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Friday, February 19, 2016 — 3

be divided equally amongst HCHN 
and the Genesee Health System.

Social workers at HCHN are 

helping Flint children and adults 
cope with emotional trauma from 
the crisis. Part of the $250,000 
going toward HCHN will address 
these behavioral issues, as well as 
another $250,000 grant given to 
the Genesee Health System.

“We are … including behavioral 

health issues. It will be important 
both to the children and to the 
community as well,” Burwell said.

Burwell was met with many 

questions regarding plans for future 
funding toward the Flint recovery 
during her visit. While Burwell 
couldn’t give exact numbers, the 
department released a statement 
on a proposed major expansion of 
Medicaid coverage for the children 
and pregnant women of Flint. This 
expansion would cover blood-lead 
level monitoring, behavioral health 
services, nutritional support and 
targeted case management.

“I don’t 
think 
the 
money 

numbers perfectly reflect all that 
the federal government is doing 
at this point. Medicare expansion 
will be a large part of the effort,” 
Burwell said. “Our objective is 
the community and the problem. 
When we get up every day we look 
at the charts, and we look at the 
progress of the two fundamental 
things we are trying to do.”

According 
to 
Burwell, 
the 

federal government hopes to reach 
the point where clean and safe 
water is accessible to every citizen 
of Flint both in the short and long 
term. The government is also 
working to discern the cause of the 
lead contamination and how best 
to mitigate it.

U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (D–Flint), 

who attended the event, met 
with Burwell and her team to 
address localized plans and assess 
the effectiveness of the federal 
government’s aid in Flint.

“The 
president 
responded 

almost immediately. He asked 
the director of a federal agency 
to take the lead, which is a big 
commitment,” Kildee said. “This 
isn’t about anything but trying to 
get solutions for the people of Flint 
and spending time with citizens 
and community leaders. I think 
they really felt that they had a 
listening ear today.”

During her visit, Burwell also 

addressed the general outline of 
a plan coordinated for everyone 
involved in Flint’s recovery. The 
federal government has put 70 
people in Flint to help maintain 
a coordinated response between 
Flint and all the groups involved in 
its relief, she said.

“I think what is fair to say is that 

we are working very hard … I think 
we can always be more coordinated 
and do better and more,” Burwell 
said. “I think most people are 
agreeing of the basic plan of 
distributing water and figuring out 
the interim steps… There is a basic 
agreement on those as being the 
general steps we need to take.”

of Engineering.

According to a press release, his 

research interests include electric 
propulsion, plasma diagnostics, 
space plasma simulation, electrode 
physics 
and 
nano-particle 

energetics. In 1992, he created 
the Plasmadynamics and Electric 
Propulsion Laboratory, which has 
become a successful laboratory 
with 50 graduate alumnae incuding 
36 Ph.D and 14 Master’s alumni.

His achievements have been 

recognized with several academic 
awards, including the 2002 Aerospace 
Engineering Award for Outstanding 
accomplishments. In 2005, he was 
awarded the University’s Harold R. 
Johnson Diversity Service Award 
as well as the Air Force Decoration 
for Meritorious Civilian Service. 
Gallimore’s contributions to the Air 
Force earned him a spot on the U.S. 
Air Force Scientific Advisory Board 
from 2001-2005.

Gallimore received his B.S. in 

aeronautical engineering in 1986 
from 
Rensselaer 
Polytechnic 

Institute, later receiving his M.A. 
and Ph.D. degrees in aerospace 
engineering from Princeton in 1988 
and 1992.

“I am confident that he brings 

the 
experience, 
energy, 
and 

demonstrated leadership to guide 
the college to greater visibility as a 
true exemplar of innovation, thus 
placing it in the highest echelon of 
institutions worldwide,” Pollack 
said.

to serve on the Human Rights 
Commission.

