W
hat
began
as
a
debate
over
the
dinner table at the
Mosher-Jordan Dining Hall
festered
into
the
ominous
realization that we are all
unsuspecting
advocates
for
a consumerist society. Well,
not necessarily all, but most
of us. As we ate dinner with
each other on a busy, work-
filled Sunday, my friends and
I found ourselves engaged in
an intense discussion over a
rather odd controversy: green
grass.
A friend of mine had pitted
himself against the entire
table of 11 people, voicing his
individual acrimony toward
the green lawns many of us
had been raised to love. The
rest of us were infuriated;
we couldn’t fathom why our
beloved green grass was even
up for question. Many of us
justified that lawns are good
for the property boundaries,
the multitude of recreational
uses they can provide and
for being one of the more
admirable components of the
suburban aesthetic. I, too,
argued against him, but as I
soon as I said, “We want it for
the aesthetic,” I shuddered.
I know why he continued
to
argue
even
when
we
were
so
appalled
by
his
ridiculousness.
Intuitively,
he knew that our concept
of beauty should transcend
beyond mere aesthetic. He
was crying out for a society
that values the natural beauty
of our world instead one that
orients our likings to the
lifestyles we were raised with
and leads us to avoid being
independent, real and natural.
What he realized is what
many of us have not come to
terms with: We will always
uphold our culture before we
give our attention away to our
environment.
We interact every day with
the people around us, waking
up
and
eating
breakfast,
traveling to school or work,
earning money at work and
giving it back to our economy
at the store, using social
media
and
investing
time
in our physical and mental
health. But we are never truly
thinking in the best interest
of our society each day we
interact with it — we are
merely using it, consuming
it. Every day, millions of us
consume the electrical and
nonrenewable energy in our
infrastructure, consume the
satisfaction of data presented
in all sorts of forms on our
various social media apps,
consume
the
conveniences
of
processed
goods
and
acquiring necessities digitally
and consume the idea that
the way we serve back to our
resourceful society is through
money. As we spend money
toward the irrigation of our
green lawns, for instance, we
are usually wasting 50 percent
of our water in runoff and
experience the consequences
of dry spells in large regions
like California as a result.
Thus, what we should have
come to realize by now is that
this idea we have created for
ourselves is dangerously far
from the truth — the way we
give back to our civilization
is to act so that it may persist
well into the future.
For
some,
the
aesthetic
of
a
manicured
backyard,
artsy social media account or
display of wealth in the form
of a house or a car is worth
it. Our society has somehow
ingrained in our psyche that
we are missing out if we don’t
have these things or if we are
not striving to achieve these
things in the future. When
our
circumstances
put
us
outside of or away from these
goals, we will naturally feel
excluded
and
can
develop
depression
because
of
it.
When we are placed outside
of an environment we are
predisposed to prefer, we will
naturally strive to become a
part of that environment again.
For instance, we are prone
to changing cities with the
mental goal of reigniting the
chance for new opportunities
to continue our growth if our
current surroundings prevent
that. Many physically travel
to scenic, more pleasurable
places
during
the
winter
to avoid seasonal affective
disorder, a type of depression
that reduces the body’s ability
to feel mentally and physically
energized
during
gloomy
seasons.
I blame our materialistic
society for causing us to orient
ourselves
toward
material
achievements and to do all that
we can to avoid being excluded
from that material lifestyle
based on the hard feelings
that would follow. Had we
prioritized and normalized a
society oriented around the
health of our environment,
we would be able to project
a
bright
future
for
our
civilization today because we
would have understood that
our future is inevitably more
important than an aesthetic
culture. In theory, we should
be able to resolve what we are
to blame for. But as we seek
to discover ourselves and to
be able to tell our individual
stories, we will never truly
stay connected with the power
that exists in the masses and
therefore will never be able to
make a drastic enough change
to our society’s ways.
At this point, I would just
like to thank my friend, the
rebel and the idealist in this
society,
for
enlightening
me on how to be a realist in
that other world where we
value the common sense of
sustaining our future.
Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4A— Monday, December 10, 2018
Emma Chang
Ben Charlson
Joel Danilewitz
Samantha Goldstein
Emily Huhman
Tara Jayaram
Jeremy Kaplan
Lucas Maiman
Magdalena Mihaylova
Ellery Rosenzweig
Jason Rowland
Anu Roy-Chaudhury
Alex Satola
Ali Safawi
Ashley Zhang
Sam Weinberger
DAYTON HARE
Managing Editor
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.
ALEXA ST. JOHN
Editor in Chief
ANU ROY-CHAUDHURY AND
ASHLEY ZHANG
Editorial Page Editors
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s Editorial Board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Being a realist in another world
KIANNA MARQUEZ | COLUMN
Kianna Marquez can be reached at
kmarquez@umich.edu.
