According
to
Park’s
research, white women are
more likely to contract PFOA,
while Black women report the
highest levels of PFOS.
Park said PFOS is a broader
societal
issue
that
cannot
be
ameliorated
through
individual decisions.
“My two cents from my
studies, we need to better
understand
the
difference
between PFOA and PFOS,”
Park said. “… PFOS is more
related to the environmental
contamination,
drinking
water contamination — that’s
why you cannot avoid. So
individual
recommendation
doesn’t work. For PFOA it is
more related to the consumer-
product use. That’s why you
can recommend them, ‘Don’t
use or a little less use your
(container for) fast food’ can
work. But for PFOS, that should
be done at the population level
and at the more regulatory
level, lowering the standard is
the critical one.”
PFAS
are
released
into
the
environment
from
manufacturing
plants
and
contaminate water supplies.
According to the city of Ann
Arbor, samples collected from
the city’s drinking water in
the fall of 2018 showed a rise
in PFAS levels since 2016,
prompting
responses
from
local elected representatives.
Public
Health
student
Andrea Winne, who attended
Park’s talk, remarked to The
Daily after the speech that she
found the levels of PFAS in
water supplies unsettling.
“It’s kind of scary how much
PFAS is in our water, especially
since we don’t know what it
does,” Winne said.
Though
Park’s
research
highlighted
a
correlation
between race and the kind of
PFAS contracted, it did not
track the residential areas
or neighborhoods in which
women live specifically. He said
this information is necessary
to determine a reason why
Black women contract PFOS
more than white women, and
why the opposite is true with
PFOA.
Park said Black and Latina
women are disproportionately
represented
in
lower
socioeconomic classes, which
likely
contributes
to
the
problem.
“I cannot say (for sure),
because
we
don’t
have
information on where they
live,” Park said. “We know the
study is cities, but we do not
know where they live, and so
their residential location really
close to any contaminate area,
treatment plant or whatever,
and that’s why we cannot
comfortably say, ‘That’s the
reason why we see Black
women higher,’ but just in
general,
in
environmental
disparity
study,
but
more
social-economic
data
of
populations, higher proportion
in that group is African-
American
and
Hispanic
population, so that’s why they
could be at higher risk of this
PFOS exposure.”
According to Park, PFOS
is especially relevant in the
state of Michigan. PFOS can
be found in surfactants —
substances that reduce surface
tension — and are often used
to protect workers and aid
manufacturing
processes.
This is particularly true to
auto industries, ubiquitous in
Michigan.
“Chrome plating industry,
manufacturing companies all
around, all this is Michigan,
because Michigan is a Motown,
an auto industry,” Park said.
“There’s
many
different
plating companies and when
they make this inside the
car, and this chrome plating
is very important to protect
the worker, the surfactant is
very important to protect the
worker and the manufacturing
process.
They
need
some
type of surfactant, but PFAS
is the answer, well, we need
to use different surfactant.
But the cost matters. That’s
why they’re very resistant to
change to something else, but
in terms of health, we need to
think about whether PFAS is a
good option.”
Park said if the government
were to mandate a phasing out
of PFOS and PFOA, industries
are able to develop something
else that can serve the same
function as PFAS.
“One thing I want to point
out is if you replace, now PFOS
and PFOA, they phase out ...
the industry, they’ll develop
something else,” Park said.
“Just forcing the industry
to replace is something we
need to think about. We need
to find the right surfactant.
Otherwise, the health effect
remains.”
Many of the effects of PFOS
and PFOA remain unknown.
Public Health students and
other
attendees
said
they
hope to use Park’s seminar to
advance their own research
and discover exactly how PFAS
in its different forms affects
people’s health.
Public Health student Jarrod
Eaton is conducting a capstone
project on PFAS’s relation
to metabolic syndrome and
cardiovascular disease. Eaton
said the seminar presented by
Park spurred ideas to apply to
his own project.
“It definitely gave me a
couple of different things to
think about for my capstone
project and how I approach
things, so overall, I thought it
was very helpful,” Eaton said.
“A couple of different topics
came up about what could
be confounding, some of the
different results, which is
something I definitely will take
a look at in my own research.
One thing that I thought about
today was the issue of exercise
and maybe seeing how that
confounds the results. I think
that’s something interesting
that I’ll definitely be taking a
look at.”
