Public Policy professor Barry 
Rabe touched on the unique 
contours of the past decade of 
Michigan economic history. 

“This is a state that has 

had good times and bad times 
over the past half-century and 
beyond,” Rabe said. “What an 
interesting decade we have been 
through, what an interesting 
time the Snyder years have 
been in the fiscal condition in 
the state of Michigan.”

Khouri 
began 
his 
talk 

by calling attention to the 
highlights 
of 
the 
current 

Michigan 
economy. 
As 
of 

January, state unemployment is 
at 4.7 percent, down from 14.6 
percent during the recession in 
2009. Personal income growth 
has outpaced the national rate, 
and Michigan has successfully 
diversified 
its 
employment 

base away from manufacturing 
and 
into 
sectors 
such 
as 

professional 
and 
business 

services. Khouri said now there 
are jobs available, the task at 
hand is adequately training 
employees to be efficient in 
those roles.

“It’s the real focus now 

of everybody,” Khouri said. 
“These jobs are available now, 
at least during this part of 
the cycle. How do we get the 
employees trained and ready to 
take the jobs that are available 
right now?”

While the state has mostly 

recovered to its position prior to 
the recession, it is experiencing 
a downward shift in its size and 

relative wealth compared to the 
rest of the nation.

“We’ve had to painfully, 

slowly adjust our budget and 
our fiscal policy towards this 
change in relative deterioration 
in the economy,” Khouri said.

Khouri gave an overview 

of the tax revenue, with over 
85 percent generated from the 
property, income and state 
taxes. He noted that the tax 
burden on Michiganders has 
decreased, as Michigan has 
only the 30th highest taxes in 
the nation.

Before the final part of his 

talk in which he mentioned 
policy focus areas for the 
future, 
Khouri 
addressed 

the 
struggles 
of 
Michigan 

local governments, of which 
there are 1,800. He said both 
rural and urban areas alike 
are 
encountering 
economic 

challenges.

“When 
we 
talk 
about 

the 
fiscal 
health 
of 
local 

governments, the answer is 
it depends,” Khouri said. “It 
really does vary by geography, 
by size, by function. It’s not 
just urban areas. Some of the 
districts that are struggling 
the most are in the (Upper 
Peninsula).”

Among the issues facing 

local 
governments, 
Khouri 

mentioned the lack of diversity 
in 
their 
revenue 
sources, 

that they rely too heavily 
on property taxes. Another 
pressing issue is the unfunded 
liabilities 
of 
pensions 
and 

healthcare.

“I know there’s this question 

of justice, of what retirees need 
and deserve, that’s not what 
I’m talking about, although 

it is what I’m talking about,” 
Khouri said. “What I’m talking 
about is the unfunded liabilities 
continue to grow and (the local 
government’s) ability to service 
that is not growing at the same 
pace.”

As Khouri turned toward 

the future of the Michigan 
economy, 
he 
showed 

predictions 
of 
economic 

expansion, with the treasury’s 
general fund and school aid 
revenues rising.

He outlined objectives of 

sustaining current progress, 
avoiding yo-yo fiscal policy and 
preparing for next recession. 
These objectives necessitate 
addressing long-term spending 
needs while the economy is 
good, reforming the tax system 
to match the evolving economy 
and improving the fiscal health 
of local governments across 
Michigan.

He ended his talk with advice 

to the public policy students in 
the audience.

“You’re the next generation 

of policymakers,” Khouri said. 
“I think you’ll do fine. Just 
focus on the basics. Focus on 
the policy, not the politics. 
Take a longer-term view of 
what’s required and not just a 
short-term view.”

LSA sophomore Johnny Luo, 

who will be studying public 
policy at the Gerald R. Ford 
School of Public Policy next 
year, said he was motivated 
to come to the event for 
professional 
development, 

as well as his coursework in 
economic inequality. Luo said 
he thought the new generation 
of 
policymakers 
would 

bring a fresh perspective to 

solving Michigan’s economic 
challenges.

“The thing (Khouri) talked 

about so many times was that 
we need new energy in our 
state policies and our state 
legislature,” Luo said. “I think 
that’s the way — some new idea 
or new ideologies.”

