Thanksgiving at Camp David,
with Chelsea Clinton who gave
her old stuffed dolls to Gior-
gione’s kids to use, and with
Laura Bush who loved to play in
autumn leaves on the lawn.
Jerri
Jenista,
a
hospital
worker at the Medical School,
said she enjoyed hearing about
the presidents’ everyday lives.
“It was nice to hear that the
presidents were real people,
they have real lives, their fami-
lies are real people,” she said.
The retreat is necessary, he
Giorgione says, because of the
lonely sentry theory, an idea
he references from his book.
The theory states a marine will
patrol alone all night in freezing
subzero weather because of his
duty to the country. In his mind,
the marine is the president.
Giorgione
discussed
the
challenges of being in place of
responsibility as well as com-
mand, where all eyes are on
them.
“They don’t really have a
place to getaway that often but
maybe this is the one place that
they can getaway.” he said.
Giorgione also discussed the
challenges of being a leader,
whether that is the responsibil-
ity that comes with being the
commanding officer of Camp
David
or
the
international
challenges
the
president
of
the country faces. That is why
Camp David is so necessary, he
said, to offer a tranquil escape.
Though Camp David was
primarily a retreat for the
presidents, it has also been the
grounds for international talks
and peace treaties. From Presi-
dent Ronald Reagan entertain-
ing
British
Prime
Minister
Margaret Thatcher to President
Franklin D. Roosevelt and Brit-
ish Prime Minister Winston
Churchill smoking cigars and
discussing how and when the
U.S. will enter WWII.
“It still comes down to two
people building human rela-
tionships,” Giorgione said. “You
have to get face to face. You
have to get to know each other.”
Giorgione told another story
from his book, dubbed the
“infamous horseshoe incident.”
In 1990, Bush invited Presi-
dent Mikhail Gorbachev of the
former Soviet Union to Camp
David, where they then engaged
in a game of horseshoe tossing.
Bush had always been an avid
fan competitive games, Gior-
gione said. But, Gorbachev,
despite not having ever tossed
a single horseshoe, gets a ringer
for the first time.
“It is the little things that
resonate and stay with you,” he
said. “It is perfect but natural.”
work with our partners.”
The
dioxane
plume
was
introduced to the groundwater
after Ann Arbor manufacturer
Gelman Sciences, now Danaher
Corp., released the chemical as
an industrial byproduct into
an unlined lagoon from 1966
to 1986. The chemical was able
to leech into the underlying
groundwater
and
the
contaminated plume continues
to spread underground. The
plume
was
first
reported
in 1969 and has since spread,
covering an area more than
three miles long and a mile
wide.
As the pollutant progresses
underground through the Allen
River and West Park, it moves
toward the Huron River. and
possibly
Barton
Pond,
Ann
Arbor’s
main
source
for
drinking water.
“Once it’s in West Park, it’s
pretty easy for it to get to the
river,” Pratt said. “It’s really
primarily testing to find out
if the tip of the plume, which
is the weakest part, is headed
towards the park.”
The tip of the plume, as
estimated by test results, is
believed to be moving east
through West Park. Pratt said
one of the primary aspects the
tests is looking at is which way
the plume is heading.
“We are definitely going
to keep monitoring it and
making
sure
it
is
moving
east and not north because
if it’s headed north, there’s
potential it could get upstream
and head towards the water
treatment plant,” Pratt said.
“One of our primary goals is
to make sure it’s not moving
toward the water treatment
plant.”
Outside of polluting water,
the DEQ acknowledges dioxane
could potentially pose vapor
intrusion health risks.
The
Agency
for
Toxic
Substances
and
Disease
Registry explainshumans can
be exposed to the contaminant
through both air and direct
skin contact.
“1,4-Dioxane can be released
into the air, water, and soil at
places where it is produced or
used as a solvent,” the website
reads.
While dioxane can enter the
air, skin contact is unlikely and
usually through substances like
lotions.
