University is looking into
renewable
energy
options
for
projects
other
than
the
Central
Power
Plant
expansion.
“Separate
from
this
project, the university is
pursuing renewable energy
options
through
power
purchase
agreements
in
accordance with the 2015
report,” Broekhuizen wrote.
“This fall the university will
further evaluate renewable-
energy options as the next
step to achieve a 25 percent
reduction in GHG ahead of
the 2025 goal.”
In
Arvan’s
public
comment,
however,
he
asserts the University should
be doing more to pioneer in
the field of environmental
sustainability.
“In this age of heightened
politicization
of
the
environment,
national
leadership on issues of climate
change and energy must come
from universities; it is both
the
fundamental
purpose
and
moral
imperative
of
universities across the globe
to cultivate groundbreaking
collaborative
research,
encourage
innovative
solutions, and inspire the
next generation of thinkers
to unleash their potential,”
Arvan wrote.
Arvan also pointed out
the University’s decision to
build a natural gas turbine
stood out when compared
to the efforts of the other
big research institutions on
environmental sustainability.
“If you look at some of
the
similar,
comparable
universities to U-M, they’re
not doing this kind of thing,”
Arvan said. “There’s nobody
building
big
natural
gas
turbines right now. People
are looking at carbon taxes
on their campuses. People
are looking at renewable
projects and kind of investing
in the future of the energy
landscape.”
Wenar
described
a
law
by which the United States
and other countries buy oil:
the law of effectiveness. The
law stipulates that whoever
controls the oil by force has
the right to sell the product,
leading
to
authoritarian
regimes and armed groups
taking
advantage
of
these
regions and profiting from
production.
“Our money goes back to
these militias,” Wenar said.
“We are in legal business
relationships
with
these
coercive and corrupt actors
overseas, and for many years
they’ve been causing a lot
of trouble with our money.
This
archaic
law
insights
oppression and violence. Oil is
absolute power, and we know
what happens when people get
absolute power”
Citing some of the most
significant
foreign
policy
threats andcrises in last 40
years, Wenar concluded oil
interests have always been at
the root of these issues, and
U.S policy strategies, such as
military actions and sanctions,
have
been
insufficient
in
preserving peace. He affirmed
the problem will only get worse
without reform, especially for
nations close to the equator
that will be the first victims
of the earth’s slow increase
in temperature from climate
change.
Wenar said positive change
is plausible if the U.S abolishes
the law of effectiveness and
instead
institutes
public
accountability
of
resources
and
U.S
divestment
from
companies that buy oil from
organizations
that
abuse
human rights.
One initiative, developed
by Wenar himself, is called
Clean Trade — a charity that
advocates with governments,
investors, firms and NGOs to
implement standards for the
purchasing of crude oil.
Wenar
explained
how
the law of effectiveness has
justified
various
atrocities
in the past, such as slavery
and apartheid, but he said
these issues were eventually
outlawed through advocacy.
Though oil profits have not
been accounted for by citizens
of
these
countries,
Wenar
concluded with an optimistic
note, claiming it is possible to
create positive change.
“Insofar as humanity has
heroes, it’s men like Ghandi
and Mandela, who fought and
won the battle for a country
that belongs to its citizens,”
Wenar said.
LSA junior Charles Zinn
expressed his excitement for
the topic, as well as the ways
he learned he could advocate
for
global
change
on
an
individual level.
“I came to this lecture
to learn more about how
authoritarian regimes benefit
off of oil and how liberal
democracies could work to
combat this issue,” Zinn said.
“I was satisfied with the
speaker and his assessment
of the issue, as well as the
potential solutions and how
we can help.”
This lecture, the first event
of the Donia Human Rights
Center Distinguished Lecture
series, was co-sponsored by
the African Studies Center, the
Department of Philosophy and
other University departments.
Kiyoteru
Tsutsui,
director
of the Donia Human Rights
Center
Director,
explained
how this series highlights
both University professors and
guest speakers.
