U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee
introduces two pieces
of legislation to
provide aid to Flint
By LYDIA MURRAY
Daily Staff Reporter
U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (D–Flint)
has introduced two bills aimed
toward helping the community
of Flint and preventing similar
health effects in the future.
The Flint water crisis began
in April 2014 when the city
switched from Detroit city water
to Flint River water. The water
from the Flint River had a much
higher corrosive quality than the
Detroit water which allowed lead
from the pipes to contaminate
the water. Following the switch,
citizens began reporting adverse
health effects, but the city didn’t
switch back to Detroit water until
October 2015.
State Sen. Jim Ananich (D–
Flint) said he thought it is pri-
marily the responsibility of the
state to help the citizens of Flint,
but any additional aid is appreci-
ated. The state legislature recent-
ly approved a nearly $28 million
dollar request from Gov. Rick
Snyder (R) to fund efforts in Flint.
“This is a state failure and the
state needs to fix it, that is pretty
widely acknowledged,” Ananich
said. “But the support from the
federal government and all across
the country is really nice to see.”
Kildee’s “Families of Flint Act”
is a comprehensive bill aimed at
providing long-term funding for
infrastructure improvements and
developmental care for affected
children.
In an interview Sunday, Kildee
said fixing the damaged pipes in
Flint is the first major component
of the bill.
“One part is to pay for sig-
nificant improvements to Flint’s
water system, so the damage that
was done by the highly corrosive
water will be a temporary prob-
lem, and Flint will have a water
system it can count on for years,”
he said.
Sharon
Swindell,
assistant
professor of pediatrics at the
University, said lead poisoning
in children is one of the most
salient health concerns from
the crisis because it can lead to
developmental issues.
“There is no safe level of lead
in a person’s body,” Swindell
said. “Children, who have a lot of
brain growth and development
in the first six years, are vulner-
able to cognitive and develop-
mental effects.”
Kildee said the more long-
term focus of the bill involves
ensuring
affected
children
receive the necessary support to
overcome any issues in the years
to come.
“A big part of what the bill
would pay for is the educational,
nutritional, behavioral needs of
people who have been affected
by lead poisoning, especially
children,” Kildee said.
As part of the bill, the state
would be required to match
every dollar of federal funding
with state funds. This year, the
state has approximately $575
million in lapse funds — leftover
money at the end of the fiscal
year. Snyder is currently draft-
ing a recommendation for how to
appropriate these funds.
Kildee said due to the state’s
budget surplus this year, he
believes the matching mecha-
nism is feasible for the state.
“The state actually has the
money right now,” he said. “This
year they had a budget surplus.
I think that is a perfectly good
source of money for them. The
state has no excuse for what they
did to Flint and for not helping
Flint because they have money.”
Students highlight
perceived lack
of institutional
transparency
By TANYA MADHANI
Daily Staff Reporter
Students discussed non-inclu-
sive behaviors in the classroom
and the University’s perceived
lack of transparency in relation
to issues of mental health at a
forum on Friday.
During the discussion, facili-
tators and attendees suggested
initiating a required training
process for faculty and GSIs to
combat the stigmatization of
mental health issues and to cre-
ate more inclusive classroom
environments for students with
mental illnesses.
The LSA Undergraduate Edu-
cation Campus Climate Commit-
tee held the forum to address of
mental health stigmas on cam-
pus and how those issues mani-
fest themselves in a classroom
setting, according to facilitators
Shamaila Ashraf and Toni Wang,
both LSA juniors. The discus-
sion focused on possible changes
that could go beyond the Univer-
sity’s established resources for
students with mental illnesses
like College And Psychological
Services and Wolverine Support
Network.
The Campus Climate Com-
mittee was formed in 2013, and
this is the second of several such
planned forums. Wang said the
poor treatment of students suf-
fering from mental health issues
in
educational
environments
was the focus of the earlier dis-
cussion and continued to be sig-
nificant in this subsequent form
because of its direct impact on
daily life.
“There are definitely some
professors or GSIs who may
make it a more intimidating
environment for people to reach
out, but I think that even those
who are more understanding of
those issues aren’t being reached
out to,” Wang said. “This is
because students aren’t being
told it is OK if you are struggling
through mental health issues
and we want you to be mentally
well to thrive here and feel like
you belong.”
She added that she believes
the University lacks visibility
when discussing mental health,
which prevents students from
utilizing resources the campus
offers, also, contributing to the
stigma professors and students
associate with mental illness.
“There’s no transparency in
terms of the resources and if
people will listen to those stu-
dents,” she said. “I think that’s
a huge issue, that openness,
because there’s no conversation.
People don’t talk about it even
though there’s so many strug-
gling with it, because they feel
like they would be shamed.”
Ashraf said these forums are
key to sparking action in a school
as large as LSA, which has many
departments
acting
indepen-
dently.
“It has to be taken into account
when you’re looking at how to
gauge what is a problem,” she
said. “In the psychology depart-
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
2A — Monday, February 8, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
2-News
THREE THINGS YOU
SHOULD KNOW TODAY
The Michigan men’s
basketball
team
suffered its second
straight home loss Saturday
against Michigan State.
>> SEE SPORTSMONDAY ON 1B
2
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
Faculty bell
tower recital
WHAT: A carillon on the
bell tower’s bells will be
performed by Tiffany Ng
and Kathleen Beck.