“Your skin may come into
contact with 1,4-dioxane when
you use cosmetics, detergents,
and
shampoos
containing
1,4-dioxane,” the website reads.
Despite
potential
vapor
intrusion health risks, Pratt
argues dioxane is not a chemical
like gasoline, which is can be
easily separated from water and
released into the air.
“Dioxane
is
not
a
good
thing at any levels, but it is
not
absorbed
through
the
skin and the likelihood of the
chemical entering the air is
not high,” Pratt said. “From
my understanding, it is not a
chemical that wants to break
free from water. It wants to
stay in water once it’s in water.
It does not want to vaporize and
go into the air.”
However, Pratt said the DEQ
will continue to look into vapor
intrusion risks.
Residents have also expressed
concern regarding whether the
polluted groundwater may find
its way into their basement.
But Pratt said the residents
near West Park need not worry,
explaining any flooding the
residents might experience is
caused by rainwater, not the
plume.
“A lot of people are quick to
tie rain water in the basement to
the dioxane plume, but the two
are not correlated,” Pratt said.
“The houses are substantially
higher than the ground and
the ground is a little bit higher
than the groundwater. The
groundwater is separated from
the basements beyond where
the EPA would even think
about keeping an eye on it, as
far as would it possibly get into
somebody’s
basement.
Right
now, it doesn’t seem possible.”
The
U.S.
Environmental
Protection
Agency classifies dioxane as
likely to be carcinogenic to
humans via water, air and, in
some cases, direct skin contact.
The chemical is also linked
to potential kidney and liver
damage as well as respiratory
issues
through
long-term
exposure.
According to the EPA, only a
few parts per billion of dioxane
in drinking water over a long
period of exposure can pose a 1
in 100,000 cancer risk.
The dioxane levels are well
below state standards even
though
Michigan
standards
for dioxane in groundwater
venting to surface water were
tightened earlier in the year.
The national advisory for
dioxane in surface waters
that
are
protected
as
drinking water is 3.5 parts
per billion, while the limit
for dioxane in surface waters
that are not protected as
drinking water sources is
280 parts per billion. For the
dioxane
in
residential
drinking water, the state’s
separate limit is 7.2 parts per
billion.
Taylor
emphasized
dioxane
has
never
been
found in Ann Arbor drinking
water.
“It is incredibly important
that
we
understand
the
nature of the plume and the
risks that are associated with
dioxane,” Taylor said. “It’s
also important to understand
that it’s never been found
in
Ann
Arbor
drinking
water and that we are doing
everything we can that folks
in Ann Arbor remain safe.”
While
Pratt
supports
further testing, he said much
of the testing for dioxane
has come up negative and he
does not currently see the
pollution as a threat to the
city.
“There isn’t any threat
specifically to anybody —
everybody in the city is on
wells, but we’d like it cleaned
up even though that’s not
what the current legal system
says (and) the county is in
court fighting for something
better.”
The plume is a source of an
ongoing legal battle against
Gelman Sciences by Ann Arbor,
Washtenaw
County,
Scio
Township, The Huron River
Watershed Council and the
state.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Thursday, November 29, 2018 — 3
DIOXANE
From Page 1
Stout also revealed previous
donor number statistics may
not be comparable to current
statistics
due
to
a
recent
software change. This year,
the individual number of gifts
from donors was calculated,
whereas in previous years, the
number of donor transactions
was calculated. This means
that there is not a statistic to
compare the exact number
of donors from this year to
previous years. The number
of gifts does not necessarily
reflect the number of donors
because
some
donors
give
multiple gifts.
All
three
University
campuses
––
Ann
Arbor,
Dearborn
and
Flint
––
participated in Giving Blueday,
which
coincides
with
the
national Giving Tuesday after
Thanksgiving. Donors could
choose to direct gifts to various
funds across the University, a
specific school or college, or
student organizations.
The University release also
reported
LSA
received
the
most gifts through the Giving
Blueday
website
this
year,
while the Michigan Sailing
Team raised the most money
out of any student organization
through the website.