The 
Ann 
Arbor 
Human 

Rights Commission, previously 
called the Human Relations 
Commission, was created by 
City Council in 1957 under 
Mayor Sam Eldersveld. The 
commission is comprised of 
nine 
Ann 
Arbor 
residents, 

appointed by the mayor and City 
Council, who are responsible 
for 
dealing 
with 
issues 

pertaining to discrimination in 
employment, housing and public 
accommodations. 
According 

to the commission’s mission 
statement, “(The commission) 
serves as a watchdog to protect 
the human and civil rights of the 
people of Ann Arbor.”

Grand said she thought Baum’s 

personality would make him well 
suited for this position, noting 
that the role has little to do with 
his University experience.

“He’s incredibly smart and 

just a lovely person,” Grand said. 
“He’s the type of person that you 
want to see serving the city to 
some capacity.”

For Grand, Baum’s University 

connection 
does 
not 
affect 

his status as an Ann Arbor 
resident. She said the city and 
the University are essentially 
separate entities.

Councilmember 
Zachary 

Ackerman 
(D–Ward 
3) 
has 

known Baum since elementary 
school, when Baum was his his 
third and fourth grade baseball 
coach, and said he thinks he 
would be a good addition to the 
Human Rights Commission.

“His reputation as a dean of the 

Law School is as a fair and honest 
educator 
and 
administrator,” 

Ackerman said.

Baum said he was contacted 

directly by Mayor Christopher 
Taylor and asked to apply for 
this position. Taylor was a law 
student at the University when 
Baum began his career as an 
administrator.

“We’ve 
been 
friends 
and 

colleagues really for about the 
last 15 years, so I think he thought 
of me based on his experiences 
with me as somebody who might 
be willing and interested,” Baum 
said.

In his application for the 

position, Baum said he believed 
he would be a good fit for the 

Human 
Rights 
Commission 

because of his values.

“I believe strongly in the 

inherent 
worth 
and 
dignity 

of 
every 
person, 
and 
also 

that our society should strive 
constantly to eliminate wrongful 
discrimination,” Baum wrote. 
“I believe I would contribute 
positively to the community by 
serving on the AAHRC.”

Additionally, 
Baum 
said 

his tenure on the Educational 
Environment Committee at the 
Law School, during which he 
worked with students, faculty 
and administrators to promote 
diversity, equity and inclusion, 
will help him in his new role with 
the city.

“I, at the Law School, have 

been involved for years working 
with students who are minorities 
— racial minorities, gay and 
lesbian or disabled students 
amongst others,” Baum said.

“My experiences will help 

provide me with some very 
helpful context with which to 
approach my work on the Ann 
Arbor Human Rights Council,” 
he added.

This has resulted in there being 
no reliable way of knowing for 
sure what percentage of those 
affected are coming in and 
what percentage are not seeking 
medical help.

“Now that the word is out, 

which is, ‘it’s going around’ and 
‘don’t come in unless you need 
to,’ we really have no good way 
of grasping the total number,” 
Winfield said. “From that, we can 
say it is continuing, but we don’t 
know whether it’s continuing 
up, flattening out or starting 
to drop down, and we won’t be 
able to find that out from these 
numbers.”

The best treatment, he added, 

depends on how sick a student is.

 “We encourage people to 

start with ice chips if they’ve 
been vomiting, and then see if 
they can tolerate sips of water,” 
he said.

Once a student can drink 

water, doctors suggest drinking 
liquids such as Gatorade to 
rehydrate. Winfield said it could 
take anywhere between a couple 
of hours up to three days for 
someone to start feeling better.

Over the past few days students 

have expressed concerns about 
the University’s spread of the 
notification about the virus 
and ongoing efforts related to 
academic accomodations for sick 
students.

Engineering freshman Steven 

McPherson, also a resident of 
South Quad, said he would have 
prefered to be made aware of the 
illness sooner.

“ I really would have liked a 

notification e-mail earlier than 
two days after people started 
throwing 
up 
everywhere,” 

McPherson said.

Both McPherson and LSA 

freshman Cameron Misko said 
they found out about the illness 
from social media, particularly 
Yik Yak, and word of mouth.

Winfield said there were 

initial doubts about what was 
happening that justified the 
delay.

