Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4— Tuesday, January 23, 2018
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M
y first class of the
winter semester was
an 8:30 a.m. physics
class. I sat in the middle row —
toward the right side — and sipped
my coffee, hoping that the caffeine
would kick in soon so I could make
it through that first day. After the
lecture ended, I started packing
my notebook away and took stock
of the room. There were only
about 15 people in the class, all
of whom were men, which was
strange to me. There usually is not
a high representation of women in
most of the physics classes I have
taken, but this is the first time
that I had a class exclusively with
men. It was almost as if, when I
stepped through the door of that
classroom, I had been transported
back in time.
This got me thinking about
other classes I have taken as
a physics student. There were
always more men than women
in these classes, and my major
definitely lacks diversity with
respect to gender. In recent years
there has been a big push to get
women into STEM fields, and
there has been progress, but what
more can be done?
To answer this question, I
wanted to understand some of
the experiences women have
to go through in their scientific
careers. On Tuesday, Jan. 16 I
sat down to talk with Christine
Aidala, an associate professor
in the department of physics,
about her experiences and her
journey to where she is now.
Aidala’s research is focused on
nucleon structure and quantum
chromodynamics, the theory of
the strong nuclear force.
We started our conversation
talking about her undergraduate
experience. Aidala attended Yale
in the late ‘90s. When I asked
her if there were any programs
that promoted women in science,
she said she was never aware of
any, and it just wasn’t something
that was talked about at the time.
There weren’t many women in her
classes either.
“I was definitely in the minority
in a lot of my classes,” Aidala said.
“It was more extreme among
the faculty. There was only one
woman who was in the faculty in
the physics department, and there
were over 50 faculty total.”
During this time, it was no
surprise that women were the
minority in undergraduate science
and engineering programs. It
was also common to have few, if
any, women mentors within your
own department. According to
the National Science Foundation
and their 2016 indicators report,
in 1993 only 9.7 percent of
full professors of science and
engineering in the United States
were women. It is better now,
but still not amazing. According
to the same report, women held
only 24.2 percent of these full
professor positions in 2013. I hope,
as do many people in science,
that this trend will continue as
younger women in science and
engineering rise to positions of
greater leadership.
However, it is hard to close
this gap if women feel that
they are in an unwelcoming
environment. Aidala said that the
physics department at Yale was
overall supportive of its students,
no matter what gender, but
sometimes it just takes one bad
experience or one awful person to
make you feel uneasy.
“I had issues with harassment by
one engineer, 20 years older than
me, in the physics department,”
Aidala said. “I was fortunate that
a senior professor saw what was
going on, intervened and helped
me. I didn’t say anything to him
directly because it gets tricky to
figure out what to say and when.”
When Aidala was telling me
this story, I began to realize how
hard it would be for someone
to speak out against this type
of behavior. This past year has
seen a great wave of women
sharing their experiences and
people coming together to back
up these women. This amount
of support was not present while
Aidala was an undergrad, and
without it, it’s hard to know
where to turn if incidents occur.
Part of the barrier to entry of a
scientific field can be that feeling
of not belonging because of an
experience such as this one.
When you do have support,
however, it can boost your
confidence and make you feel
accepted.
When
Aidala
was
in her Ph.D. program, she and
her husband wanted to start a
family. She was not sure what
the reaction would be from
people she worked with when
she told them that she was
pregnant. Except for one person
who explicitly told her she was
ruining her career, she received
a great amount of support from
everyone. This made it easy to
brush off the negative comments.
“When I told my senior
professor in my thesis group,
he said, ‘This will be a first
for the Department of Energy
group!’” Aidala said. “It was as
if the group was having a baby.
It was unexpected, but it
was a really unambiguous
expression of support.”
In the final minutes of our
interview, I asked Aidala if she
thought that the University of
Michigan is currently doing
enough to accept women into
scientific fields or if there was
more to be done.
