I 

am pretty good at keeping 
my personal information 
private, so I tend not to 

think of my banking 
app as part of my 
online 
presence. 

Still, 
it 
somehow 

found a way to fit into 
how I present myself 
online. Namely, when 
I log in to my banking 
app, it prompts me 
with a phrase and 
image that I can 
confirm are indeed 
associated 
with 

my account — an 
account I made at age 16 and 
have not altered since. 

The image and phrase I 

chose, while holding my first 
paycheck and full of youthful 
ignorance, 
have 
shown 

themselves over time to be 
essentially gross lies. In the 
interest of protecting my bank 
account, I’ll give only a rough 
explanation: the image is like 
a gold medal and the phrase is 
along the lines of “I am a huge 
success.”

Every time I log in now, I 

laugh a little for a few reasons: 
A) I have a warped sense 
of humor that allows me to 
laugh at literally anything, 
B) laughing before I see my 
account balance is a good 
primer for being more positive 
than I should in the face of 
my meager sums and C) my 
16-year-old 
self 
had 
huge 

aspirations for what this new 
bank account meant for me 
and my future. The reality is 
perhaps less envious than what 
I might’ve hoped.

I wish I could go back in 

time to hug my high-school 
self and apologize, but also 
to thank her for believing in 
us so strongly (and perhaps 
irrationally). That kid may 
have been an idiot, but she did 
have chutzpah. 

In a larger sense, the weird 

mismatch between the login 
phrase and my account balance 
demonstrates to me that who 
we are online is often not 
reflective of our reality. Online 
we are given the opportunity 
to reinvent ourselves. We are 
much more prone to sharing 
our successes and good days 
online than posting pictures of 
ourselves splattered with soup 
after we’ve tripped down some 

stairs. (In general. Just as an 
example. That hasn’t happened 
to me.)

In a way, I can 

guarantee that we’ve 
all been dishonest 
online (some of us 
more than others). 
I don’t necessarily 
mean claiming on 
Facebook 
that 
“I 

have 
a 
girlfriend 

in Canada who you 
won’t 
meet 
but 

absolutely 
exists” 

so much as giving 
off a vibe of “I 

drink champagne daily” on 
Instagram.

The lying we do through 

self-branding 
and 
omission 

online isn’t a negative thing 
necessarily, or even completely 
avoidable. 
It’s 
simply 
not 

possible to accurately represent 
who we are in all our wonderful 
complexities on social media.

Furthermore, 
we 
are 

prone to censoring ourselves 
when faced with a platform’s 
shortcomings and unspoken 
rules, such as limiting our 
cursing if family is going to 
see a post or censoring our 
conspiracy theories in case a 
future employer goes snooping 
(despite the powerful impulse 
to 
convince 
everyone 
that 

Jupiter isn’t real; we’ve all 
been there).

In fact, these positive lies 

can be seen as aspirational; 
these posts may not represent 
our true selves, but it’s how we 
might like to be seen or how 
we wish we lived and felt all 
the time. I may post concert 
videos and flattering selfies 
on Instagram, but that’s not 
my day-to-day life. My online 
presence is more of a highlight 
reel, leaving out the less than 
stellar 
moments, 
like 
last 

week when I accidentally fell 
asleep on top of a fun size Mr. 
Goodbar and woke up with 
melted chocolate everywhere.

There are legitimate reasons 

I don’t share everything, from 
a desire for privacy to not 
feeling the need to document 
the mundanity of my everyday 
life. More often, though, it 
comes down to wanting a 
positive response from others. 
I can rephrase my thoughts 
to come across as particularly 
eloquent or impactful, and I 

can cherry pick the moments 
that I share, making public 
only as much as I want others 
to see. Our online revisions can 
be powerful things that let us 
display a filtered version of the 
best parts of ourselves.

That being said, dishonesty 

is dishonesty, and it can have 
side effects on our happiness 
and self-worth. Studies show 
that while seeing positive posts 
online can influence us to 
think positively as well, seeing 
nothing but positive posts from 
others can lead us to negatively 
compare ourselves and our 
lives to the stories that others 
are sharing about themselves 
and their own lives.

Knowing this, I’d like to 

challenge all of us, myself 
included, to live more honestly 
by documenting our failures. 
While I might happily post 
on Facebook about a new 
job, I can also push myself to 
acknowledge the handfuls of 
interviews that didn’t pan out 
before it. Or while I might post 
a picture on Instagram with 
my crew on a night out, I can 
also share a video of myself 
pawing through my clothes 
pile (closets are for quitters) to 
find something clean to wear 
and then crying over how bad 
I am at makeup. Now That’s 
What I Call Honesty! 

Maybe 
by 
not 
only 

documenting my aspirational, 
ideal 
self, 
but 
also 
my 

awkward, 
not-yet-successful 

self, I can create a digital 
archive of honest self-growth 
over the years, as well as a 
more realistic representation 
of myself online. If others are 
going to compare themselves 
to me, they might as well be 
doing it with something closer 
to the real thing.

