While discussing his new 

book “How Democracies Die”, 
co-authored 
with 
Harvard 

professor 
Daniel 
Ziblatt, 

Steven Levitsky, a professor 
of 
government 
at 
Harvard 

University, 
noted 
the 

current 
Supreme 
Court 

nomination 
process 
of 

Brett Kavanaugh. Levitsky 
argued increased political 
polarization will result in 
increased conflict, while 
addressing a crowd of about 
40 students and faculty 
members Saturday on the 
present state of democracy 
in the United States and the 
current 
administration’s 

role 
in 
the 
democratic 

landscape.

“As we grow polarized, 

Americans on both the left 
and the right are willing to 
tolerate abuses against the 
other side,” Levitsky said. 
“Daniel and I had a really 
interesting meeting with 
seven Democratic senators 
earlier this week. One of 
them, 
Michael 
Bennett 

from Colorado, told us, ‘I’m 
quite sure that never again 
will a president without a 
majority in the Senate get 
his or her (Supreme Court 
justice) nomination passed. 
The days of a minority 
president 
nominating 
a 

person to the Supreme Court, 
ever, those days are done.’”

Levitsky 
said 
President 

Donald Trump has contributed 
to the public’s declining faith in 
U.S. government.

“There are things to worry 

about … the impact of his 
discourse is accelerating the 
erosion of the public trust in 
our institutions,” Levitsky said. 
“Same thing with the press. 
An independent media and 
press freedom are essential 
institutions in any democracy. 
And 
Trump’s 
discourse, 

that the media is conspiring 
against him … has accelerated 
the erosion of public trust in 
independent media.”

However, 
 
according 
to 

Levitsky, the United States 
is still in a strong position in 
terms of democratic prosperity.

“U.S. democracy isn’t dead, 

it’s not dying, it probably won’t 
die,” Levitsky said. “Social 
scientists don’t agree on too 
many things, but there are a 
couple of factors they agree 
contribute to the longevity of 
democracy — age and wealth.”

2A —Monday, October 1, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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ANN UAL ORGAN CONFE RE NCE RE HE R SAL

A 
recent 
University 
of 

Michigan 
study 
found 
each 

federal dollar the United States 
government spends on the Great 
Lakes Restoration Initiative leads 
to an extra $3.35 of economic 
activity in the region. These 
results are conclusive through the 
year 2036.

The GLRI was launched in 

2010 and Congress has funded 
over 
$2.5 
billion 
worth 
of 

projects to improve the region’s 
environmental 
concerns. 
The 

economic 
benefits 
were 
not 

initially intended to be part of the 
initiative, but through the GLRI, 
approximately 1,700 new jobs 
in tourism have been created or 
supported.

John Linc Stine, chair of the 

Great Lakes Commission, said in a 
Water Canada article these results 
leave a positive legacy for the area.

“This study describes what we 

already know in facts and figures: 
Cleaning up legacy pollution and 
restoring aquatic habitat on the 
Great Lakes isn’t only good for 
the environment, it creates jobs 
and fuels the regional economy,” 
Linc Stine said. “It’s a positive 
legacy that states and our partner 
organizations can leave for future 
generations. The Great Lakes 
states are ready and excited to 

continue this critical work until 
the job is finished.”

The study also found the federal 

dollars 
increased 
quality 
of 

life throughout coastal areas. 
Housing values improved by 
$1.08 
per 
home, 
an 
overall 

increase of $900 million. GLRI 
was also found to increase new 
real estate development, water-
based recreation, tourism and a 
permanent young population.

MAX KUANG/Daily

School of Music, Theatre and Dance professors Joan Holland and Kola Owolabi rehearse on the harp and organ, respectively, for the 58th 
Annual Organ Conference at Hill Auditorium Sunday. 

CASEY TIN/Daily

ON THE DAILY: STUDY FINDS INVESTING IN GREAT LAKES 
BRINGS ECONOMIC BENEFITS TO REGION

Harvard professor speaks on political 
polarization, importance of voting 

ZACH BLUMBERG

For The Daily 

BY THE NUMBERS
BY THE NUMBERS
Nurses Contract Agreement

The University of Michigan Professional Nurses Council 
reached a tentative 3-year contract agreement with 
Michigan Medicine administrators on Saturday. In 
upcoming weeks, the more than 5,700 Michigan Medicine 
nurses plan to ratify the agreement.

According to the 2017-2018 Sustainability Cultural Indicators 
Program survey, 75% of University of Michigan students, an 
almost 10% increase from 2015, are “extremely sure” climate 
change is occurring. In contrast, a 2017 Yale University survey 
found that 45% of Americans were “extremely sure” 
climate change is real.

Student Climate Change Survey

Doctoral Student Survey

The Rackham Institutional Research office's first Michigan Doctoral Experience 
Study, conducted in 2017 now publicly available , found that 72 percent of surveyed 
students pursuing a master’s in social sciences reported they wanted to teach after 
earning their degrees. In contrast, the study found that only about 43 percent of 
surveyed students pursuing their master’s in the physical sciences or engineering 
reported they wanted to teach after earning their degrees.

On Tuesday, the Zell Lurie Institute at the Ross School of Business announced a 
$100,000 investment from its Founders Fund into organic snack company SMPL. 
SMPL was started by University alum Ellis Fried, whom earned more than $17,000 
in the 2017 Michigan Business Challenge while an undergraduate student.

Ross Invests in Alum’s Healthy Snack Company

