LAURA KASISCHKE
ALLAN SEAGER COLLEGIATE PROFESSOR
OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
a poetry reading from
new
and
selected
poems
December 5, 4:10 p.m.
Rackham Amphitheatre
A public lecture and reception
For more information call 734.615.6667
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Tuesday, December 5, 2017 — 3
feature of the recent tax reform
bills and has been met with both
criticism and praise, from the
left and right, respectively. While
Camp sees the reduction as
opening the possibility for more
economic growth and attracting
business, Barr believes there are
much more direct ways to raise
wages and boost the economy.
“I think for this tax bill, these
ideas that we need more growth in
the economy was really a priority,”
Camp said. “And the second was,
‘How do we align ourselves with
the rest of the world in terms of
international tax policy?’”
“This bill, if you say the basic
goal is helping the middle class
or working-class people, there
are much more direct ways to
do that,” Barr said. “You could
expand earned income credit, you
could not do some of the other
provisions that have to do with
eliminating health coverage, you
could lower the rates at the bottom
and increase them at the top.”
Though Law student Shay
Moyal does not necessarily agree
with the reform bills, he said there
are parts of it he still needs to
learn more about.
“I have a lot of feelings about
the tax bill and I still need to learn
it. I believe it’s probably more
aggressive than I think it should
be, but everyone has (their) own
opinion,” Moyal said. “I know
something they missed a lot was
the international aspect.”
Following the Congressional
Budget Office, which is recognized
for doing nonpartisan analysis on
legislation, reported there would
be a $1.4 trillion increase in the
deficit — and Camp said there has
not been as much talk about the
possibility of raising the deficit as
there has been in the past.
“In 2010, I would say the deficit
was just a white-hot issue,” Camp
said. “Clearly, that has subsided
significantly and there could be
another reason for that, but in
this last presidential election, we
didn’t really (touch) on the deficit
at all from either side.”
Public Policy senior Connor
Priest said he had heard many
of the points made by the panel
already and does not support the
reform bills.
“I think what they had to say
was inciteful, but overall just
echoes
common,
mainstream
things you hear about tax reform
if you read up on it,” Priest said.
“I think it’s (the bill’s) absolutely
horrible. I think it’s the most
horrendous piece of legislation
that has come to the floor of
Congress in years.”
Both the House bill and the
Senate bill were rushed to the
floor, in a manner neither Barr
nor Camp agreed with. Senate
Democrats took to social media to
show the handwritten provisions
written in, despite being illegible.
Schlissel
introduced
the
concerns of many in higher
education regarding the House
bill,
which
would
end
tax
deductions
for
student
loan
interest and tax tuition waivers for
graduate students, and moderated
Barr’s.
Graduate
students
have
expressed
concern
over
the
taxation of tuition waivers PhD
candidates earn through teaching
and research.
“We
use
the
federal
government to support lots of
activities in the economy that we
think are important. It’s hard to
imagine a part of the economy
that’s
more
important
than
investing in our human capital,
in our students and young people
to get their education,” Barr said.
“There’s always room for maybe
a simplification of that … but
if I were making the choices, I
would be doubling down on the
tax support we provide to our
students, not reducing it.”
TAX
From Page 1
cooperation between the two
groups.
“This is more of a collaborative
effort,” he said.
The two groups perform tests
on two robotic arms manufactured
by KUKA, a supplier of robotic
hardware, in the Autonomous
Robotic Lab. In these tests, they
place a pile of bean bags or laundry
in front of the robot and transmit
the appropriate information so
that it can find the desired object.
This task is momentous for
robots, according to Berenson. He
explained it is difficult for robots to
respond to complex assortments of
several objects.
“It turns out it’s much more
complicated,”
he
said.
“The
reason is that when the object is
by itself, you just kind of identify
it. But when it’s in a pile or a stack,
you have to actually move other
objects out of the way first. You
have to basically be able to reason
about what you do when you
can’t really see everything in the
environment.”
Venkataraman compared how
challenging these actions are for
robots to how inherent they are for
humans.