The
amount
of
student
participation
in
Giving
Blueday
increased
for
the
fourth straight year, as over
150 student organizations took
part.
Dance Marathon raised the
most money out of any student
organization
overall.
Other
student orgs such as MUSIC
Matters and the Health Policy
Students Association ranked
in the top 10 organizations to
increase donors from last year
by the highest percentages.
The
Michigan
Sailing
Team,
SAE-Michigan
Baja Racing and M-Fly all
received monetary prizes to
contribute to their cause for
ranking as the top three student
orgs to increase donor turnout
by the highest percentage.
According
to
the
press
release, first-time donors who
donated $50 or more to the
University received an extra
$50 to donate to the cause of
their choice. First time student
donors who donated $25 to U-M
received an additional $25 to
give to a fund of their choice.
LSA senior Marina Ross,
co-chair of The Quito Project,
spoke about the impact of the
funds raised during Giving
Blueday. The Quito Project
is an organization run by
University students who work
in partnership with students
from the Universidad de San
Francisco in Quito, Ecuador,
to hold a free summer camp
program for Quito children in
extreme poverty.
According to Ross, The Quito
Project raised about $200 on
Giving Blueday in 2017. This
year, they raised approximately
$1600.
“We are going to use (the
funds) to run the entire summer
camp,” Ross said. “We do
provide our students with two
meals a day, so we’ll use that
money to actually purchase all
the food and also pay the local
workers there that will prepare
it.”
Donors on Giving Blueday
also contributed to the Victors
for Michigan campaign, which
extends until December 2018
and continues to break public
university fundraising records.
The campaign has raised $5
billion to date.
GIVING
From Page 1
week. Henry Liu, a research
professor at the University
Transportation
Research
Institute,
developed
this
testing
technology
with
UMTRI assistant research
scientist Yiheng Feng.
Currently, Liu and Feng
have a patent pending for the
testing technology.
Liu
explained
while
augmented
reality
is
not
exactly the same as a real
world environment, testing
autonomous
vehicles
in
a
virtual
environment
eliminates
many
of
the
restrictions of testing in the
real world.
“Testing driverless vehicles
in
an
augmented
reality
environment is not going to be
as ‘accurate’ as testing in the
‘real world,’” Liu wrote in an
email interview. “However,
testing in the real world has a
number of limitations that are
difficult to overcome.”
Liu cited safety as a top
limitation
and
concern
when
testing
autonomous
vehicles
in
real
world
environments. Testing in a
virtual environment is safer,
he said, because there have
been many driverless vehicle
accidents when testing in the
real world. According to Liu
and Feng’s publication, there
have been 26 crashes while
testing autonomous vehicles
at their site in California from
2014 to 2017.
Liu explained augmented
reality also makes testing
autonomous
vehicles
more
efficient because researchers
can
simulate
rare
traffic
scenarios that may be difficult
to find in the real world.
“Most of the testing in the
real world is not very useful,
as the testing environment
is repetitive and it is not
challenging to autonomous
vehicles,” Liu wrote. “What
is important is to find ‘corner
cases’
that
can
challenge
autonomous
vehicles,
but
‘corner cases’ are rare events
so it is not easy to find in the
real world.”
Mcity Director Huei Peng
Huei
Peng
supported
the
use
of
augmented
reality
in the testing of University
driverless vehicles.
“Since virtual vehicles are
used, instead of real vehicles,
we
can
simulate
risky
situations without the real
safety risk, we do not need
to waste fuel and we can run
continuously,” Peng said. “So
it is safer, cheaper and faster
compared with using real test
vehicles.”
Engineering
senior
Michelle Kearney has been a
research assistant at UMTRI
for her entire undergraduate
career. At Mcity, she has been
involved with several studies
on passenger behavior and
responses
to
autonomous
vehicles.