“There’s something that seems 

it’s in common with South Quad 
and West Quad dining services, 
but we have cases where we can’t 
make that connection,” Winfield 
said. “Those foods are available 
to us for trying to identify source 
of illness, but they are gone from 
the service of food.”

“I really wasn’t sure what 

was going on at first and 
perhaps 
overly 
cautious 
in 

getting out a communication 
before I understood what was 
going on,” Winfield said. “I was 
hesitant to communicate before 
I had a better sense of what was 
happening.”

Kim 
Broekhuizen, 
public 

affairs 
and 
media 
relations 

representative for Public Affairs, 
highlighted in an e-mail to 
the Daily that the University 
e-mail to students specified that 
students who were affected 
by the illness should isolate 
themselves 
until 
they 
are 

without symptoms for 48 hours.

The Office of the Provost has 

also released an e-mail to deans, 
encouraging faculty members 
to be flexible with regard to 
accommodating students who 
report being ill and would be 
unable to attend class, take 
exams or turn in assignments, 
Broekhuizen said.

“We are still waiting for test 

results 
to 
confirm 
whether 

the 
outbreak 
is 
norovirus,” 

Broekhuizen 
wrote. 
“That 

information 
is 
expected 

tomorrow afternoon or Monday.”

Professors of Stats 250, the 

most 
enrolled-in 
course 
on 

campus, 
released 
an 
e-mail 

Thursday 
specifying 
special 

midterm accommodations for 
students who are sick or who 
feel they may be sick. Reports 
of similar e-mails have been 
confirmed in various University 
classes.

“If you have experienced 

the symptoms that have been 
reported ... in the past few days 
and have not felt well for two 
days past the experience of these 
symptoms, do not attend Exam 
1 this evening,” the e-mail read. 
“We do not want you to have to 
take the exam while ill and do 
not want to expose students who 
would not otherwise be exposed 
to this illness.”

Amir Baghdadchi, director of 

communications for University 
Housing, said the most crucial 
thing sick students can do is 
isolate themselves from others.

“We have to remember that 

illnesses like this are extremely 
contagious,” Baghdadchi said. 
“We’re encouraging students 
to stay in their rooms and avoid 
going to classes. If you want to 
get well, until 48 hours after you 
feel those symptoms, you should 
stay in your room.”

Baghdadchi 
acknowledged 

that many students, especially 
those sick, are concerned about 
getting their meals.

“Students are using Feel-

better meals, and what the 
students sick can do, is they can 
actually work with a friend to 
order that meal and then have 
that friend deliver it for them,” 
Baghdadchi said. “We’re making 
this as available as we can for 
all the students who have meal 
plans who live in the halls.”

For students who are not 

affected, 
Baghdadchi 
agreed 

with Winfield and said there is 
little reason to hesitate going to 
the dining halls.

“Those who aren’t ill will find 

when they go to the dining halls 
that we have stepped up cleaning 
procedures across our system, 
in all residence halls and in all 
dining centers,” Baghdadchi said. 
“We are, across all residence hall 
bathrooms and all dining halls, 
using a higher level protocol for 
cleaning. Extra measures are 
being taken to keep it safe.”

There are indicators that this 

is not a foodborne illness but a 
viral-based illness, Baghdadchi 
added.

“We are using this special 

higher-level protocol, where we 
use cleaning agents approved 
by the federal government that 
targets specifically norovirus,” 
Baghdadchi said. “The intensity 
of cleaning is much greater and 
it’s actually designed to target 
this kind of outbreak.”

Jeff Bogos, kitchen manager 

at Au Bon Pain said the staff at 
Au Bon Pain has been working 
to maintain cleaning procedures 
and has brought in extra hand 
sanitation.

“We don’t want that to spread 

any worse than it already has,” 
Bogos said.

Because produce at Au Bon 

Pain is ordered daily, Bogos said 
the restaurant has been ordering 
extra food to keep up with the 
high demands.

“We’re up probably 40 to 50 

percent (in sales),” Bogos said. 
“The feedback from the students 
is they don’t want to eat (at South 
Quad) and I don’t blame them.”