“What we feel as humans is so
intuitive,” he said. “It’s like this
is not even a task, it’s so easy. But
looking at it from the perspective
of a robot, this is a very complicated
task. When (a robot) looks at an
image, you need to isolate that this
is there, then you need to make a
plan. All of these are parameters
you need to change.”
Dale
McConachie,
an
Engineering
Ph.D.
student
working with Berenson’s team,
noted the difficulty is enhanced by
the fact objects like bean bags or
pieces of laundry are deformable.
They’re harder for a robot to
manipulate than something hard
and rigid.
“Math
is
really
good
at
describing where something hard
and rigid is, and if I move my head,
where does it go?” he said. “We
can do that to some extent with
deformable objects, but it gets
very computationally messy very
quickly. There’s an infinite number
of
dimensions
for
something
soft and squishy, so how do you
describe that efficiently? Do you
even need to?”
However, to advance robots
so they can succeed in a human
environment, overcoming these
challenges is necessary. Human
homes, hospitals and a variety
of other places are uncertain,
sometimes hectic environments.
Brent Griffin, an assistant research
scientist
in
the
Department
of Electrical Engineering and
Computer Science, also works
on the team and discussed the
unforeseeability
in
human
environments and the importance
of trying to develop a robot that
can solve many kinds of problems.
“Robotics has a lot of success
in industry because there’s a lot of
predictability and certainty,” he
said. “We can spend a lot of time
tuning or preparing a robot for
this specific problem. The thing
that we’re trying to get towards
is getting to the point where you
can have a general applications
robot and be fairly robust to a lot
of uncertainty in the environment,
because that’s really what is more
difficult about operating in human
environments.”
Griffin noted the robotics field
has developed the appropriate
hardware for achieving this goal.
He has recently been working
with a mobile robot named Fetch.
According to Griffin, Fetch is just
as physically capable as the robots
in movies, but the software used to
make it function isn’t yet up to par.
Ultimately, according to the
researchers, their goal is to make
robots commonplace in the lives
of humans, specifically the elderly
and
people
with
disabilities.
Berenson believes their research
can be applied to almost any real-
world scenario.
“Just anywhere you encounter
a complicated arrangement where
you have to find the object in that
arrangement is where you can
apply this kind of work,” he said.
ROBOTS
From Page 1
These characteristics are what
make these drugs so dangerous,
especially when nearly a quarter
of a billion opioid prescriptions
were written in 2013, according
to the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. According to
Michigan State Police and a Kaiser
Family
Foundation
analysis,
more
Michiganders
die
from
opioid abuse than firearms or car
accidents. With the increased
availability, deaths due to drug
overdoses involving opioids are
increasing — taking over 90
American lives a day.
The teach-out will offer an
in-depth look at the problem
and these concerns, showing the
multiple causes and results of the
epidemic, as well as ways the public
can help fight this growing plague.
“Participants will have the
opportunity to understand the
current epidemic by exploring the
topic from multiple perspectives,”
Devaney said. “Before participants
identify and propose new solutions
to the crisis, they will learn about
the build up to the crisis, the role
of pharmacies, the role of the
medical community, the role of
the pharmaceutical industry and
the role of families. Learners will
understand how we got here,
stigma and what it means for the
crisis to be declared a national
health emergency.”
Jay Lee, a general surgery
resident at Michigan Medicine and
part of the faculty participating
in the session, is also part
of the research team at the
Michigan Opioid Prescribing and
Engagement Network, in which he
has investigated physicians’ role in
the epidemic.
“In 2001, physicians embarked
on a well-intentioned campaign
to improve pain management for
patients,” Lee said. “At the same
time, pharmaceutical companies
began
aggressively
marketing
prescription opioids. The situation
was further exacerbated by a
study (Addiction Rare in Patients
Treated with Narcotics), which,
when taken out of context, seemed
to suggest that becoming addicted
to prescription opioids was very
rare.”
Lee is also a researcher in
many opioid studies that aim to
understand the number of opioids
needed after surgery, a factor in
the growing amount of opioid
dependence.
“This information is critical to
making opioid prescribing safer,”
he said. “Prior to these studies,
physicians could only guess about
how much opioid a patient would
need after surgery. This led to
misuse of these medications and
an abundance of leftover opioid
pills in the community, which
frequently end up in the hands of
people with opioid addiction.”
