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Monday, March 21, 2016 — 3A
hypothesis was social media can
be predictive, somewhat, of the
damage done,” Van Hentenryck
said.
Launched in 2012, the team
consisted of a variety of scien-
tists, researchers and graduate
students from five universities.
Prior to coming to the University,
Van Hentenryck led a research
group at National Information
Communications
Technology
Australia. It was there that he
engaged long-time friend Man-
uel Cebrian as co-author for
the research project. Currently
based in Melbourne, Cebrian
works as research team leader
at the Commonwealth Scientific
and Industrial Research Organi-
zation.
Cebrian said using real-time
data from social media to evalu-
ate complex events that have
far-reaching and long-term con-
sequences is significant because
these events are difficult to mea-
sure quickly.
“We wonder if we could actu-
ally do something that would mix
two very different time scales —
one that is very slow and take a
long time to assess, the other one
would be social media, which will
be very fast,” Cebrian explained.
“Natural disasters produce mas-
sive damage; it’s estimated that
damage takes months to assess.
When you estimate damage in
one community, usually what you
do is send experts, experts con-
duct assessment with technology,
verify that damage was caused
by the disaster and it takes some-
times about a year to do this. So
we asked: can we infer some of
this from the way people tweet
during the disaster?”
For the purpose of this study,
“damage” was quantified by the
amount of disaster relief funds
issued by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency. The team
analyzed 52 million geographi-
cally pinpointed tweets posted
before, during and after the hur-
ricane. In order to ensure that
tweets were filtered for relevance,
they searched for keywords such
as “FEMA” and “hurricane.”
“We very carefully gathered
tweets about the hurricane in
the east coast, and obtained data
from both FEMA and private
as well as state-level insurance
claims,” Cebrian said. “We put
everything together and then
started to measure the specific
correlations between them.”
Given the large amount of data,
Cebrian said the team was care-
ful to ascertain that statistical
results could be reproducible on
the city, county and national lev-
els.
“The third phase of our proj-
ect looked at the question: are
the signals robust? We needed
to make sure that what we found
was meaningful and reliable. It
took almost a year to write up the
results and make sure that they
are presented in an intelligible
fashion,” Cebrian said.
The research found that areas
that tweeted more post-disaster
filed the most insurance claims
and received the most individual
assistance from FEMA grants.
Similar studies on 10 to 15 other
disasters revealed the same cor-
relation.
“There is a positive correlation
between the level of twitter activ-
ity and the damage in a particu-
lar area,” Van Hentenryck said.
“The interesting thing is that it’s
not when the hurricane is passing
through the region, it’s a couple
of days after. At the peak of the
event, almost every location will
have a lot of tweets, even if they
aren’t directly on the path of the
hurricane.”
The researchers said their find-
ings are significant because the
uncovered correlation between
the volume of tweets and local
damages is actually stronger
than those employed by fragility
simulations currently used in fed-
eral emergency response efforts.
Nonetheless, Cebrian stressed
the research findings should be
used as a complement to, rather
than replacement of existing
forecasting and predictive mod-
els.
“We wanted to be very cautious
about this,” Cebrian said. “Corre-
lation is positive, but moderate,
can predict some of the damage
that is going to happen, but not all
of it. This could be due to the fact
that maybe we don’t have enough
data, or maybe Twitter doesn’t
capture 100 percent of the dam-
age.”
Van Hentenryck said he hopes
federal emergency services will
leverage on the predictive poten-
tial of social media, now that this
peer-reviewed study has been
published.
“I think emergency services
would like to tap into that poten-
tial — they don’t really know how
to do it, they don’t really know the
reliability,” he said. “For me, this
is exciting because it gives them
positive indication that social
media is another tool that they
can use.”
Irene Syriac, told the story of
coming to terms with asexuality
by comparing her vagina to the
popcorn button on a microwave.
“My vagina is my body’s
equivalent to the microwave’s
popcorn button,” Syriac said. “I
never used it and I do not have
plans to.”
Syriac explained the stigma
associated with asexuality and
the lack of awareness surrounding
the subject during the monologue,
and related it to the personal
experience of coming out.
“Coming out to my parents
wasn’t all that different from
telling them that I had a
mysterious disease,”Syriac said.
“Telling them I was dysfunctional
seemed easier than telling them
I was asexual. My conservative
upbringing had led me to think
that it was something I should not
have been experiencing yet.”
Students for Choice President
Connie Gao, an LSA senior,
said she hopes that audience
members
will
be
inspired
and continue the discussion
afterward.
“I hope people think about the
Vagina Monologues after they
leave.” Gao said. “I hope that they
put in that conscious thought.”
All of the proceeds from ticket
sales were donated to Operation
SafeHouse,
an
organization
which
provides
emergency
shelter, intervention and outreach
services
to
youth
in
crisis.
Students for Choice treasurer
Kelsey Almony, an LSA junior,
said she wanted to be a part
of Vagina Monologues initial
because of its connections to
SafeHouse.