I might even make others 

feel better about their lives in 
comparison when they see a 
photo of me with soup spilled 
all over my jeans! (Again, just 
an example. Not a thing I’ve 
done recently.) Perhaps in 
trying this small extra layer 
of online honesty, I’ll one day 
merit that gold medal that my 
16-year-old self felt I deserved. 
Maybe I’ll even earn the 
phrase, “I am a huge success.”

Deer overpopulation poses 

unique threats to Ann Arbor’s 
residents 
and 
environment. 

Many 
city 
residents 
have 

incurred substantial property 
damage, experienced aggression 
from deer and reported vehicle 
near-misses and collisions from 
rapid deer overpopulation. By 
removing the deer’s natural 
predators, 
like 
wolves 
and 

bears, 
deer 
populations 
go 

unchecked, wreaking havoc on 
the city’s natural biodiversity. 
Overpopulation 
of 
deer 

poses threats to Ann Arbor’s 
ecosystem, because they prey 
on native plants, eliminating 
habitats and food sources for 
other animals.

New efforts for this year 

are more conscious of citizens’ 
ethical concerns about last year’s 
deer removal tactics. What’s 
more, the city has instituted 
safer, more humane methods 
of curbing Ann Arbor’s deer 
population. This year’s cull will 
include non-lethal sterilization, 
a 
noteworthy 
attempt 
to 

compromise with constituents’ 
concerns. 
Research 
has 

shown ovarectomies — surgical 
procedures that remove the 
ovaries completely — to be the 
most effective, least invasive and 
quickest method for destroying 
a deer population’s reproductive 
capabilities. Furthermore, the 
city will track migration patterns 
and survival rates of the deer 

sterilized in this cull so more 
ethical culling methods may be 
implemented in the future.

Furthermore, 
Ann 
Arbor 

City Council addressed issues of 
public safety in considering the 
parameters of this year’s cull. 
The upcoming cull will take 
place in fewer, more distinct 
places and away from areas of 
traffic like children’s routes to 
school, which was a concern for 
some constituents last year.

Additionally, parts of this 

year’s cull will be conducted on 
University property, a necessity 
given 
the 
way 
University 

property is integrated into the 
framework of the city. Without 
access to certain campus areas, 
the cull would not be as effective. 
The University is also being 
cautious in opening its land in 
order to protect the student 
body; the cull on North Campus, 

for example, will take place over 
Spring Break when there is less 
student traffic.

The University will contribute 

15 percent of the total cost of 
the cull, proportional to the 
area of property the University 
owns in Wards 1 and 2. The 
total expenses will not exceed 
$25,000. While it may be argued 
these funds should be used 
for services that help students 
more directly, the University’s 
involvement 
in 
the 
culling 

measures can help prevent deer 
overpopulation from becoming a 
problem in neighborhoods where 
students live, such as South 
Campus. In 2015, students made 
up about 37 percent of the city’s 
population. 
Considering 
the 

University’s contribution to the 
city’s population, this 15 percent 
“service 
fee” 
is 
negligible, 

especially as the University is 
exempt from paying property 
taxes.

The deer cull will greatly 

benefit the entire Ann Arbor 
community, 
including 
the 

University 
community, 
by 

reducing 
additional 
damage 

to local ecology and personal 
property. 
While 
killing 
and 

sterilizing deer is certainly not 
ideal, it is a necessary measure 
of population control that has 
been carefully planned out to 
ensure the safety of our residents 
and the efficacy and ethics of 
maintaining our environment.

Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4 — Friday, January 20, 2017

RNA can revolutionize medicine

CENTER FOR RNA BIOMEDICINE | OP-ED

A 

half-century 
ago, 

James 
Watson 
and 

Francis Crick became 

renowned 
for 
revealing 

the double helix structure 
of 
DNA, 
the 
molecule 
in 

each 
cell 
that 
provides 

the “blueprint” for human 
beings. 
This 
breakthrough 

laid 
the 
foundation 
for 

our understanding of how 
information is transferred in 
biology.

Arguably one of the most 

profound scientific discoveries 
of the 20th century — solving 
the DNA structure — required 
the collaboration of scientists 
from 
the 
physical 
and 

biological sciences.

Now, 
a 
collaboration 
at 

the University of Michigan 
has set out to bring insights 
from the molecular realm of 
RNA to bedside medicine. 
Rapidly 
emerging 
insights 

into how RNA, DNA’s close 
chemical cousin, helps modify, 
safeguard 
and 
translate 

genetic information in each 
of us is offering the promise 
of a personalized “precision 
medicine.”

Most 
current 
medical 

treatments 
are 
one-size-

fits-all, an approach that is 
successful for some patients 
but 
not 
others. 
Precision 

medicine is a modern approach 
to 
disease 
prevention 
and 

treatment 
that 
takes 
into 

account individuality, which is 
shaped by genetic inheritance, 
environment 
and 
lifestyle. 