WHO: School of Music,
Theatre & Dance
WHEN: 12 p.m.
WHERE: Burton
Memorial Tower, 10th
floor
Talk on public
health in
Mexico City
WHAT: Anthropology
Prof. Elizabeth Rogers will
give a lecture that ties in
soda, public health, NAFTA
and love in Mexico City.
WHO: Science,
Technology & Society
WHEN: 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Lecture on
European
refugee crisis
WHAT: Author Maurizio
Albahari will give a
lecture on refugees on the
Mediterranean coast.
WHO: Center for
European Studies
WHEN: 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: School of Social
Work Building, room 1636
After a magnitude-6.4
earthquake in Taiwan,
rescuers are scrambling
to find survivors. At least
334 people have been killed,
BBC reported. The quake
struck as many prepared
to celebrate the Lunar New
Year.
1
Clarinet class
WHAT: Corrado Guiffredi,
a renowned musician who
has performed with the
Orchestra della Svizzera
Italiana and premiered in
the Penderecki’s Concerto
for Clarinet and Orchestra,
will host a guest master
class.
WHO: School of Music,
Theatre & Dance
WHEN: 4:45 p.m.
WHERE: Earl V. Moore
Building
According to the
BBC,
Tunisia
has
completed the first
phase
of
its
125-
mile
barrier
along
its
border
with
Libya. Made of sand banks
and water trenches, the
barrier is designed to deter
terrorism. It comes after
38 people were killed by
a Libya-trained gunman.
3
LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily
LSA senior Tony Bae performs with Element 1 at the LiNK Benefit
Show at East Hall on Saturday. The annual show brings awareness
and raises funds to support North Korean refugees hiding in China.
Lecture
on ancient
Athens
WHAT: Jessica Lamont
from Johns Hopkins
University and The
Walters Art Museum
will deliver a lecture.
WHO: History of Art
WHEN: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
WHERE: Kelsey
Museum of Archaeology,
Lecture Hall
Startup panel
WHAT: A panel of female
investors will share how
they invest, as well as
their careers and financial
ventures.
WHO: Women Who
Launch
WHEN: 5 p.m. to 6:30
p.m.
WHERE: Innovatrium,
615 East University Ave.
Avenue
Elevator pitch
workshop
WHAT: The English
Language Institute
will conduct a winter
workshop series for
creating and presenting
your elevator pitch in a
concise and effective way.
WHO: English
Language Institute
WHEN: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
WHERE: Mason
Violin recital
WHAT: Haerim Lee will
perform a violin program,
including “Fritz Kriesler,”
as well as violin sonatas.
WHO: School of Music,
Theatre & Dance
WHEN: 8 p.m.
WHERE: Walgreen
Drama Center, Stamps
Auditorium
Please report any
error in the Daily
to corrections@
michigandaily.com.
TUESDAY:
Campus Voices
THURSDAY:
Twitter Talk
FRIDAY:
Photos of the Week
WEDNESDAY:
In Other Ivory Towers
MONDAY:
On the Daily
A national activist group
called Ultraviolet sponsored
a plane banner protesting
Governor Rick Snyder’s (R)
potential involvement in
the Flint water crisis.
The banner read “SNY-
DER POISONED KIDS IN
FLINT” and flew over the
Crisler Center during the
rivalry
basketball
game
against Michigan State Uni-
versity.
“It is time that all Michi-
gan residents – Spartans
and Wolverines alike –
stand up and demand that
Governor
Snyder
resign
immediately,”
Shaunna
Thomas,
co-founder
of
UltraViolet, said in a press
release.
Ultraviolet intended for
the banner to draw atten-
tion to their petition for
Governor Snyder’s resig-
nation
for
mishandling
Flint’s toxic water. Ultra-
violet is an online advo-
cacy group that advocates
against sexism. The group
has over 700,000 members,
and almost 32,000 of those
members have signed the
petition for the Governor’s
resignation.
After Flint’s emergency
manager decided to change
the city’s water supply
to the Flint river in 2014,
residents
began
voicing
concerns over the discol-
oration and off taste of the
water.
Despite
multiple
reports proving there to
be lead in the city’s water,
Snyder only called a state
of emergency in December
2015, 18 months after the
initial switch.
Thomas said Snyder was
aware of the lead in Flint’s
water for at least a year but
neglected to take action,
alleging that the governor
sent bottled water to state
employees last year, which
they have used as evidence
for his knowledge of the
lead in Flint’s water.
The petition also empha-
sizes the poor and Black
community of Flint the
water crisis affected, as
well
as
the
permanent
health damages to children
and pregnant women.
— EMILY MIILLER
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327
www.michigandaily.com
ROSE FILIPP
Business Manager
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SHOHAM GEVA
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The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by
students at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may
be picked up at the Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $110.
Winter term (January through April) is $115, yearlong (September through April) is $195. University affiliates
are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must
be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The Associated Collegiate Press.
See CLIMATE, Page 3A
FREEDOM IN EXPRESSION
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
LSA junior Shamaila Ashraf leads a forum on campus climate at Couzens Hall on Friday. The event was held as part of the LSA Undergrad-
uate Education Campus Climate Committee’s efforts to gauge and improve the inclusivity of the campus’s climate for all students.
GOVERNMENT
Proposed bills would increase
federal funding for water crisis
Mental health in the classroom
emphasis of campus discussion
Plane banner targets Snyder
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