A
s a public policy major,
I’m well aware of all the
research, thought and
work that goes into creating
policy. Good policy
isn’t the result of
exaggerated claims
made on campaign
trails
to
rile
up
crowds.
Rather,
it’s the outcome of
experts and analysts
examining a problem
and coming up with
creative
responses
based on the analysis
of hard data. There is
a disconnect between the kind
of policy that gathers cheers in
stadiums and the kind of policy
that actually works well — and
this disconnect seems to be
expanding in the age of Trump.
This dynamic has negative
implications
for
successful
implementation of good policy,
which are compounded when
legislators and presidents shift
their focus from doing what
is the best policy for their
constituents to overzealously
trimming
budgets.
Being
frugal and conscientious with
taxpayer money is essential, of
course. But cutting programs
that have proven themselves
successful and that improve
the lives of citizens should
withstand budget cuts, even
if
they
don’t
get
crowds
cheering or don’t attract a lot
of attention.
On the national level, budget
cuts to beloved programs often
draw outrage, which can help
insulate the programs from
losing their funding or can
attract outside donors. This
can be seen in the case of
Meals on Wheels, a program
that provides healthy meals to
senior citizens while checking
in on their well-being, which
was slated to lose funding
on Trump’s budget proposal.
This
proposed
cut
drew
national media attention and
was bad press for the Trump
administration. If Congress
chooses to carry on with the
decrease in funding for Meals
on Wheels, it will likely face
continued
public
backlash.
Either
way,
the
program
saw a surge in donations
and
volunteers
after
the
proposed cuts were
announced,
so
it
probably
won’t
suffer too much as a
consequence.
The same can’t
be said for local
programs
and
policy.
There
is
less attention paid
to
state
budget
proposals,
and
there
is
less
outrage
when
successful
programs get cut. There are
likely many reasons for this,
such as the decline in local
news reporting.
A prime example of this
lack of local interest is “10
Cents a Meal for School Kids
and Farms,” a pilot program
that “provid(es) schools with
match incentive funding up to
10 cents per meal to purchase
and
serve
Michigan-grown
produce to an estimated 48,000
students in 16 grant-winning
school districts.” The pilot
program was implemented in
September 2016, and “10 Cents
a Meal” has already proven
a
worthwhile
investment.
Economically, it has increased
business for local farmers,
distributors
and
producers.
Nutritionally, it has exposed
school children to a wide
variety of locally produced
vegetables and improved their
access to healthy food.
Many
studies
have
demonstrated the importance
of
childhood
nutrition.
Proper nutrition is necessary
for
fighting
infections.
Undernutrition
can
result
in
decreased
cognitive
functioning
and
activity
levels, among other things. A
healthy diet can offset health
issues
such
as
childhood
obesity. Healthy eating habits
are particularly critical in
a
school
setting
because,
as the Centers for Disease
Control
and
Prevention
points out, “Schools are in a
unique position to provide
students with opportunities
to learn about and practice
healthy
eating
behaviors.”
The case for high-quality,
nutritional food in schools
is hard to ignore. Delivering
this healthy diet to kids
in a sustainable way that
promotes the local economy?
That’s just good policy.
“10
Cents
a
Meal,”
though,
didn’t
appear
on
Gov. Rick Snyder’s budget
recommendation for the 2018
fiscal year. It remains to
be seen if the program will
make it into the final budget,
which will be determined by
the House and Senate. This
is a program that is good for
Michigan, and cutting it just
wouldn’t make sense.
National
outrage
over
unnecessary
budget
cuts
had an impact. Why can’t we
take that anger to the state
level? I implore everyone to
get in touch with their state
representatives
and
make
it clear that programs like
“10 Cents a Meal” shouldn’t
be on the chopping block.
Connecting farms to schools
might not be the kind of policy
that gets people riled up to
attend rallies and vote, but
it’s the kind of policy that
makes positive changes in
communities.
That
should
count for something.
Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4 — Friday, April 14, 2017
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.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
MARY KATE WINN | COLUMN
Mary Kate Winn can be reached at
winnm@umich.edu.