While 
DNA 
provides 
the 

genetic code for a human life, it 
is RNA that determines which 
parts of the code are used and 
when. Over the lifespan of a 
human being, the parts of the 
DNA blueprint that are read 

out by RNA constantly change, 
leading to aging and disease.

Current discoveries in RNA 

biomedicine are paving the 
way for diagnostics that can 
detect problems early and 
therapies that fix problems 
at their roots, rather than 
simply 
treating 
symptoms. 

The premise of RNA-focused 
precision medicine is that 
human 
diseases, 
such 
as 

cancer and Alzheimer’s, could 
be cured with less invasive, 
more 
targeted 
treatments 

with minimized side effects, 
tailored to each of us based on 
our RNA makeup.

In 
genetic 
diseases, 

segments 
of 
the 
human 

genome are reorganized in 
ways that can derail normal 
function. A notable example 
of RNA in precision medicine 
is the recently FDA-approved 
treatment for spinal muscular 
atrophy, 
a 
neuromuscular 

disease that is the leading 
genetic cause of death in 
infants. 
A 
research 
group 

led by Prof. Adrian Krainer 
at the Cold Spring Harbor 
Laboratory in New York — 
incidentally, 
where 
Watson 

went on to serve as director 
and president — collaborated 
to study RNA splicing defects, 
or 
errors 
in 
editing 
the 

RNA sequences. The team 
was 
able 
to 
successfully 

correct a splicing defect that 
caused SMA by using the 
revolutionary 
therapeutic 

approach of injection of a 
stretch of modified RNA that 
corrected the defect, allowing 
the cells to make a protein 
necessary to keeping muscle 
nerve cells functioning. This 
groundbreaking therapy can 
save lives.

In the spirit of collaboration 

across 
the 
physical 
and 

biological sciences, University 
President Mark Schlissel has 
urged University researchers 
to 
embrace 
the 
potential 

of 
precision 
medicine, 
as 

the University’s faculty are 
leaders in this emerging field. 
One 
group 
addressing 
the 

molecular aspects of precision 
medicine is the members of the 
University’s Center for RNA 
Biomedicine. The CRB started 
in spring 2016, promoting and 
developing 
interdisciplinary 

collaborations 
across 
the 

University 
by 
bringing 

researchers 
together 

for 
bi-weekly 
seminars 

showcasing RNA studies from 
the physical to the clinical 
sciences, as well as for an 
annual 
symposium 
hosting 

RNA experts from around the 
world. This year, the Center 
is also funding four pilot 
grants, totaling $300,000, to 
forge new teams among UM 
researchers.

On March 31, 2017, the CRB 

will host its second annual 
symposium, “RNA in Precision 
Medicine,” which will feature 
speakers in the fields of RNA 
diagnostics and therapeutics. 
All seminars and symposia are 
free and open to the University 
community. For more details 
on the CRB and how to join 
these 
collaborative 
efforts, 

visit the CRB’s website. Who 
knows? You may be the next 
Watson or Crick and will make 
a lasting impact in precision 
medicine by discovering and 
targeting the RNA underlying 
human disease.

REBECCA LERNER

Managing Editor

420 Maynard St. 

Ann Arbor, MI 48109

 tothedaily@michigandaily.com

Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.

EMMA KINERY

Editor in Chief

ANNA POLUMBO-LEVY 

and REBECCA TARNOPOL 

Editorial Page Editors

Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s Editorial Board. 

All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.

Carolyn Ayaub
Megan Burns

Samantha Goldstein

Caitlin Heenan
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Max Lubell

Alexis Megdanoff
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Jason Rowland

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EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS

Getting real online

SARAH LEESON | COLUMN

Sarah Leeson can be reached at 

sleeson@umich.edu.

SARAH 
LEESON

FROM THE DAILY

Deer cull is a necessary cost 
L

ast November, the University of Michigan announced it would 
participate in Ann Arbor’s deer cull efforts, a program first 
approved by Ann Arbor City Council by an 8-1 vote in August 

2015. From Jan. 30 to Feb. 13, the city of Ann Arbor will begin the 
second iteration of the program, which will include a non-lethal method 
of sterilization in addition to the lethal methods used in last year’s cull 
to help control the city’s growing deer population. The University has 
authorized the cull to take place at certain campus locations, such as 
Nichols Arboretum and possibly on North Campus, and will contribute 
15 percent of the total cost of the cull. Though controversial, the newest 
plan for the deer cull is a necessary and efficient response to deer 
overpopulation. The Michigan Daily’s Editorial Board supports both 
the deer cull and the University’s land and fiscal contributions to it.

The deer cull will 

greatly benefit 
the entire Ann 

Arbor community, 

including the 

University 
community.

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