“I think there should be a place
to study physics here for everyone
who wants to,” Aidala said. “I
think we can always do more
to be welcoming of everyone,
and not just in physics, but
everywhere,” Aidala said, noting
that an accepting environment
will lead to more women, or
anyone for that matter, pursuing
scientific research.
Exposing young students to
women scientists and creating
programs to inspire young women
to pursue science are great ways to
increase representation in STEM
fields, but there is something that
every single person can do. Treat
everyone with respect. Every
professor, every graduate student,
even every undergraduate student
currently studying a scientific
field needs to make an effort to
welcome more women into their
area of science. Reach out; be
interested in what someone has
to say and respect boundaries.
Offer your own support, because
while big university programs are
a great resource, it all comes down
to individual interactions and
connections between people.
Respect will draw more women into STEM
ROBERT DALKA | COLUMN
Robert Dalka can be reached at
rpdalka@umich.edu.
I
was first introduced to the
concept of a cooperative while
researching campus life at
various universities during high
school. I stumbled upon the website
of the University of California-
Berkeley’s Lothlorien, which seemed
nothing short of magical: a house in
which roughly 60 students cook and
share living space with one another,
refer to themselves as “elves,” hang
out in their very own tree house and
contribute to a communal mural.
Since coming to the University
of Michigan, I’ve gotten more
familiar with the sizes, forms and
functions of cooperative businesses
and organizations. Many co-ops
are nestled throughout Ann Arbor,
like
the
People’s
Food
Co-op
grocery store, the University of
Michigan Credit Union and the
16 student houses operated by the
Inter-Cooperative
Council.
The
ICC also hosts the North American
Students of Cooperation conference
each year, in which members from
student housing co-ops across the
continent stay in Ann Arbor for
a weekend, hold workshops and
discuss issues pertinent to the
cooperative movement.
According to the ICC’s website,
co-ops exist in a range of sectors
and are alike in being “owned and
operated collectively, for the mutual
benefit of their members.” Housing
co-ops specifically run on principles
such as affordability, democratic
membership
and
participation,
sustainability, political engagement,
individual
contribution
and
community-building.
I’m now closing out my second
year living at Vail, a stucco Kerrytown
home framed by several porches
on the outside, a maze of hallways
on the inside and a backyard fondly
described by house members as a
jungle. As I search the web of housing
options for my first post-university
home in Cincinnati, I can’t find too
many intentional communities in
the area.
And though I’m disappointed,
I’m not surprised. Co-ops are a niche
housing option and account for only
about one percent of all housing
units in the United States. They’re
more common in some major cities,
such as New York City and Chicago,
but much harder to find in other
areas. Moreover, public knowledge
of cooperative living is lacking; ICC
houses aren’t well known as a living
option among most students even
here in Ann Arbor, where they’ve
existed since the 1930s and housed
over 20,000 people.
Cooperative housing models lie
on a spectrum of affordability and
degree of shared space and co-living
situations somewhat overlap with
housing co-ops in style. I believe
the ICC and other student housing
co-ops set an example by consciously
intersecting
a
commitment
to
affordability
and
intentional
community building. This, in turn,
creates a uniquely sustainable and
enjoyable kind of living environment
that should expand beyond the realm
of college campuses, for people of
any age.
Firstly, co-ops offer an affordable
alternative to typical living situations,
like apartments or dorms. According
to MLive, rent for off-campus
housing in Ann Arbor averages at
$1,085 per month for a four-bedroom
unit to $1,402 per month for a studio
apartment. Co-ops are by far the
cheapest housing option for students
living in Ann Arbor itself, mitigating
their need to commute from a
nearby town with lower average
rent like Ypsilanti.
They essentially keep costs low
through member ownership, as
opposed to paying rent to an external
landlord, and pooling resources for
bulk food and amenities. My house
charges have averaged around $600
per month. This encompasses rent
for a fully furnished room, utilities
and a meal plan that includes several
dinners per week and guff (general
unspecified free food) items.