Lee explained the teach-out
will help integrate the public in the
solution of the crisis.
“These will help people better
understand
the
tremendous
dangers of these medications,
how to use them safely and how to
dispose of leftover medications,”
he said.
Rebecca
Haffajee,
an
assistant professor of health and
management policy, is also part of
the teach-out’s faculty.
Haffajee said many policies
have been put into place, like drug-
monitoring programs and pain
clinic regulations, but more are still
needed for stronger effects.
“We
are
still
evaluating
numerous policies, as well as
piloting new ones, to tackle this
crisis head-on without generating
other public health unintended
consequences — like reducing
access
to
appropriate
opioid
prescribing
or
encouraging
substitution
from
prescription
opioids to illicit sources,” she said.
The teach-out will allow a
platform
for
conversation
on
this topic and provoke some new
thoughts in the public.
“We are aiming to reach
diverse audiences through this
teach-out, to provide views on
the crisis from experts of varying
fields
and
perspectives,”
she
said.
“Since
almost
everyone
has
been
personally
affected
by the opioid crisis, we all have
something to contribute in terms
of brainstorming solutions.”
TEACH-IN
From Page 1
of classes and subjects, Ilyas said
he would like to see it become
more accessible to undergraduate
students by incorporating more
connections to internships and jobs
for the undergraduate level.
“It was a public health graduate
program, so a lot of the internships
and opportunities the school offers
are for graduate students still,”
he said. “They’re trying to shift
it more to give opportunities to
undergraduate students as well. It’s
in the process, so I hope to see more
of that next year.”
Harper also noted the need for
an improvement in undergraduate
internship
opportunities.
He
explained while the school is
currently exploring both domestic
and global possibilities with which
to connect students, the newness
of the program is proving to be an
obstacle in this area that has yet to
be fully overcome.
“Since the School of Public Health
has previously only worked with
master’s and doctoral students, we
haven’t had the resources to really
identify and support undergraduate
internships,”
Harper
said.
“It
would be great if we could start to
see funding for internships. Right
now, we don’t have the money in
the budget.”
Harper said the school does have
an individual from the Office for
Student Engagement and Practice
dedicated to working on exploring
and expanding new internship
opportunities.
Going forward, Harper hopes
the school will be able to identify
more internships for students
and find ways to communicate
those opportunities effectively. He
said the school hopes to see more
resources dedicated to supporting
internship funding to help offset
potential
costs,
especially
for
students interested in international
internships,
thereby
increasing
accessibility.
Reynolds, Ilyas and Harper all
talked about professors and faculty
as one of the main strengths of the
program. The professors for the
new undergraduate program are
the same as those who teach the
graduate program.
“We
have
amazing
faculty
teaching the classes,” Harper said.
“They do a great job of bringing
public health into the classroom.
They bring examples of the work
they’re doing out of the real world.
To have a professor that not only
talks about a particular public
health intervention, but is actually
doing this around the globe, that’s a
unique experience you don’t always
get to see.”
Because they all have hands-on
experience in the field, Ilyas said,
his professors have also been able
to help give him direction by acting
almost as mentors, discussing
how they became involved with
the work they do today and giving
advice to students.
Reynolds added the diversity
of
professors’
backgrounds
strengthens the diversity of classes.
As they are all experts in their
various fields, she said, they are
able to teach and communicate very
effectively about the topic. Reynolds
said this wide range of classes has
been helping her narrow her track
as she explores different options.
“Even if I can’t physically take a
class, I know that they exist,” she
said. “There are some graduate
student courses open to undergrads
if we’re interested … some things
you wouldn’t even think about, but
you would want to know later in
your career. You can take a class
on obesity, a class on cancer, a class
on biopathology. Every little niche
is covered, so you have a lot of
options.”
Emily Youatt, the managing
director
of
the
Office
of
Undergraduate Education at the
School of Public Health, said
students’ positive response to the
Public Health faculty is not one-
sided. She said faculty, in turn, love
being able to learn from interactions
with undergraduate students and
hear the new ideas they bring to
public health.