L
ately, when people ask
me how I’m doing, I
explain how I’ve been
pretty overwhelmed
and
stressed
by
my
workload
and
commitments
this
semester.
Either
they
respond
sharing
the
same
feelings and we gab
on and on about the
struggles of failing
to juggle it all, or
they say they hope
I’m
finding
time
to take care of myself. I’m
relieved yet sad to know I’m
not the only one experiencing
all-consuming
stress.
But
when
given
the
second
response, I’m often annoyed
that people mention taking
care of myself, because I’m
trying to do that, I just often
don’t feel like I have the time.
In my Community Action
and Social Change classes,
many of them have lessons
on self-care. They mention
how
in
professions
where
you are working with others
or for causes where there is
little immediate gratification,
common in the social services,
you need to take care of
yourself. Self-care is crucial
to avoid burnout, where you
cannot do your work any
longer due to not prioritizing
your
needs.
Everyone
has
different self-care practices,
from
reading
or
watching
some TV at the end of the
day to journaling, listening
to music, going on a run or
taking a bath. These self-care
practices
are
supposed
to
allow one to unwind and take
some time out of the day to
spend on oneself.
My professors encourage
us to create some of these
practices
for
ourselves.
My practices are watching
several
NPR
“Tiny
Desk”
concerts,
re-watching
old
sitcoms
like
“New
Girl”,
taking a shower, going on a
walk or playing my ukulele.
But on nights when I have
multiple assignments, a house
emergency and an exam the
next day, I do not prioritize
taking care of myself. I put my
commitments and obligations
first, because I often worry
about falling behind.
I see this competitive drive
in my friends and fellow
classmates at our university.
Last week, a friend of mine
with strep throat continued
to go to her classes — even
though
the
best
way for her to get
better was to stay
home and rest —
because she did not
want to miss class.
Observing this need
to push through it
all, I have noticed
we have a really
hard
time
taking
a break from class
and our obligations,
even when we are physically
sick or dealing with our
mental health.
This message is not just
fostered at our university but
in our society overall. It is the
framework of our economic
system.
Competition
is
what
drives
our
markets
and fuels economic growth
in our capitalistic society.
I
remember
learning
in
economics that competition
has been known to create
better goods and drive people
to
work
harder,
because
they can compete with one
another.
I think this competitive
drive that is felt in the
economic world generalizes
to our academic world as well.
This competition is damaging
when
students
put
their
physical and mental health
on the line to compete with
their fellow students to get
the best grade point average
and impressive résumés to get
into the best graduate schools
and jobs. But there is the
overarching ideal that we will
not get into the best graduate
school or job we want unless
we are doing better than
those around us.
This
notion
of
always
having to work and perform
is
fundamental
to
our
society. People are not even
guaranteed good health care
unless they are a working
person in our country. If one
cannot work or compete at the
same level as everyone else,
there are real consequences
in the resources one receives.
This
means
even
if
one
doesn’t care or doesn’t want
to compete with others, one
has to participate in a society
where the reason one is doing
better is because others are
not as well off.
Throughout high school, I
was always trying to do well
in my classes so I could get
into a competitive college,
but now that I’m at this
competitive college, I cannot
turn off the need to perform
exceptionally well in classes.
Even though I don’t have
any
competitive
graduate
program driving me, I still
feel this need to do my best or
be better than those around
me.
Last academic year, I made
a promise to myself that I
would focus on me first and
my relationships, the things
that bring me joy and my
classwork
second.
I
still
performed well in my classes,
but I felt so much happier.
But this semester, something
felt different. Maybe it is that
my time is ending as a senior
or that I have a harder and
larger workload. Honestly,
I think that I lost this
promise I made to myself.
I have begun to prioritize
my classwork, commitments
and obligations over my own
wellbeing, and I’m not okay
with it.
Now that the semester is
coming to an end, I’ve been
able to ref lect that I took
on too many commitments
and
got
caught
up
in
our
competitive
college
atmosphere. It is not easy
to
prioritize
ourselves
and
make
time
when
it
can impact our ability to
succeed in school or work.
It is upsetting to me that I
live in a society that values
competition and work before
well-being. And the truth
is I don’t need to be the
best or beat others to feel
comfortable,
happy
and
successful. I just need to do
me.
ELLERY ROSENZWEIG | COLUMN
Are you taking care of yourself?
Ellery Rosenzweig can be reached at
erosenz@umich.edu.
P
harmSci
420,
a
new
University of Michigan
course beginning Winter
2019, will explore all aspects of
the medicinal use of cannabis.
