Engineering sophomore Maggie
Hafers, president of Zeta Tau
Alpha, said the Speak Out had an
emotional atmosphere.
“(I felt) shock, heartbreak, but
also empowerment,” Hafers said.
LSA senior Alyssa Gorenberg,
a founder of the Panhellenic peer
educators program, said she hoped
the Speak Out would help create a
safer and more supportive Greek
community.
“We want this event to be a staple
in our community for the future,”
Gorenburg said. “I think it’s really
important to raise awareness for
our sisters in our chapters and the
Panhellenic community as a whole.
I am hoping that people find that
they have a space that is safe and
confidential, that they can start to
heal or continue their process.”
Panhellenic
Peer
Educators
handed out pamphlets at the the
beginning of the Speak Out, which
detailed
confidential
resources
available to survivors and allies on
campus. The back of the pamphlet
had a blank space left for students
to write, draw and/or reflect. There
was also a confidential SAPAC
advocate in attendance available to
students if needed.
Though SAPAC hosts annual
Speak Outs at the University, LSA
senior Laura Meyer, volunteer
coordinator for the networking,
publicity and activism program
at SAPAC, said there was an
important
distinction
between
this Greek Life Speak Out and the
campus-wide one.
“I think a lot of people make
assumptions about Greek life
without listening to the lived
experiences of people within the
Greek life system, which is why I
think this is so important to create
the community where people are
comfortable listening to each other
and sharing with each other,” she
said. “And with that we can try to
go forward and change the culture
so this event is not necessary in the
future.”
SINDUJA KILARU/Daily
Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha gives a talk about the Flint drinking water crisis at the School of Public Health on Wednesday.
3-News
Funding awarded to
encourage medical
discovery projects
The Center for the Discovery
of New Medicines has awarded
funding for discovery projects
done by University faculty
regarding important health topics
such as chronic kidney disease,
different types of cancers and
atherosclerosis.
The grants will help researchers
advance these projects so they
can receive more funding from
additional sources, such as federal
agencies, foundations and industry
partners.
The CDNM’s role is to provide
both financial resources and access
to technology for researchers who
could potentially create life-saving
therapeutic drugs.
Recipients of the awards include
Ronald Buckanovich, associate
professor of medical oncology;
Vernon Carruthers, professor of
microbiology and immunology;
and Yuqing Eugene Chen,
Frederick Huetwell professor of
cardiovascular medicine. Also
awarded were Raymond Trievel,
associate professor of biological
chemistry and Matthew Soellner,
assistant professir of medicinal
chemistry.
The awards given this year
ranged from $37,000 to $50,000.
Since being established in 2012,
the center has given more than 30
awards totalling nearly $860,000.
Study on apes
highlights research
gaps present in
Africa, Asia
Anthropologist Andrew
Marshall, along with several of
his colleagues, found that one-
third of protected nature areas
in Africa have not received any
research attention. These findings
hold implications that there is a
disproportionate focus on great
apes and their homes as compared
to other equally important species.
This can hold consequences for the
field of anthropology, as well as the
species being neglected.
In a press release, Marshall
said this obvious preoccupation
with apes is detracting from other
species that also need attention,
especially in this region and in
tropical Asia.
Ultimately, nature areas and
protected national parks in both
Africa and Asia with great apes
returned 3.1 times more hits than
those without great apes.
These findings lead to
unrealistic assessments of the
status of threatened species
and result in serious gaps in the
amount of knowledge available
on how these species live — both
in protected and unprotected
habitats.
Studies reveal
average increase in
fuel economy last
month
The average fuel economy for
new vehicles sold in January
increased to 25.1 miles per gallon.
The increase is from 24.9 as
measured in December.
Though overall, fuel economy
is down 0.7 mpg from an all-time
high in August 2014, it is still
5 mpg up from October 2007,
the first month monitored by
researchers at the University
Transportation Research
Institute.
Researchers Michael Sivak and
Brandon Schoettle also focused
on a national Eco-Driving
Index, an index that estimates
the average monthly emissions
generated by a single driver from
the United States. This index
took into account the amount of
fuel used per distance driven and
the amount of driving.
Sivak said in a press release
that this increase likely reflects
the seasonal decrease in sales of
pickup trucks and SUVs, rather
than an exponential increase
in the amount of four-doors
purchased.
—ALEXA ST. JOHN
NEWS BRIEFS
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Thursday, February 4, 2016 — 3A
help the people of Flint deal with
the aftermath of the crisis.
