The University Research Corridor — a partnership of the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University — released its 11th economic impact report last week. The report highlights the universities’ contributions to the state economy, which totaled $18.7 billion in 2017. This is a significant increase from 2015, when the URC added $16.5 billion to the state economy. Britany Affolter- Caine, executive director of the URC, attributes this increase to federal funding and larger student populations. “It is being successful — the three universities — and continuing to grow their operations in terms of research and education,” Affolter-Caine said. “They’ve grown enrollment over the last several years. They’ve been more successful in capturing federal grants to fund their research. … Continuing growth in those areas is why we can say we’ve had a bigger impact.” In addition, the URC added 78,845 jobs in 2017. “I think it’s really important to think about the impact that’s non-monetary — the impact on individuals,” Affolter-Caine said. “There are many impacts Lisa D. Cook, an associate professor of economics and international relations at Michigan State University, lead a lecture Wednesday at U-M that discussed the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions against Russia and explored U.S.-Russian relations from an economic standpoint. The event was organized by the University of Michigan Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies amid a swirl of news headlines around the country’s interference in U.S. elections. CREES Director Geneviève Zubrzycki introduced the talk, which was one of over 10 events the center has planned for fall semester, all with an overarching theme of current global relations. “This year we prepared a program that mixes lectures that engage with current affairs,” Zubrzycki said. “We strive to always bring discussions of very recent issues by specialists.” Cook began her lecture educating the audience about the Russian economy, examining the gradual fall in gross domestic product per capita and rising inflation, with emphasis on the more recent 20 percent fall of the ruble in relation to the U.S. dollar in the past year. Cook also discussed the disadvantages of the Russian economic structure, outlining its dependence on oil as its main export, capital flight and corruption. After providing information on Russia’s previous and current economic troubles, Cook detailed the history of U.S. economic action against Russia. She brought to attention the notable March 2014 sanctions in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea, December 2016 sanctions in response to Russian interference in U.S elections and August 2018 sanctions in response to the poisoning of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. These sanctions freeze assets and prohibit transactions with specific individuals, which in many cases are Putin’s associates, Russian government officials and Russian oligarchs. Cook explained the effectiveness of sanctions remains relative but cited a 1.5 percent decline of real GDP in Russia, solely from U.S. and European LSA senior Haley Richardson did not consider herself a programmer before receiving an email about a new computer science class. But the introductory-level course released at the University of Michigan this semester, EECS 198: Discover Computer Science, moved her to see new opportunities coming her way. “I was immediately really interested for multiple reasons, one (being) that I have zero experience with computer science — I know absolutely nothing about it, and that’s one of the things that I’ve always been very aware of,” Richardson said. The one-credit course is led by EECS Professor Rada Mihalcea and doctoral student Laura Wendlandt. It focuses on exposing all students – particularly freshmen women – who have not had formal programming experience to the world of computer science. Throughout the semester, students will have the opportunity to learn essential computer science concepts, begin to write code, visit local computer science companies michigandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Thursday, September 13, 2018 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know. INDEX Vol. CXXVII, No. 134 ©2018 The Michigan Daily N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 ARTS...........................1B S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 CL A S S I F I E DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Nurses sue hospital for violating fair labor rights Lead Flint water crisis doctor talks new book to sold-out auditorium See SUIT, Page 2A HOSPITALS Michigan Medicine nurses will decide Sunday on large-scale work stoppage MAEVE O’BRIEN Daily Staff Reporter Hanna-Attisha weaves identity as an Iraqi immigrant and pediatrician, looks to recovery Renowned pediatrician Mona Hanna-Attisha spoke Wednesday to a sold-out Rackham Auditorium about her first-hand account of exposing the dangerous levels of lead in Flint. This is the second part of the two-day event called Environmental Justice Focus: Flint Water Crisis, co-sponsored by the School for Environment and Sustainability and Literati Bookstore. Hanna-Attisha’s book, titled “What the Eyes Don’t See,” reviews her journey acting as a whistleblower in the Flint water crisis and how her identity as an Arab- American shaped her career as a pediatrician. Hanna-Attisha, a University alum, began explaining her book title has two meanings: on a literal level, it represents how the effects of lead poisoning aren’t visible or immediately apparent inpatients and water; figuratively, it represents how Hanna-Attisha had her own eyes closed to the Flint water crisis. “It is about people, it is about places and it is about problems that we choose not to see,” JULIA FANZERES Daily Staff Reporter See CODING, Page 3A No coding experience needed in new course ACADEMICS EECS class for freshmen women and other new coders makes its debut AMARA SHAIKH Daily Staff Reporter RUCHITA IYER/Daily Michigan State University Professor Lisa D. Cook addresses current US-Russia relations and their implications on future sanctions in Weiser Hall Wednesday afternoon. MSU prof discusses U.S. sanctions on Russia, possible economic offensives Though effectiveness of sanctions is relative, Cook cites Russian political unrest KATHERINA SOURINE Daily Staff Reporter michigandaily.com For more stories and coverage, visit See RUSSIA, Page 3A See FLINT, Page 3A The Ann Arbor Transportation Commission met Wednesday evening to discuss the presence of Bird scooters in the city, among other agenda items. Ann Arbor residents and University of Michigan students have used the motorized scooters around the city since their deployment Friday. The commission weighed allowing the scooters on city streets in the near future. Bird dropped the scooters in Ann Arbor without notice to the city, a practice that the company has become known for at many of its locations all over the United States. City officials were caught off guard and forced to deal with the presence of the scooters the following day. The commission meeting followed a response from the city publicly warning residents that use of the scooters could merit a ticket. However, the response of the commission was more measured and Commissioner Linda Diane Feldt characterized the city’s response as “short and threatening.” See SCOOTERS, Page 3A Scooters could stay on streets, city says ANN ARBOR Ann Arbor commission on transportation weighs regulation optimistically RILEY LANGEFELD Daily Staff Reporter b-side memes are like genes: packets of information carried through communicative vehicles » Page 1B CARTER FOX/Daily Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha discusses her book, “What The Eyes Don’t See” with politician Chris Kolb at Rackham Auditorium Wednesday night.