It goes without saying that
affordability is meaningful for college
students. But for anyone who is of
lower socioeconomic status, or unable
to afford steep rent in areas with a
high cost of living or simply looking to
save money, this setup gives them an
incomparable opportunity and relief.
Secondly, co-ops tap into people’s
fundamental need to be social and
spend time with one another. The
spirit of shared experiences and
inclusion I have seen in the co-ops
has completely altered my experience
as an upperclassman. Living in a
co-op has given me a network of
friends with shared interests and
an integrated support system. Lara
Moehlman’s piece in the Daily on ICC
culture and history further illustrates
how the structure and traditions
of co-ops establish a sense of home
within a large college campus.
I’ve
loved
studying
with
housemates in our peach-colored
living room, discovering our bin of
nutritional yeast and sprinkling it
on our shared dinners, hosting open
mics where friends show off their
musical talent, hugging our giant 200-
year old oak tree, munching on guff
berries, beautifying our home during
“work holiday,” exploring other
members’ rooms during themed
in-house progressive parties and
impromptu swims at the docks along
the Huron River.
My visits to other co-ops have felt
just as special — lounging in Owen’s
hammocks, petting cats at Ruths,
fetching free Zingerman’s bread for
Linder, hula hooping at Debs, playing
in Black Elk’s ball pit and grooving at
Truth’s pajama parties.
These
kinds
of
experiences
thrive when people pool resources
and space, build a mindset of
interdependence, work to further
a shared purpose and develop a
common culture. For example,
Vail focuses on sustainability, with
vegetarian meals, a compost pile
and a garden. Many members are
politically active and our basement
serves as a music venue for local
artists
Other ICC co-ops come together
with
different
missions
and
atmospheres, but their common
emphasis
on
affordability
and
community can set an example for
future homes in the U.S. These kinds
of cooperative lifestyles should be
available to people of all ages — I
hope to find more of them cropping
up soon.
Bring co-ops beyond the realm of college
STEPHANIE TRIERWEILER | COLUMN
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Stephanie Trierweiler can be
reached at strier@umich.edu.
T
he Thursday before last,
President
Trump
met
with lawmakers in the
Oval Office to discuss a bipartisan
immigration plan. The plan involved
cutting the visa lottery in half, with
the rest going to underrepresented
countries in Africa and Temporary
Protective
Status
nations
such
as Haiti. Sources who attended
the meeting have confirmed the
president
made
the
following
statements: In reference to the people
from Africa included in the plan,
Trump stated: “Why do we want all
these people from ‘shithole countries’
coming here?” Furthermore, Trump
specifically targeted people from
Haiti when he said, “Why do we need
more Haitians? Take them out.”
To say that these statements
are
“insensitive”
is
a
gross
understatement. A better description
would be deplorable, disgraceful,
shameful and, not to mention,
inaccurate. The entire incident
is reflective of an administration
with failing character. It is
reflective of a current mindset
in this country that is racist,
uninformed and narrow-minded.
Over the past year, I have noticed
a disturbing pattern on the news.
Every day, there is a new story about
President Trump, and it is always
something more shocking than the
previous day. It makes watching the
news feel like more of a reality TV
show than “Keeping Up with the
Kardashians,” and the shock value
of his recent comments about Africa
and Haiti undoubtedly boosted
ratings. However, the presidency
was not created for the purpose of
entertainment. The president of the
United States is regarded as the most
powerful leader in the modern world.
We are treating this presidency like
our very own reality TV show.
Enough is enough. The American
people are not an audience of viewers.
The
consequences
of
Trump’s
behavior are vast, and someone needs
to hold him accountable before it is
too late.
The first step in holding the
president
accountable
for
his
dangerous behavior requires being
informed enough to dispel his never-
ending spout of lies. As Africa and
Haiti are his most recent targets, let’s
use them as an example. It is unclear
how the president himself determines
whether or not a country is a shithole.
However, if we look at some basic data
on global development, his ignorance
on the matter becomes pretty clear.