ERIN WAKELAND | CONTACT ERIN AT ERINRAY@UMICH.EDU
E
very
year,
students
leave their homes to
attend
college
with
the hope of achieving their
personal and academic goals.
While
acknowledging
that
students have diverse goals,
many individuals share the
aim of obtaining a college
degree and participating in
their campus communities in
various capacities (e.g., Greek
life, service learning, etc.).
Through these involvements,
students can learn more about
their
interests
and
other
communities while becoming
engaged
citizens.
Though
students can engage in many
opportunities,
one
question
remains: “What is the role of a
higher education institution?”
Recently in one of my
classes we read and discussed
“Citizen Formation Is Not
Our Job” by Stanley Fish.
Fish states that “promoting
virtuous citizenship is no
doubt a worthy goal, but it is
not an academic goal, because
... it is a political goal.” I am
a current graduate student
in the Center for the Study
of Higher and Postsecondary
Education and a firm believer
in
providing
students
opportunities to participate in
activities that will challenge
their ideas and skills. This
article failed to acknowledge
that civic engagement and
service
learning
provide
students
opportunities
to
learn more about communities
and other individuals.
Citizen formation is the role
of higher education, because
it equips students with the
tools they need to engage in
communities
and
become
informed citizens. Institutions
should provide students service
learning
opportunities
to
reflect on their role and the
impact they want to have even
after they leave the institution.
Fish
states
that
“volunteerism is in general
a good thing, it is not an
academic thing and those who
take it up should not receive
academic credit for doing so.”
Volunteerism
is
beneficial
to both the student and the
community, but the point is
not whether a student should
or should not receive academic
credit
for
volunteering.
Instead, we should ask what
the students learned through
their engagement in the service
learning opportunities.
Though
higher
education
provides academic coursework
that will give students the skills
they need to secure a job, the
overall goal of higher education
should
be
to
ensure
that
students will become committed
citizens. Service learning allows
students to learn about the
social issues that affect their
involvement
in
communities
beyond graduation.
As an undergraduate student,
I participated in the Alternative
Break
programs.
This
experience challenged me to
reflect on lessons learned in the
classroom, to collaborate with
individuals whom I otherwise
would
have
never
engaged
with and to learn about the
challenges communities face.
Participating in service learning
allowed me think about how
my work affects communities
around me and how I can make
an impact.
One argument Fish proposes
is that service learning has
a
political
undertone
that
typically
leans
toward
a
more liberal point of view. I
would challenge that belief
and say that service learning
can be done without political
agendas.
Students
can
participate in various service
learning opportunities, such as
literacy or tutoring programs,
reading to hospital patients
and coaching a youth sports
team, just to name a few. If
the concern is truly that there
is a political agenda behind
service learning, students can
decide whether or not to not
engage in these projects or
find one that aligns more with
their interests.
As we try to define what the
role of higher education is, we
need to remember that these
institutions benefit both students
and
society.
By
providing
students with service learning
opportunities,
students
are
challenged to learn inside and
outside the classroom. If the role
of a higher education institution
is to prepare students for the
future, challenging students to
get involved in service learning
opportunities allows them to
increase their civic engagement
and make a lasting impact in
their community.
What is the role of a higher education insitution?
Cynthia Sanchez is a Rackham
student.
Carolyn Ayaub
Megan Burns
Samantha Goldstein
Caitlin Heenan
Jeremy Kaplan
Sarah Khan
Anurima Kumar
Ibrahim Ijaz
Max Lubell
Alexis Megdanoff
Madeline Nowicki
Anna Polumbo-Levy
Jason Rowland
Ali Safawi
Sarah Salman
Kevin Sweitzer
Rebecca Tarnopol
Stephanie Trierweiler
MARY KATE
WINN
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R
ecently, I had a rather
polarizing
incident
at
the
U.S.-Canada
border. During a visit to
Detroit, my friend
and
I
spotted
the
sign
pointing
out
the
Detroit-
Windsor
tunnel
and
spontaneously
decided to go to
Canada,
because
why
not?
As
we
drove
under
the
Detroit
River,
adrenaline
from
the prospect of our
adventure
rushed
through
our veins, but our excitement
came to a quick halt when
a Canadian border services
agent asked us the purpose of
our spontaneous trip.