“I got involved because of the
donations to SafeHouse,” Almony
said. “I have some personal
connections there. It is something
really close to my heart, which
is why I am passionate about the
event.”
LSA junior Sydney McConnell,
a member of Students for Choice,
said the purpose of the event was
to add the perspective of women
to the conversation.
“Women
are
sexual,”
McConnell said. “They have
sexual organs and should be
they are bringing their customers
the best product, he said.
The open layout of the store
is also formatted to reflect the
wholesome
ingredients,
and
increase transparency to the
customers, he added with the
ingredients in plain view to the
customers on the counter where
the food is made.
“Transparency
is
very
important to me,” Lelcaj said. “All
of our packages are in plain view
— you can see what we’re using.
You can see every increment of
every single ingredient as we are
adding it to your food.”
Business
sophomore
Sarah
Wood, a student representative
for the business, said she is a huge
fan of the new cafe because of
its transparency and nutrition.
She said she believes the new
cafe will have an impact on the
food culture of South University
Avenue allowing a new kind of
option.
“My personal opinion of the
food and their unique offering
is that it’s going to fragment the
South U food offering,” she said.
“I think it’s going to incite change
because they are so dedicated to
healthy options, so dedicated to
whole-foods-like quality. It has
the main street high class feel but
they are bringing it to South U.”
Engineering
senior
Jake
Fratkin, president of the Food
Industry
Student
Association,
said he thought this style of food
will fit well into the culture of
Ann Arbor.
“It definitely is going along with
the health food craze that is going
on,” he said. “It is on the further
end of that spectrum of being all-
in with sourcing and applying
sustainable and nutritious food
that also tastes good.”
Lelcaj said along with food he
also wants to emphasize positive
interactions between his team of
employees and the customers.
“I’m
not
hiring
workers,”
Lelcaj said. “I’m building a team.
I’m building a team of individuals
who are really passionate and
excited about this. It’s really
important to me that people are
familiar with everything we are
working with and actually taking
interest. A lot of things that are
not everyday household items —
the staff putting it into real terms
is really important.”
Wood
noted
that
the
environment of the store is
something she appreciates.
“From the moment you walk
in where it is so light, airy, white
and peaceful, to interacting with
Fred and (other cafe staff), you
feel good about every interaction.
That is something that is so
amazing about the experience of
Fred’s,” she said.
their lives only when we actu-
ally go beyond our intuition
about kids and test ideas,” he
said.
Smith said the purpose of
the symposium was to share
the program’s findings with
the greater community, spe-
cifically those who have par-
ticipated in studies.
“The thing I think is most
important about this is trying
to give back a little bit,” he said.
“As development researchers,
we rely heavily on the will-
ingness of families to have
their kids come and chat with
us and take part in our activi-
ties. One of the of things that’s
true about a lot of the academic
world is that what we end up
finding never makes it back
to those people that helped us
out.”
options for student loans offered
by
the
federal
government:
income driven repayment, which
allows graduates to cap their stu-
dent loan payments at 10 percent
of their income, and public service
loan forgiveness, a program which
allows graduates entering public
service careers to qualify to have
their debt forgiven.
King asked journalists on the
call to inform their fellow students
of potential loan scams, in which
companies attempt to charge for
services the government provides
at no cost.
“The bad news is I’ve got a
warning for you too,” King said.
“There are people out there who
are looking to take advantage of
Americans’ anxiety about stu-
dent loan debt and try to charge
you for services that are com-
pletely free.”
Addressing a question about
ensuring
college
affordability
for middle-income families, King
said one of the most important
aspects is encouraging states to
provide adequate funding for
institutions.
In the state of Michigan, high-
er education took a hit in 2011
when Gov. Rick Snyder cut fund-
ing by 15 percent under his first
budget. Since then, funding has
slowly increased. Under Snyder’s
most recent budget proposal,
funding for higher education has
aggregately returned to pre-2011
levels, though the budget has yet
to be approved by the state legis-
lature and is subject to change.
Despite this increase, Young
Invincibles — a youth advocacy
organization, which publishes
an annual report measuring state
support for higher education —
gave Michigan an F ranking in
their 2016 report. Additionally,
Michigan also ranked among
the highest in family share of the
cost burden, with families paying
70 percent of total college cost at
public institutions.
King said decreased invest-
ment from states has led to
tuition increases, prompting the
federal government to encourage
renewed state funding for higher
education.
“We’ve been urging states to
pay careful attention to their level
of investment in public higher
education,” he said. “One of the
things that has driven higher
costs for students and families
has been disinvestment by states
over the past decade, so we are
pushing for states to make a bet-
ter investment.”
In the 2016 presidential elec-
tion,
Democratic
candidates
Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie
Sanders (D–Vt.) have touted two
different higher education reform
initiatives. Clinton has supported
debt-free college, which would
allow increased investments in
higher education to help students
graduate without needing to take
out loans. Sanders has proposed
tuition free college, which would
cause all public institutions to be
entirely without cost for all indi-
viduals regardless of financial
background. Republicans have
not released formal plans for
higher education reform.