The president probably doesn’t know
that, according to Business Insider,
“six of the world’s 10 fastest growing
economies of the past decade are in
sub-Saharan Africa.” Additionally,
Botswana serves as a stark example
of Africa’s economic and political
advances. According to the World
Bank, “Since gaining independence
from the United Kingdom, Botswana
has been one of the world’s fastest
growing economies, averaging 5
percent per annum over the past
decade.” It also has “a stable political
environment with a multi-party
democratic tradition.” This is a pretty
far cry from Trump’s self-described
“shithole,” wouldn’t you say?
Moving on to the people of
Haiti, who the president doesn’t
think contribute to his America.
In 2010, a devastating earthquake
struck the people of Haiti, which
led to the displacement of 1.5 million
people. Hundreds of thousands of
earthquake victims sought refuge in
the United States under a temporary
visa that is set to expire on Jan. 22.
Currently, Haitians account for less
than 2 percent of the U.S. foreign-
born
population,
but
President
Trump doesn’t think that we need
any more and wants to “take them
out” of the country. Once again,
it is unclear exactly what the
president’s problem with Haitian
people is, but one can assume there
is prejudiced undertones.
I wonder if the president knows
that Haiti, as a former slave colony,
was the site of the first successful
modern slave rebellion. Or about
the huge contribution that Haitians
made to the United States when
Thomas Jefferson was able to
acquire the Louisiana Territory —
which comprises one-fourth of our
nation’s continuous land mass —
from Napoleon because the French
general, among other woes, was
unable to subdue Haitian troops
trained by Toussaint L’Ouverture,
a Black Haitian general. Without
Haitian people, this country would
not be as powerful as it is today. As
we are a nation built by the hands of
immigrants, this should come as no
surprise; apparently our president
isn’t educated on how his privilege
came about.
Of course, President Trump
didn’t just become a racist. It has
been a disturbing part of his career.
During the 2016 election, it was
building a wall to keep out Mexican
immigrants. Last year, it was the
Islamophobia-filled
Muslim
ban.
Now, it is his rhetoric against the
people of Africa and Haiti. And that is
just a brief history of people who have
been targeted by the ignorant, unwise
bigot who is our president. A quick
Google search will turn up dozens
more alarming incidents of racism,
sexism and xenophobia. The list goes
on and on.
With the Trump administration,
every day is a new story. Our
president is a former reality star, and
his politics have become a reality TV
show. The proof is in the numbers:
The first quarter of 2017 was CNN’s
most-watched quarter in 14 years
and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow held
the number one spot for the 25-54
age demographic at 9 p.m. in March.
Recently, “Keeping Up With the
Kardashians” just celebrated its 14th
season along with a boost in ratings
that likely stems from all of those Kylie
Jenner pregnancy rumors. Clearly,
the American public thrives on being
entertained. Except in the case of the
Trump presidency, the consequences
of entertainment oftentimes involve
people’s lives. This is most alarming
to me. Who is going to start taking
his words more seriously? How many
more seasons will President Trump
be renewed for?
To me, the way that the President
spoke about the people of Africa and
Haiti reflects deep-rooted racist
values that are inherent among his
followers, one of the most outspoken
of which is Richard Spencer, an alt-
right white nationalist. As a student at
the University of Michigan, I cannot
help but think about the possibility
that Richard Spencer will be allowed
to speak on our campus. To me, it
shouldn’t even be a question: free
speech or not, there is no room for
hate speech on this campus. Yet, the
debate still continues in a manner
that is eerily similar to the presidency.
Again, I ask: Who is going to stand up
and condemn racism once and for all?
At the time of this writing, it is
Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, and
I cannot help but wonder what Dr.
King would have to say about all of
this. To quote him, “Our lives begin
to end the day we become silent about
things that matter.”
Carli Cosenza can be reached at
carlyc@umich.edu.
Keeping Up With the Trumps
CARLI COSENZA | COLUMN
ILLUSTRATION BY JULIA LAUER