Lost for words and without
a plan, we replied, “Just
because,” and the greatest
look of incredulity, distrust
and judgment crossed her
face. Now, I realize that it is
a border control officer’s job
to treat two teenagers in a
rental car and no plans with
suspicion.
But,
the
scorn
with
which
she
repeated,
“You’re going to Canada just
because?” felt uncomfortably
reminiscent of the countless
times I’ve been asked about
my future career plans by
adults, only to be met with
disappointment when I cannot
provide a concrete answer.
The disbelief in her voice
made me feel small.
I came to college with
romantic notions of it being
a place to “find myself,” but
it didn’t take long to realize
there wasn’t as much freedom
to explore my interests as I
initially thought. Almost from
the moment I first stepped on
campus, I was asked left and
right about what my major was.
It seemed to be the second most
important piece of information
about me behind my name.
Though most students do not
declare
their
majors
until
the end of their sophomore
year, there is an unbelievable
pressure on freshmen to have
their next four years planned
out much, much earlier.
While at the beginning of
the year it was still relatively
common to hear people were
undecided about the future,
now the undeclared are rare
enigmas.
Just
last
week,
I
attended
an
orientation
for
my
summer
study abroad trip
through the College
of
Engineering,
and of the 30-odd
freshmen who were
in
attendance,
it
seemed as though
all of them, save
one,
knew
what
their majors were.
As an engineer, I
feel that there is a
necessity to decide early on.
The large number of credits
required does not provide a lot
of wiggle room to explore other
interests while graduating on
time. Even coming in with a
decent number of AP credits, I
was dismayed to learn from my
adviser that I may need to take
an extra semester to complete
both my major in biomedical
engineering and my minor in
creative writing. This was a
major point of contention for my
parents, who immediately urged
I drop the minor. “What are
you going to do with a creative
writing minor anyway?”
Truth be told, probably
nothing. But my minor is
the most “exploration” of a
subject matter near and dear
to my heart that I can muster.
Isn’t that the point of college
— to learn and take classes
that interest and challenge
you?
Unfortunately,
these
days, college seems more like
a stepping stone to greater
things, an obstacle that must
be crossed in order to secure a
well-paying job.
I’ve been cautioned against
majoring
in
biomedical
engineering more times than
I
can
count.
Apparently,
the job prospects with just
an
undergraduate
degree
in
biomedical
engineering
are
poor
in
comparison
to job prospects with an
undergraduate degree in other
engineering majors, such as
mechanical
engineering
or
electrical engineering. While
it’s important to look out for
your future, it doesn’t seem
right to major in something
you’re not completely devoted
to and take classes that you’re
not really interested in for
four years with the hopes that
you’ll be “employable” at the
end of it.
“Undecided”
shouldn’t
equate
to
“indecisive,”
and it surely is no label to
shame. Freshmen should be
encouraged to take classes
that
sound
interesting
to
them and be able to explore
their options instead of being
pressured to decide on the rest
of their life at the age of 18.
There are several schools
around the country, including
Harvard and Yale, that have
“shopping
periods”
at
the
beginning of the semester, so
students can “shop” different
classes to see if they are
interested. The University of
Michigan could really benefit
from something similar, so the
focus is on the course content
and the learning instead of
simply fulfilling a requirement
for future endeavors.
There is merit to concrete
plans,
but
college
seems
like a wasted opportunity
if all four years are spent
fulfilling some “formula” for
future employment. We are
so fortunate to attend such
a prestigious, well-endowed
university, and the only way
to fully utilize all it has to
offer is to occasionally toss
the map into the backseat and
take a spontaneous trip off the
beaten path.
Tossing out the map
ASHLEY ZHANG | COLUMN
ASHLEY
ZHANG
Ashley Zhang can be reached at
ashleyzh@umich.edu.
Delivering this
healthy diet
to kids in a
sustainable way
that promotes the
local economy?
That’s just good
policy.
CYNTHIA SANCHEZ | OP-ED
State policies keep food on the table
College seems
like a wasted
opportunity if
all four years are
spent fulfilling
some “formula”
for future
employment.