Legalization
of
recreational
marijuana
in
Michigan
indicates
voters are interested
in
the
idea,
yet
contradictory
federal
laws
limit
our ability to explore
it
academically.
The
University
of
Michigan is known
for
its
variety
of
classes that present experiential
learning opportunities, and it
maintains the legacy with the
new cannabis course that meets
student demands and ends the
disconnect.
The endocannabinoid system
is versatile and ubiquitous. In
an interview with The Daily,
pharmaceutical
sciences
professor Gus Rosania explained
how THC receptors are involved
with stress and sleep, appetite
and gastrointestinal function,
even pain and inflammation.
The endocannabinoid system
is also the part of our biology
that responds to cannabis, and
according to Rosania, it “is
just not taught in our curricula
because of federal prohibition.”
Rosania
began
planning
the class four years ago; he
was encouraged by colleagues
and distinguished College of
Pharmacy professors Gordon
Amidon and James T. Dalton,
who is also the College of
Pharmacy dean. Most faculty,
however, believed the course to
be a joke.
“A medicinal cannabis course
is as relevant and real as a
course gets for our students,”
Rosania said. The course will
teach the science, concepts and
laws that ultimately amounted
to cannabis prohibition and
legalization, and exists thanks
to student input.
Student
organizations,
such as cannabis club Green
Wolverine, played a large role
in introducing the College of
Pharmacy to the larger interest
in and benefits of cannabis.
Earlier this semester, the Green
Wolverine Science Symposium
promoted discussion
in
the
realm
of
business and politics
by hosting a dozen
leading
experts,
including
Rosania,
to speak at the event.
The club exists within
the Ross School of
Business,
and
the
club’s members are
eager to take their
well-respected
business degrees to the cannabis
industry. Undergraduates in the
club, Rosania said, “showed me
how serious they were about
learning and that there was an
unmet need that really needed
to be addressed.”
A majority of states, Michigan
included, have legalized access
to cannabis in one form or
another,
leaving
only
four
states with no public access.
In Ann Arbor, legalization has
spurred talk about recreational
dispensaries in addition to the
24 medicinal ones we already
have. Still, cannabis remains a
Schedule 1 substance, meaning
our federal government does
not justify its use as medicinally
valid.
“A lot of what we teach has
been mandated by the federal
government
and
centralized
accreditation entities,” Rosania
said.
“Clearly,
there
is
a
disconnect.”
The
standard
curriculum
was, in Rosania’s words, “out of
touch with reality.”
There are still open seats, and
a diverse crowd of University
students are already signed up to
fill PharmSci 420’s first lecture
room. Thus far, half the students
are Pharmacy students, as the
course is primarily designed to
supplement the pharmaceutical
sciences
undergraduate
program.
The
other
half
comprises
undergraduates
studying
biochemistry,
neuroscience,
psychology,
botany, engineering, computer
science, public health … the list
goes on. The only similarity
among the enrolled is their
interest in cannabis research.
“Our
teaching
needs
to
address
the
needs
of
our
students,”
Rosania
said.
PharmSci 420 does just that.
Other new classes for Winter
2019 meet student demands
and keep up with the times,
including a psychology course
“American
Addictions”,
American culture course on
virtual reality, and Comm 408:
“Understanding
Self-Control,
Media
Habits
and
Media
Addiction”. Though not the
first school to offer a cannabis
course, the University already
offers
unique
classes
that
keep our curricula relevant
and
constantly
expanding.
This
past
fall,
the
School
of Art & Design created an
inspirational and entertaining
“Voting is Sexy” campaign
for the midterm election, and
LSA offered an art history
course called “Emoji Worlds”
that discussed the trend that
changed the communication of
emotion. Communications and
history courses examined fake
news, the School of Education
addressed inequalities among
the homeless and one course
currently
investigates
cold
cases regarding racial crime
and injustice in Michigan.
Some may call the course a
sign of the times, others may
find it controversial. Regardless,
the vision Rosania has in mind
supersedes that of the federal
government.
“My teaching is not paid for
by Congress, the Supreme Court
or the White House,” Rosania
said, explaining that his mission
is to address the educational
demands of our students, and of
the U.S. citizens that live here
in Michigan. “I can only hope
that it is the beginning of an
educational revolution.”
JULIA MONTAG | COLUMN
Next semester’s courses stay relevant
Julia Montag can be reached at
jtmon@umich.edu.
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This notion of
always having to
work and perform
is fundamental to
our society
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We will always
uphold our
culture before we
give our attention
away to our
environment
JULIA
MONTAG
ELLERY
ROSENWEIG