“It’s Congress that needs to take
action,” he said. “The purpose of
the oversight committee is to hold
public officials accountable.”
In his remarks, Kildee said
he thinks it is important to
recognize that the major decisions
that led to the water crisis were
made by Earley and not the local
government officials.
“So when we talk about failure
of government at every level, let’s
just be clear about one point —
one very important point: Every
decision that was made for the city
of Flint that relates to this crisis
was made by a state-appointed
emergency manager,” he said.
“The mayor of the city has no
authority; the city council in Flint
had zero authority to make any
decisions. That is an important
point.”
According to Jacobson, because
of Michigan’s Public Act 72 —
often referred to as the emergency
manager law — Earley is unlikely
to face legal consequences for his
actions as the law provides virtual
legal immunity for any actions
taken by an emergency manager.
During the hearing, Kildee
also submitted a memo from
the Michigan Department of
Environmental Quality which
indicated they had misinformed
the Environmental Protection
Agency regarding their use of an
optimized corrosion control plan.
This information could have had
the potential to keep lead out of
the water for an estimated $80
to $100 per day, according to the
memo.
Walters
said
the
MDEQ
misinformed the EPA due to
alleged misinterpretation of the
law, causing residents to think the
water was safe for many months
when it was not.
“The MDEQ claimed they
misinterpreted
federal
law
regarding corrosion control,” she
said. “They were allowed to tell
EPA that they were following the
law. Citizens in Flint were told
for 18 months that the water was
safe.”
Snyder was not among those
called
to
testify
before
the
committee. Jacobson said this
was part of a partisan bias, in
which Congressional Republicans
— who have the majority in
both
chambers—
want
to
avoid harming a prominent
Republican
governor
by
shielding him from any tough
questions he would face in the
hearing.
“The majority party rarely
wants to expose wrongdoing
among its own party members,”
he said. “My guess is Snyder
is not being called because
they do not want to expose
him to the questions from the
minority members.”
U.S. Rep. Elijah Cumming
(D–Md.), one of the committee
members, said he requested
the chair of the commission,
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) ask
Snyder to come and to have him
submit documents, but was
refused.
“Governor Snyder should
have
to
answer
for
his
decisions,” Cumming said during
the hearing. “We asked the
chairman to invite him today,
but he would not. We asked the
chairman to send the same kind of
document request that we sent to
the EPA, but he would not.”
Colleen Crossey, a political
activist
who
co-organized
a
recent Ann Arbor protestcalling
for Snyder’s arrest, said in an
interview that she would like to
see Snyder face consequences and
appear before the committee.
“Snyder
should
be
held
accountable because of his lack of
oversight,” she said. “I want to see
him held accountable and for him
to go to Washington and answer
the questions that he needs to
answer.”
TESTIMONY
From Page 1A
SPEAKOUT
From Page 1A
video feeds. Public Health graduate
student Patrick Kelly said he
attended the event because he saw
the crisis as an issue that hits close to
home for him.
“I think it’s one of the biggest
environmental health crises of our
time,” Kelly said.
Though the passion in the room
was clear, it seemed to be driven by
curiosity rather than outrage.
“It’s a sad situation, but I still
need to learn more about it, myself,”
said Public Health graduate student
Christian Balcer.
However, by the end of the
presentation
some
attendees
expressed
anger
toward
the
government’s
response
to
the
crisis. Health Informatics graduate
student Jarrod Sandel said he was
distressed by the official response.
“You look at the work that Dr.
Mona and other people have tried
to do to try to bring this to a head,”
Sandel said. “And to have them be
stonewalled at every step is just
horrendous. It’s a public health
failure.”
During her remarks, Hanna-
Attisha
said
approximately
18
months went by with the state
government and the Environmental
Protection
Agency
withholding
information.
“Right away the water was
brown,” Hanna-Attisha said. “It
looked gross. It smelled gross. It
tasted gross. People complained
instantly about rashes and hair
loss, but it fell on deaf ears … Then,
in October 2014, GM stopped using
this water because it was corroding
engine parts. This is when alarms
and red flags really should have gone
off.”
Hanna-Attisha
also
noted
the
potential
effects
of
lead
contamination on children. These
effects may include decreased IQ,
ADHD behavior and increased
criminality. Most of all, Hanna-
Attisha said the children and the
community as a whole have been
affected by trauma.
“We have a community that’s
absolutely traumatized,” Hanna-
Attisha said. “I see the moms in
clinic, and the sacks under their
eyes. This is trauma for two things,
loss of trust in their government —
governmental betrayal and neglect
for two years. This is 2015. This is
Michigan. We are literally in the
middle of the Great Lakes and we
could not guarantee a population
that they’re drinking clean water.