“Last year we had Carol
Anderson come in, talking
about her book ‘White Rage,’”
Tsutsui
said.
”So
those
distinguished lectures are held
a few times a year, we also have
more younger, up and coming
scholars and practitioners, all
while hosting conferences and
panels.”
freshman. So, to hear such a
sudden change in policy the
first semester I was here kind
of pissed me off.”
LSA freshman Abby Snyder
said she has heard about
Michigan Time, but cannot
understand
the
concers
upperclassmen have.
“It sounds like it could have
been helpful, especially if you
oversleep or something like
that,” Snyder said. “But since
I never had Michigan Time,
it’s not an issue for me. I could
see it being a bigger issue for
older students who were used
to it and now have to adjust
back.”
According
to
University
Provost
Martin
Philbert,
the
decision
to
eliminate
Michigan
Time
had
been
a topic of conversation for
years, but was finally acted
upon in an effort to unify
the
schedules
across
the
University. Schools including
the School of Nursing never
adopted
Michigan
Time
because it would conflict with
the punctuality necessary for
a career in medicine.
In a previous Daily article,
Philbert
said
the
switch
to Tower Time would also
provide more classroom space
on campus.
“We have the need for
more classrooms,” Philbert
said. “We have more sections,
which require more rooms,
and some of these rooms
require specialized services.
So, by aligning time, we free
up the number and types of
classrooms available.”
Morris
still
does
not
understand
why
the
University
administration
feels the need to take on this
change.
“Their reasoning to ending
Michigan Time was mostly
because they viewed it as
being ‘for our own good,’”
Morris said. “But why should
the
administration
decide
what is best for us? We are
adults. If an overwhelming
majority is in support of
Michigan time, I think our
opinions should be taken
seriously.”
He still believes others
will join him in a resistance
against Tower Time, and
says there is a real protest
in the works.
“I’m in the process of
organizing a real protest,
this time posting it to the
‘University
of
Michigan
Class of 2019, 2020, etc.’
Facebook pages so that
they’re
taken
seriously,”
Morris said. “If enough
people
participate
and
it
garners
enough
attention, it may cause the
administration to act.”
According
to
Furstenberg,
other
students are over it.
“I think the Michigan
Time meme has run its
course and, eventually, we’ll
move onto something else,”
Furstenberg said.
aware
that
operating
or
leaving these scooters on City
sidewalks or leaving them in
City streets is prohibited and
subjects violators to citation
by the City, penalties, and City
removal of any left scooters.”
City
officials
were
not
available for comment by the
time of publication.
A month after the scooters
originally
appeared
in
Santa Monica, Calif., local
police had issued almost 100
citations to users. Melissa
Overton, public information
officer of the University of
Michigan’s Division of Public
Safety and Security, said on
Monday the University police
had not issued any tickets
involving
Bird
scooters.
Representatives
from
the
Ann Arbor Police Department
did not respond to requests
for comment at the time of
publication.
Users must be 18 or older
with a credit card and driver’s
license to operate the scooters.
The Bird’s electric motor is
activated through an app,
and the scooters emit loud
chirping if moved without
being activated through the
app. They do not have to be
left at a docking station, as
some
other
transportation
startups require, including
MoGo bikes in Detroit.
They cost $1 to use, with an
additional charge of 15 cents
per minute of usage. The
scooters are only intended to
be active from 5:00 a.m. to
8:00 p.m.
According to the company’s
website,
it
has
launched
operations in at least 41
cities, including Paris and Tel
Aviv, Israel. On Aug. 16, Bird
announced the beginning of
its “University Pop-Up Tour.”
“The Bird University Pop-
Up Tour will visit a range of
large public universities and
smaller
private
colleges,”
according
to
a
company
press
release.
“Colleges
and universities interested
in signing up for the Bird
University
Pop-Up
Tour
are
encouraged
to
email
universities@bird.co for more
information.”