“The students this fall have made
a really positive impression on the
faculty here, who for the most part
had not taught undergraduates
before and were a little timid
about working with them,” she
said. “The students have really
shown themselves to be amazing
— they’re so engaged, they’re
so bright. They’re eager to ask
questions that sometimes graduate
students wouldn’t. They’re a little
less inhibited, which makes for
much more interesting classroom
conversations than you might get at
the master’s level.”
Youatt said because of this
classroom
interaction,
faculty
members are continually coming to
her with new ideas for a class they
would like to create and teach. She
said a benefit of the program being
brand new is there is always an
opportunity to quickly incorporate
these innovative ideas into the
curriculum.
LSA sophomore Sydni Warner
heard about the public health
program from a friend in its first
cohort. Because she was not sure
what public health really was at
the time, Warner attended an
informational session to learn
about public health as a whole and
the
University’s
undergraduate
program in particular.
“I liked the policy side of public
health and the behind the scenes
work that goes into it,” Warner said.
“I think patterns of disease and
disease is really interesting, so the
epidemiology part especially I just
fell in love with … I decided, ‘OK,
this is what I want.’”
Reynolds
also
encouraged
prospective students to consider the
public health program, regardless
of whether they’ve always had an
interest in the field or it’s entirely
unknown to them.
“For people that don’t know
what public health is — either they
haven’t heard of it or don’t know
what it does — they should really
look into it if they value public
service and think they could lend
a hand in any way,” she said. “If
you’re interested in medicine,
if you’re interested in politics, if
you’re interested in biology, there’s
a place for you in public health and
you could find something you really
love here.”
PUBLIC HEATH
From Page 2
Jansohn said. “I was wondering
why they didn’t tell us to leave.
If they didn’t tell us to leave,
then I guess it was probably
fine.”
South Quad resident Amin
Tonmoy, an LSA freshman, said
he also asked officers he saw in
his hall.
“The
chances
of
this
happening seem pretty low,
but it’s still pretty scary,” he
said. “He’s hiding and the
police are after him, so I still
feel okay (because) the police
are right here. Knowing if he’s
been found or not will be very
helpful.”
Both said they hoped for
more
communication
and
clarity on the case moving
forward, but recognized the
complications in securing the
scenes.
“I don’t feel nervous going
back to West (Quad) because
no one told me to be nervous,”
Jansohn said.
CRIME
From Page 1
sides.
Councilmember
Sumi
Kailasapathy, D-Ward 1, urged
the man and others like him
to stop and think about the
lifetime impact a development
like this would cast upon each
resident.
“Coming from a Third-World
country, this really bothers
me because this is what the
World Bank and IMF would tell
Third-World people … ‘You’ll
suffer in the short run, but
your economy is going to grow
so much you’ll be thankful for
us,’” said Kailasapathy, who
was a refugee from Sri Lanka.
NIMBY, or “Not In My
BackYard,”
is
a
pejorative
term for people who oppose
unpleasant projects in their own
neighborhoods but will readily
hand other neighborhoods the
same burden.
That
being
said
Councilmember
Chuck
Warpehoski,
D-Ward
4,
criticized opposition for not
having a coherent alternative
vision for what to do with the
land.
“This
inconsistency,
this
lack of a voice, I’m hearing
many
completely
different
things from even the residents
makes me highly skeptical that
there’s a possibility to have a
coherent negotiating position,”
Warpehoski said.
In the end, the motion to
change the zoning passed, with
Kailasapathy, Anne Bannister,
D-Ward 1; Jane Lumm, I-Ward
2; and Jack Eaton, D-Ward 4,
dissenting. Mayor Chris Taylor
praised the decision, saying it is
a positive step toward creating
a more walkable Ann Arbor.
“(Lower Town) is going to
be a part of our town that will
be changed substantially over
the next couple of years, and
I believe that these changes
will ultimately be difficult but
… I believe it will be better for
community,” Taylor said.
Council also voted to approve
the city’s winter 2018 deer
management plan, which aims
to kill 250 deer and sterilize
does on a mass scale. The new
plan has brought controversy
as the city eliminated the rule
in which a sharpshooter cannot
shoot within a 450-foot radius
of an occupied building or
home.
CITY
From Page 1
These ideas that
we need more
growth in the
economy was
really a priority