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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.”
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