“Our recent tests at MCity
have focused on the safety of
individuals who are actively
engaged
in
a
task
other
than driving (i.e. working
on a laptop, reading a book,
etc.) and are subjected to an
abrupt automatic braking or
lane change by the vehicle,”
Kearney wrote in an email
interview. “In addition to
safety
considerations,
the
study also provided great
insight
into
consumer
response
to
unanticipated
abrupt vehicle movements.”
Kearney
said
using
augmented reality for testing
autonomous vehicles will help
advance research of consumer
safety.
“Simulators
can
be
very
important
tools
in
autonomous vehicle research,
as they allow researchers to
gather key information about
consumer
preferences
and
behaviors with regards to
autonomous vehicles without
requiring individuals to trust
the actual vehicle for a test
drive,” Kearney wrote. “It
is going to be a slow process
to convince the public that
these vehicles are safe and
reliable,
so
using
virtual
reality simulation is a good
first step.”
MCITY
From Page 1
campus this semester after a
professor and graduate student
instructor declined to write
letters
of
recommendations
for
students
applying
to
study
abroad
in
Israel.
Administrators disciplined the
professor,
John
Cheney-
Lippold
of
the
American
Culture Department, claiming
his action did not “support
students’ academic growth.”
Members of the University
community
have
been
outspoken about their opinions
on the instructors’ actions and
the University’s response, and
several events and panels have
sought
to
foster
campus
discussion around the topic.
Some have felt the University’s
response has been inadequate,
while
others
argue
the
University’s
punishment
of
Cheney-Lippold
was
unwarranted.
Public
Health
student
Melissa
Makled
attended a panel on academic
freedom held this Tuesday
and said she was curious to see
where the University will take
this issue in the future.
“I’ve been unimpressed with
the University’s response and
I really liked the Graduate
Employees
Organization’s
response,”
Makled
said
at
Tuesday’s event. “I really liked
the nuance in their stance
because they say it’s not a
political decision, but a matter
of academic freedom.”
At
the
Faculty
Senate
lecture,
Neil
Marsh,
chair
of
the
University’s
central
faculty governance, gave the
introductory remarks. Marsh
noted upholding these values
“requires continuous vigilance
and courage.”
“This lecture is an example
that academic and intellectual
freedom are essential … for a
university,” Marsh said.
Nichol,
who
described
himself as a self-proclaimed
“devotee
of
public
universities,”
detailed
his
personal pitfalls and views
on the unique struggles that
public
universities
have
in
terms of constitutional rights,
specifically
the
issue
of
freedom of speech.
“The constitution itself is not
self-triggering,” Nichol said.
“It often requires blood and
sacrifice and bravery.”
Nichol cited this bravery
specifically
as
intellectual
courage as he went on to
explain
the
main
problem
public universities face: the
intersection of free speech
and equal protection. He gave
the example of boycotts, as
well as sexual harassment and
bullying policies as measures
that threaten to weaponize the
freedom of speech.
“When a University is sued
for implementing harassment
and
bullying
policies,
the
dispute
usually
presents
competing
and
colliding
essential constitutional values
of equality and expression,”
Nichol said. “When a faculty
member or a graduate student
participates in an expressive
boycott,
speech
and
equal
protection
guarantees
can meet head on. Perhaps the
collision can be avoided, but it’s
not always easy work.”
Nichol
also
detailed
his
personal struggles with the
University of North Carolina
at
Chapel
Hill.
At
UNC,
the
governing
boards
are
handpicked by state legislative
leadership, which, according to
Nichol, causes administrative
suppression.
“Academic
freedom
is
deeply weakened in places,
including my home,” Nichol
said. “If the last decade has
taught us anything, it is that
there are fewer fixed stars,
fewer uncontested, consensus-
based constitutional standards
and patterns of behavior that
we
might
have
supposed,”
Nichol said. “Who would have
thought, for example, that a
dominant political party would
take as a central agenda point
the suppression of the effective
exercise of the right to vote.
Who would have guessed a
large
segment
of
political
leadership would overtly seek
to limit the active participation
of African Americans without
shame or embarrassment?”
UNC
From Page 1
CAMP DAVID
From Page 1