King denied to comment on
the
Obama
administration’s
opinion of either of the two plans,
but did note President Barack
Obama’s efforts toward free two-
year community college.
“The president has a proposal
called America’s College Promise
that would make tuition for com-
munity college for hardworking
students free,” he said. “For many
folks community college can be
a path to a four year program or
gaining skills for employment.”
LSA junior Taiwo Dosunmu,
communications director for Col-
lege Democrats, said he feels the
president has fought to increase
college affordability, and the two
Democratic candidates — Sand-
ers and Clinton — both plan to
continue his work and further
their own plans.
“The Obama Administration
has made the affordability of
higher education a priority since
early on in the president’s first
term,” he said. “Both Demo-
cratic candidates for president
have announced excellent plans
to continue Obama’s work and to
help students deal with the chal-
lenges of rising tuition and the
burden of student debt. The Dem-
ocratic Party is the party that is
fighting on behalf of students.”
College Republicans could not
be reached for comment on the
issue.
marijuana
user
who
has
requested
to
remain
anonymous — said the lack
of social stigma, and sense
of relaxation are factors that
contribute
to
marijuana’s
popularity on campus.
“People are likely to smoke
because they genuinely like
the feeling they get from doing
so; also, from my experience
there really isn’t a stigma that
comes from doing it at all,”
he said. “Basically everyone
I knew growing up did it, so
there was no sense of, ‘Oh,
what I’m doing is wrong.’ But
the main thing is people like
how they feel when they’re on
(marijuana).”
The article also notes the
high popularity of marijuana
on the West Coast as well as
the Northeast. By comparison,
the plains states, as well as the
Southeastern states displayed
relatively low enthusiasm for
marijuana use.
LSA senior Erin Dunne,
director of the University
Students for Sensible Drug
Policy, said the marijuana
legalization policies in other
states could be an influence
on the growing enthusiasm for
the drug statewide.
“I think that enthusiasm
is currently growing in part
because the national discourse
on marijuana is becoming
more favorable,” Dunne said.
“Voters are looking to states
like Washington and Colorado
and seeing that there is a
reality of legal and taxable
marijuana that is beneficial to
the state and hoping to bring
the revenue and industry to
Michigan.”
Dunne, who is an advocate
for
statewide
removal
of
criminal
penalties
for
cultivation,
possession
and
distribution
of
marijuana
except in the case of sale to
unauthorized
minors,
also
noted Ann Arbor’s relatively
loose policies on the drug.
“In
the
city
of
Ann
Arbor, marijuana has been
decriminalized, meaning that
offenses result in a fine and a
civil infraction rather than a
criminal charge,” Dunne said.
“This policy has probably
benefited Michigan students
in the sense that those who
choose to use marijuana off-
campus will not be sucked into
the court system and have a
criminal record when applying
to jobs.”
really great is that it’s huge,”
Lagoy said. “Sometimes that
could be a bad thing because it’s
hard to get everything right. We
do it really well because there is
a commitment to making sure
that the ingredients and recipes
are high quality.”
Lagoy also cited the high
quality of the ingredients as key
to the restaurant’s success. She
said Café Zola uses local, organic
produce not only for their dishes
but also their coffee, tea and
wine. Lagoy said using good,
fresh ingredients really makes a
difference in the final prepared
dish, citing eggs that come from
a local Amish farm in Dexter.
“The owners feel very strong
about staying true to the quality
of the ingredients,” Lagoy said.
“We are providing the best
for our customers. (The food)
nourishes their bodies without
feeling ‘ugh.’ Our egg dishes
taste so good because it’s the egg
itself that tastes good.”
Lagoy also noted the design
of the restaurant creates a
“rustic” ambience that makes
the customers feel like they
are not just having a meal with
their party, but with the rest
of the restaurant, creating a
community of diners.
For that reason, Lagoy said
though the restaurant is doing
well, she does not want to
expand the restaurant so much
that it loses the rustic, cordial
ambience.
“We always want to build
our customer base, but we
don’t want it to become so big
that we lose what we’re able to
offer right now and become too
mainstream,” Lagoy said. “It’s
a destination place for the food
and the ambience.”
Medical
and
Rackham
student Anjan Saha, who’s eaten
at the cafe for brunch, said he
appreciated the excellent food
and service despite how busy the
restaurant was.
“Brunch time on Sunday is
extremely busy as one would
expect for a place that is held in
high regard amongst many in
AA,” said Saha. “(I) waited at
most ten minutes for my food,
which was excellent. Personnel
were extremely nice, warm, and
accommodating. Place is perfect
for group outings, brunch dates,
or enjoying a nice meal alone.”
In spite of the positive things
about his brunch experience,
however, Saha did note that
the price might be too high for
students.
“The only knock I have
against (the restaurant) is the
price,
since
students
don’t
necessarily earn the largest sum
of money,” Saha said.
STUDY
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FRED’S
From Page 1A
ZOLA
From Page 2A
EDUCATION
From Page 1A
MARIJUANA
From Page 1A
VAGINA
From Page 1A
LAB
From Page 1A
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