In
the
release,
Bird
founder
and
CEO
Travis
VanderZanden said the pop-
ups were designed to address
the demand for transportation
in college towns, which “often
do not have robust public
transit programs and heavily
rely
on
pollution-emitting
cars for short-distance trips
on or around campus.”
“This year, as the summer
comes to a close and students
return
to
campus,
they
might be able to leave their
cars
behind
by
Birding,”
VanderZanden
said.
“Whether it’s making it to
a class on time, clocking in
for work, or simply getting
to campus from the nearest
public transit stop, Bird will
help eliminate transportation
gaps so students and faculty
can focus on what really
matters: education.”
University spokesman Rick
Fitzgerald
confirmed
the
University had received no
notice from Bird about the
deployment of the scooters.
“The Bird scooter company
did not seek permission from
U-M regarding the company’s
deployment of scooters in Ann
Arbor,” Fitzgerald wrote in
an email to The Daily. “That
appears to be the company’s
approach:
Not
seeking
permission in advance. As
motorized vehicles, it is my
understanding that scooters
are not allowed on campus
sidewalks and are subject to
all regulations under U-M
ordinances as motor vehicles.”
Currently,
some
cities,
including San Francisco, Los
Angeles and Denver have
made attempts to ban the
scooters altogether, but most
are simply cautioning safety
and promising to enforce local
laws if the scooters create
violations.
Regardless of their future
in Ann Arbor, students are
taking
advantage
of
the
opportunity
the
scooters
present.
LSA
junior
Seth
Allen had used the scooters in
Detroit, but was not expecting
to see them on campus. Since
Friday, though, Allen has
signed up to be a charger,
bringing home scooters at
night to charge and returning
them in the morning for
monetary compensation –– a
position for which “there’s not
really a screening process,”
Allen said. After reading a
three-page set of instructions
on how to be a charger, Allen
sent the company his address
and is now waiting to receive
the charging equipment.
Gilchrist,
who
runs
the
University’s Center for Social
Media Responsibility, focused on
student voter turnout. He said the
key to winning the election lies in
convincing students to show up
to the polls.
“We
don’t
have
a
voter
registration
problem
at
the
University of Michigan,” he said.
“The problem we have is a voter
turnout problem.”
Gilchrist urged students to
vote and encouraged them to get
others to vote as well, claiming
14 percent of students at the
University voting in 2016 was
“not acceptable.”
The University recently joined
the Big 10 Voter Challenge in
hopes of increasing voter turnout.
The
challenge
tracks
voter
registration through TurboVote
and will present the universities
with the best registration rates
and improvement compared to
2014 election rates with awards.
Dingell,
who
represents
Michigan’s 12th congressional
district, which includes Ann
Arbor, introduced Whitmer at
the beginning of the event and
criticized the term “blue wave,”
saying it assumed that Democrats
would win in November without
doing the necessary work in the
lead up to the election.
“First of all, I hate that word,
the ‘blue wave,’” Dingell said,
gesturing to the phrase written
on a blackboard behind her.
“Now I like ‘Go Blue,’ and we’re
going to go blue in November.”
Whitmer echoed Dingell’s
comment later on.
“We have all the makings
of a huge change election
here, but like Congresswoman
Dingell said, I don’t for one
second want anyone to get
caught up in the fact that they
think there’s going to be a wave
and it’s just about riding it in,”
Whitmer said. “You are the
wave.”
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Tuesday, September 11, 2018 — 3
FOSSIL
From Page 1
BIRD
From Page 1
TOWER
From Page 1
WHITMER
From Page 1
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
MATT VAILLIENCOURT/Daily
THE R APAWS
Hawkeye the Alaskan Malamute plays with students at a “Therapaws Wellness Dog” event at UHS Monday.
“Since I never had
Michigan Time
it’s not an issue
for me. I could see
it being a bigger
issue for older
studmets who
were used to it
and now have to
adjust .”
“The Bird
scooter company
did not seek
permission from
U-M regarding
the company’s
deployment”
“Separate from
the project,
the university
is pursuing
renewable
energy options”
TURBINE
From Page 2