Sick 
students 
have 
also 

complained 
about 
having 

difficulty getting in contact with 
their professors and getting 
special 
accommodations, 

particularly for midterms.

“The 
University 
is 

communicating all across faculty 
and through the Record and 
many channels so that all faculty 
and instructors know that this is 
going on on campus, and this is 
what students are dealing with,” 
Baghdadchi said.

LSA freshman Kyra Jamison 

lives in West Quad and said she 
knows two people who have 
been affected by the suspected 
norovirus.

“One of them went to UHS,” 

Jamison said, adding she later 
decided to go home to Sterling 
Heights to recover. “The other 
one said she didn’t want to walk 
there so she’s staying in her room 
all day.”

Misko who lives in South 

Quad, said the majority of his hall 
has been experiencing telltale 
symptoms of the norovirus.

“A lot of friends from my hall 

(got sick),” Misko said. “One of 
them did (go to UHS), but most 
of the other ones are just trying 
to handle it on their own. They 
are isolating themselves.”

For students who have not 

yet caught the illness, yet live 
with roommates who are sick, 
Misko said from what he has 
seen, many people are trying 
to 
avoid 
their 
roommates. 

However, 
considering 
close 

quarters, Misko noted it seemed 
impossible to avoid the illness 
completely.

Freshman 
Javin 
Etchison, 

who studies exercise science at 
Washtenaw Community College 
and works at South Quad dining 
hall, said the dining hall has been 
making adjustments based on 
the recent outbreak.

“We’re still preparing the 

same food, just a little more 
cautiously, a lot more washing 
hands, 
changing 
gloves,” 

Etchison 
said. 
“Instead 
of 

students being able to grab the 
food themselves, we serve the 
food to them, so they can’t touch 
food and put it back.”

Leadership 
Still 
Matters,” 

Lohaus said the collaborators on 
the report identified three pillars 
of American engagement in the 
world, which he stated were 
military security, economics and 
human freedom. 

Former 
ambassadors 
and 

current 
Ford 
School 
Profs. 

Richard Boucher and Melvyn 
Levitsky 
also 
joined 
the 

discussion panel.

Boucher, 
a 
former 
U.S. 

Ambassador 
to 
Cyprus, 

responded to Lohaus, saying he 
believed the report relied too 
heavily on platitudes. 

“It 
uses 
phrases 
like 

‘proactive,’ 
‘persistent’ 
and 

‘powerful’ — which, frankly to 
most of the world sounds like 
‘pushy,’ ‘preachy’ and ‘punchy,’ ” 
Boucher said.

He urged that the government 

should instead take a more active 
role in diplomacy rather than 
military confrontation, and use 
the military as a means of dealing 
in international affairs. In regard 
to the role of the military, he 
warned, “If you are a hammer, 
then everything you see becomes 
a nail.”

Levitsky, former ambassador 

to Brazil, praised the AEI report, 
which he said was reminiscent 
of President Barack Obama’s 
2015 report on national security 
strategy. 

Levitsky’s remarks focused 

on 
American 
commitment 

to 
international 
human 

rights. Speaking to American 
diplomatic successes in that 
arena, he cited the pressure 
that former Secretary of State 
Henry Kissinger placed on USSR 
ministers during World War II, 
which he said then led to the 
release of roughly 120,000 Soviet 
Jews from prisons and gulags. 

“One of the things that was 

interesting about the (Edward) 
Snowden WikiLeaks was that 
many (of the released documents) 
were international cables, reports 
that showed how much America 
was doing in quiet diplomacy in 
a number of countries,” he said. 
“We were trying to convince 
several governments, that we 
had relationships with, to treat 
the oppositions better, to not jail 
them, and to release those who 
were jailed.”

Public Policy senior Grace 

Lutfy, who helped organize the 
event, said after the event that 
she thought the discussion was a 
success.

“We had a really good turnout 

across all generations, which 
was really nice to see,” Lutfy 
said. “I thought the panelists 
were fabulous; they were very 
knowledgeable about the issues, 
and the question-and-answer 
section really brought out their 
strengths on the subjects.”

HEALTH
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