After his talk, Khouri fielded 

specific questions from a panel 
of graduate students enrolled 

in a public budgeting course. 
The students had collected 
submissions from the audience 
and via Twitter. When asked 
what he most wished the public 
understood about his domain, 
Khouri said he wished people 
understood the trade-offs that 
come with policy.

“Like 
life, 
broad 
public 

policy issues are always trade-
offs,” Khouri said. “They’re 
never black and white. I think, 
without really thinking about 
it, I wish people understood 
that most of these typical 
questions are balancing acts 
between two goods, and it’s not 
good and bad.” 

candidates, MomentUM’s A.J. 
Ashman and Charlie Bingham, 
won 1,927 votes.

Some, 
like 
outgoing 

representative Matt Thomas, 
an LSA senior, commended the 
representation of communities 
in the assembly. 

Outogoing 
CSG 
President 

Anushka Sarkar, an LSA senior, 
expressed her disappointment 
with the significant amount of 
voters who wrote in Reggie the 
Campus Corgi. 1,403 students 
wrote in Reggie, 63 votes shy 
of the True Blue candidates, 
Business junior Arathi Sabada 
and LSA sophomore Marianne 
Drysdale. 
She 
criticized 

popular news outlets, such 
as the Detroit Free Press and 
BuzzFeed, for adding coverage 
to Reggie’s “campaign” and 
delegitimizing the work of 
student candidates.

In order to combat the lack 

of 
informed 
voting 
among 

students, Sarkar outlined the 
importance of the Big Ten 
Voting Challengeas a way in 
which students can learn the 
importance of civic engagement 
and understand how voting 
processes take place.

“Fostering a commitment to 

voting and civic engagement 
at a young age is incredibly 
important,” Sarkar wrote in 
an email interview. “It’s not 
because people don’t understand 
CSG that people voted for 
a dog. It’s not because CSG 
doesn’t do anything that people 
are 
disengaged 
with 
their 

representative body and resort 
to memes and throwaway votes. 
It’s because of a larger problem 
of insufficient education around 
civic engagement. It’s because 
proving to people that their 
representative body truly does 
work in their best interests is 
an age-old battle with which 
governments 
have 
been 

struggling.”

Sarkar 
pushed 
the 

importance 
of 
INNOVATE, 

CSG’s public service pitch 
competition, and the Diag 
events as avenues through 
which CSG can interact with 
students on campus and show 
the type of work happening 
within 
CSG, 
as 
well 
as 

legitimizing CSG positions to 
students unfamiliar with their 
efforts.

Though Sarkar supported 

the 
True 
Blue 
campaign 

during 
this 
election, 
she 

voiced her admiration for all 
those who ran as candidates 
and her hopes for the future.

“I have faith in Daniel Greene 

and Izzy Baer to lead this 
organization and student body 
with integrity, with emphasis 
on 
empowering 
marginalized 

students, and maintaining the 
momentum of this year,” Sarkar 
wrote. “I have faith in the elected 
Assembly Representatives to give 
voice to their communities and 
schools. And I have faith that 
the values Arathi and Marianne 
represented in leadership of True 
Blue will be embodied in this next 
year of CSG,” Sarkar wrote.

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Wednesday, March 28, 2018 — 3A

SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily

CSG President Anushka Sarkar hugs engineering senior Chloe Henderson after announcing she was the winner of the Resiliency Award at the 
Michigan Difference Student Leadership Awards Tuesday. 

RESILIE NCY

the case is a fight for the lives of 
Iraqi refugees that is personal to 
many members of the group.

Later in the meeting, Social 

Work student Lawrielle West 
spoke again about inequality 
among 
graduating 
students, 

as she proposed a resolution 
to make graduation a more 
equitable 
experience 
for 

all 
students. 
This 
includes 

providing regalia and headshot 
photos for students who can’t 
afford it. The resolution to 
fund West’s initative passed 
unanimously. 

West 
emphasized 
the 

importance of students of all 
incomes being able to share the 
same memories.

“We have to make sure we 

maintain the dignity and also 
pride of those who are able to 
persevere across barriers here,” 
West said.