And they’re traumatized by lead.”
Social effects aside, the cost to
the government for treating these
ailments will be significant, Hanna-
Attisha added.
“In the nation we spend about
$50-100 billion dollars a year
treating the consequences of lead
poisoning,”
Hanna-Attisha
said.
“So you add up decrease of lifetime
earning, special education costs,
criminal justice costs, mental health
costs — it is staggering.”
Speaking to ways to buffer
the impact of lead exposure, she
also discussed efforts to increase
accessibility to the Hurley Medical
Center.
The Hurley Medical Center
confronts all the biggest obstacles
between Flint residents and better
health
such
as
transportation,
consistency and diet, according to
Hanna-Attisha. To combat these
issues, the center is located next
to a bus stop, vulnerable families
visit the same nurse at least until
the child reaches age two and the
center is located above a healthy
foods farmers market, which offers
special deals to clients. However,
Hanna-Attisha said the center still
needs a lot of development. “We’re
building a plane while flying it,” she
said.
Hanna-Attisha offered advice
on how to help the Flint area,
specifically in regards to the water
crisis.
“Stop giving us water, we don’t
need water,” Hanna-Attisha said.
“What we need is an investment in
tomorrow.”
She recommended donating to
research funds and hospitals on
the front lines or to community
organizations helping the day-
to-day situation of these families.
She finished the presentation by
emphasizing the need to empower
children,
quoting
Frederick
Douglass.
“It’s easier to build strong
children than to repair broken men.”
free enterprise a hallmark of the
American Dream, and suggested
students get stipends to attend
universities and colleges.
In response to D’Souza, Ayers
questioned the United States’
commitment to allocating its
budget to military engagements
abroad instead of devoting more
spending to make education
more accessible for all students.
Attendees often cheered in
agreement with both speakers.
D’Souza drew raucous applause
when he stated that health
care costs kept rising because
of the high number of people
who rely upon publicly funded
health care and the large tax
burden this poses to the average
taxpayer.
“The guy who is getting the
benefit is not the guy who is
paying for it,” he said.
Ayers’ biggest applause from
the crowd came when he spoke
about privilege throughout the
country.
“We, as a democracy, as
a people, ought to say that
whatever the most privileged
and wisest parents have for their
children, we should have for our
community’s children,” he said.
Ayers also emphasized the
important role of education in
a healthy democracy several
times during the debate.
One question submitted by an
anonymous student directed to
both speakers was: “If you could
have been one of the framers of
our Constitution, what would
you have changed?”
D’Souza answered that he
would
have
reinforced
the
built-in checks and balances
that help curb the power of the
government. In response, Ayers
simply stated that he would have
changed two things: abolished
slavery and given women the
right to vote.
Following the three student-
submitted
questions,
Dean
Martin opened the floor to any
attendee who wished to ask the
debaters a question. The topics
of these questions ranged from
the Flint water crisis to the
Black Lives Matter movement.
On the topic of the Flint water
crisis, Ayers said Gov. Rick
Snyder (R) should be driven
from office for his failure in the
matter. He called the incident
a
“catastrophic
example
of
government being run like a
business.”
When the debate concluded,
each debater received a standing
ovation
the
audience
and
D’Souza and Ayers both were
approached by dozens of fans
and critics when they left the
stage.
In an interview, D’Souza
described the debate as “more
substantive”
than
another
debate
held
between
him
and Ayers, at his alma mater,
Dartmouth College. He stated
his desire for liberal universities
to be more open to dialogue
from conservative students and
to be more vigilant to protect the
right to free speech. He called
the undergraduate experience
“a stage of life where you are
learning,” and said he felt
political activism on campuses
to be less important than
learning from one’s peers and
developing personal political
beliefs.
Ayers said in an interview
after that there was only one
area that he wished had been
further discussed — climate
change.
“Climate change is one area
where you can see ideology
trumping reality,” he said. “The
problem with ideology is that
it can be helpful as a guide for
thinking but can also be a prison
and a trap.”
Strobl said he was pleased
with the discourse between the
D’Souza and Ayers, as well as
the enthusiastic involvement
from the crowd.
“I was really happy with how
the night went,” he said. “The
debate could not have gone any
better, especially because both
speakers were unafraid to take
on the tough issues. I think that
is what the campus needs.”
DEBATE
From Page 1A
@michigandaily