wolverine Access
about registering when stu-
dents register for classes to
make the voter registration
process easier for students.
The resolution was passed
to the finance and resolutions
committee for further review.
The body also voted on win-
ter CSG election dates with
a resolution that had been
brought to the table last week.
The resolution was passed,
with applications for candida-
cy due the week before spring
break.
Among
old
business
brought back to the table was
a resolution to amend CSG’s
2016 $400,000 winter semes-
ter budget, and another to
enact it.
Flint residents file
lawsuits against city
Flint residents filed two
new class action lawsuits on
Tuesday against city and state
officials regarding the water
crisis, according to MLive.
The plaintiffs argue that water
bills since April 2014 should be
considered void as the water was
unsuitable for consumption.
Families involved in filing
the lawsuits accused officials
of supplying contaminated
water from the Flint River to
citizens as a cheaper alternative
to receiving Lake Huron water
from the city. They highlighted
that government officialls at
all levels failed to provide safe
water to residents and want
compensation for personal and
physical injuries.
On Tuesday, the request for
the preliminary injunction was
filed at the circuit court level
to pursue the lawsuit. The city
of Flint, the state Receivership
Transition Advisory Board and
other individual officials were
listed as the defendants.
DPS plan to move
forward with
second “sickout”
protest
Detroit Public School
teachers are deciding to
continue protesting the quality
of their buildings, inaccesable
wages, and crowded classrooms
by staging a second protest, The
Detroit Free Press reported.
Teachers boycotted their
classrooms last Wednesday by
unanimously calling in sick,
effectively closing schools in
five districts.
Two other demonstrations,
hosted by Detroit Federation
of Teachers union and a
second group of parents and
community members, will
occur in tandem with the
sickout in a show of solidarity
with the teachers.
University receives
NIH grant to
study back pain
University researchers
received a $1.4 million grant
from the National Institutes of
Health to investigate the cost of
back pain treatment ouside the
primary care system, according
to a University press release.
They will also examine the
impacts of complimentary and
alternative medicine providers,
such as chiropractors.
The U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services
noted that back pain is a
common reason for primary
care visits, but predicts
primary care physicians will
decrease signigicantly by 2020.
Consequently, researchers
claim the study will be an
important and timely topic for
policymakers.
—CAMY METWALLY
ADDRESS
From Page 2A
CSG
From Page 2A
Join the Daily.
IT’S 1:48 A.M.
AND WE’RE
STILL HAPPY
TO BE HERE.
Come to a mass
meeting.
THURSDAY 7
P.M. AT 420
MAYNARD