Finally, 
the 
meeting 

adjourned with many heartfelt 
goodbyes and “thank yous” 

to the other members. Many 
representatives 
shared 
their 

own personal sentiments of 
gratitude for their experiences 
with CSG.

CSG Vice President Nadine 

Jawad, a Public Policy senior, 
emphasized 
the 
immense 

impact CSG had on her college 
experience and said she was 
so grateful to have been able 
to leave her own mark on the 
campus community.

“I think the thing we revisit 

year and year, and every time 
we have elections, is ‘what does 
CSG do?’ and ‘what has CSG 
done for me?’” Jawad said. “It 
has to be your mission to leave 
this place better than you found 
it. I can honestly say that I have 
given everything I could to this 
organization, to this campus 
in my four years. While I made 
mistakes and all, I can truly feel 
that I left something here that I 
love so much and it will hurt a lot 
to leave it.”

FINAL
From Page 1A

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

POST-ELECTION
From Page 1A

“How do we get 
the employees 

trained and ready 

to take the jobs 
that are available 

right now?”

“We’re hoping to have a 

really lively conversation with 
the audience and the panelists,” 
Sánchez said. “It often feels like 
a lack of a voice for women of 
color, so it’s important to see 
those voices at the table.”

The panelists included Ashley 

Tuomi, the executive director 
of American Indian Health and 
Family Services of Southeastern 
Michigan; 
Desiree 
Cooper, 

a 
former 
attorney, 
Pulitzer 

Prize-nominated journalist and 
reproductive 
rights 
activist; 

Mahima Mahadevan, a New 
American 
Leaders 
Michigan 

program 
coordinator; 
and 

Sandra O’Brien, the chair of 
Wayne State University’s Board 
of Governors.

After 
introductions 
of 

each of the panelists by SCPP 
President Gabrielle Horton, a 
Ford graduate student, Alcaraz 
presented questions for each of 
the panelists.

Alcaraz first asked the panel 

about what it means for a woman 
of color to be at the table.

“There are so many white 

norms determining that space 
before we came in,” Mahadevan 
said. “Even though there are 
women that are there, there 
are so many norms that we are 
struggling to push against.”

Tuomi commented on what 

she has witnessed in her career 

so far.

“There’s 
almost 
this 

competition among women to 
be at the table,” Tuomi said. 
“We fall into the trap of tearing 
each other down rather than 
bringing each other up, so find 
a way that we make comprises 
and help each other.”

Cooper also mentioned the 

workplace 
discrimination 

women often face for having or 
wanting to have children.

“I’ve spoken to a lot of 

audiences and always ask this 
question,” Cooper said. “How 
many 
women 
have 
hidden 

the fact that they are having 
children, or are pregnant, or are 
planning to be?”

The 
answer 
was 
many. 

Alcaraz also posed the question 
of 
what 
mentorship 
from 

women of color has meant to 
the panelists through their 
experiences.

Cooper responded to this 

question first, bringing in her 
experience 
working 
at 
the 

Detroit Free Press, where she 
said she was initially underpaid 
for the work that she did. Cooper 
said only after an older woman 
of color made Cooper aware of 
it, did she stand up for herself.

“There is still a taboo that 

(women) don’t talk about and 
that is money,” Cooper said. 
“Let’s talk about that and that is 
a huge validation of our power.”

O’Brien, who is the only 

person of Latinx descent to 
serve in her position at the 
University, 
spoke 
from 
her 

experiences working in the 
judicial system.

“Without 
somebody 
that 

looks like you, whether it’s a 
female or a person of color, 
there’s a higher probability that 
your interests won’t get served,” 
O’Brien said.

For the final question, the 

panelists gave advice to their 
younger selves at the beginning 
of their careers.

“You can do it all,” O’Brien 

said. “I grew up with modest 
means on a farm, and I’m the 
first in college of my family. 
Women can have it all, if you 
want to have a family and a 
career, then you can.”

After the questions were 

over, the panelists interacted 
with the audience to discuss 
issues with representation and 
employment.

Rackham 
student 
Save 

Gasaiwai said he came to the 
event because he heard from 
Mahadevan earlier this year 
and her ideas had resonated 
with him as a Pacific Islander 
student.

“I’ve been doing a lot of soul-

searching about what I want to 
do after I graduate,” Gasaiwai 
said. “They (the panel) really 
clarified some issues that I have 
myself have been struggling 
with like discussing my pay, 
saying if I’m good enough for a 
position, because of my position 
in society.”

was crucial to her steps towards 
assistance.

“I know people say, ‘I’m a 

person in recovery,’ just so people 
don’t get scared by the word 
alcoholic, but I’m an alcoholic,” 
Julia said.

According to Julia, one the 

largest 
obstacles 
CRP 
faces 

in attracting members is the 
stigmatization 
of 
addiction 

and recovery. CRP’s biweekly 
meetings 
average 
“around 

20 
members” 
with 
total 

membership consisting of 30 to 
40 undergraduate and graduate 
students. However, with over 
46,000 students at the University, 
she believes a lack of awareness 
about the program and its utility 
to those in recovery, along with 
the stigmatization of addiction, 
prevent students from joining.

“(The 
University 
tries) 

to push their mental health 
resources, but I think what is 
preventing more people from 
utilizing those resources is the 
nature 
of 
American 
college 

culture of heavy drinking and 
also the stigma associated with 
addiction,” Julia said. “(It’s) 
the idea that you can’t be an 
addict while you’re in college, 
or alcoholics are the homeless 
people who live on the streets in 
downtown Ann Arbor when in 
reality, it has so many more faces 
than we care to acknowledge.”

David 
echoed 
Julia’s 

sentiments and said he thinks the 
University should be more open 
to talking about recovery.

“Recovery needs to be more 

talked about at the University 
of Michigan because a lot of 
students don’t know what it is and 
have biases or stigmas against 
being in recovery or having an 
addiction problem,” David said.

A 2012 study conducted by the 

National Center on Addiction and 
Substance Abuse at Columbia 
University found that 40 million 
Americans over the age of 12 
suffer from addiction to alcohol, 
nicotine or other drugs. The 
student also found only one in 10 
of Americans who are addicted 
to alcohol or drugs, excluding 
nicotine, receive any form of 
treatment.

According 
to 
Wolverine 

Wellness 
Director 
Mary 
Jo 

Desprez, part of the problem may 
be that only certain kind of drugs 
are stigmatized.

“The words we say matter, and 

when you say, ‘I use a hard drug,’ 
that’s a stigmatizing category 
where, let’s just say somebody 
lives in an off-campus house who 
drinks a lot, they don’t get that 
same (stigmatization),” Desprez 
said.

Though 
the 
Collegiate 

Recovery 
Program 
serves 

people like David, who suffer 
from 
opioid 
addiction, 
the 

most common addiction that 
students 
struggle 
with 
in 

college is alcohol. According 
to the National College Health 

Assessment 
study 
conducted 

at the University in 2016, 46 
percent 
of 
undergraduates 

exhibited 
high-risk 
drinking 

(defined as four drinks or more 
for females and five drinks or 
more for males), while only 9 
percent of undergraduates used 
prescription 
drugs 
for 
non-

medical purposes.

Desprez said while an opiate 

crisis can be mirrored at the 
University, 
students 
are 
far 

likelier to be addicted to alcohol 
or other drugs such as marijuana 
and 
Adderall 
that 
are 
less 

stigmatized.

“If you’re seeing an opiate 

epidemic in society, it doesn’t 
show up the exact same way, 
but we’re not impervious to it,” 
Desprez said. “But on a college 
campus, the data has always 
really been clear that the number 
one drug of choice is alcohol, and 
not very far behind is marijuana, 
and then you have some of the 
study 
aid 
drugs, 
stimulant, 

misuse and things like that.”

The 
Collegiate 
Recovery 

Program 
does 
not 
provide 

treatment to those in recovery. 
Instead, it recommends that 
its 
members 
attend 
12-step 

programs, programs pioneered 
by 
Alcoholics 
Anonymous 

designed to help people through 
a 
therapeutic 
medium, 
and 

focuses on providing additional 
resources and support to students 
in recovery at the University.

SERVICE
From Page 1A

RECOVERY
From Page 1A

TREASURY
From Page 1A

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