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Wednesday, February 6, 2019 — 3A
“You
need
experienced
people around, but when you
have a lame duck situation
like
this,
(term
limits)
amplify the problem even
more,”
Rabhi
said.
“You
have people who have only
served for one or two terms
that are already running for
state Senate. There’s huge
turnover. You’ll have a lame
duck cycle where almost half
the house is not going to be
accountable to the positions
they’ve been elected to.”
During
the
most
recent lame duck session,
Republicans
in
control
of
Michigan’s
House
of
Representatives rejected a
minimum wage raise and
increased the difficulty of
putting statewide initiatives
on the ballot, complicating
planned
legislation
for
Democrats assuming office.
The
House’s
newly
proposed
resolution,
House Joint Resolution C,
would
amend
section
13,
article IV of the Michigan
Constitution, calling for the
state legislature to adjourn
before
Election
Day
and
resume
work
once
new
representatives have assumed
office. Currently, Michigan
has a full-time legislature,
meaning representatives do
not adjourn, even during
transitions of power.
In light of this problem,
Rabhi explains, Democrats
and Republicans have begun
to come to a consensus on the
issue of lame duck sessions.
According to Rabhi, HJR-C
has sponsors and supporters
from both sides of the aisle.
“It’s
100-percent
bipartisan,” Rabhi said. “I
think the co-sponsorship was
50-50 Dems and Republicans.
It’s one of those issues that
a lot of us agree on, and it’s
just a matter of making sure
the house leadership on the
Republican side sees this as a
priority as well.”
Public Policy junior Katie
Kelly,
communications
director for the University
of
Michigan’s
chapter
of
College Democrats, stressed
Michigan’s lame duck session
has long been an outlet for
lobbyists and interest groups
to
exert
disproportionate
influence on legislation.
“We saw from this last year
how dangerous lame duck
sessions can be,” Kelly said.
“The legislature this time
around tried to end citizen-
led ballot initiatives as well
as undermine the authority
of an incoming governor. I
think, and the College Dems
think, that passing the lame
duck legislation will help the
state be more transparent
in its legislature and help
ease the passage of incoming
leaders.”
Many on the other side
of
the
aisle,
including
University’s
chapter
of
College Republicans, echo
this sentiment, emphasizing
the harm lame duck sessions
can assert on the democratic
process.
LSA senior Dylan Berger,
president
of
the
College
Republicans and a columnist
for The Daily, said in an
email interview the push to
eliminate lame duck sessions
signifies a step in the right
direction for Michigan.
“Lame
duck
sessions
allow
for
legislation
to
be passed with unsavory
amounts of influence from
special interests and without
proper debate of the issues,”
Berger said. “Michiganders
deserve better from their
representatives.
Doing
away
with
lame
duck
sessions here in Michigan
would be a victory for good
government.”
While
a
number
of
Republicans and Democrats
appear to align on this issue,
in order for the constitutional
amendment to be passed,
the resolution would have
to be approved by the state
legislature, placed on the
ballot and be approved by the
voters during the next state
election in November 2020.
Despite
the
outward
agreement on HJR-C, Rusty
Hills, a professor at the
Ford School of Public Policy
and campaign manager for
former Attorney General Bill
Schuette, contends getting
the resolution through the
state legislature could be a
complicated task to achieve.
“It’s
just
unusual
for
anyone
in
public
office
to give up their powers,
whether it’s the executive
branch, the judicial branch
or the legislative branch,”
Hills said. “I think this is
going to be a really tough
road to hoe. If it did pass and
get on the ballot, it would
get
widespread
popular
support, but I’m not so sure
it’s going to get through the
legislature.”
Despite the public’s strong
appetite for reform, according
to Hills, a large percentage
of
representatives
would
be unlikely to sacrifice the
session’s existence. Because
the lame duck period is one
in
which
legislation
can
be advanced en masse, the
amendment would reshape
the manner and periods in
which representatives’ most
valued bills can be approved.
“Lame duck is a time to
get a lot of things done,”
Hills said. “When I worked
for Governor (John) Engler,
it was a very productive
time. We were able to get a
lot of legislation passed —
quite a lot of it bipartisan,
in fact. The fact that some
legislators
were
heading
out the door did give us the
opportunity to pick up some
votes, particularly on long,
festering
issues
that
had
defied resolution.”
Despite the possibility of
opposition ahead, Rabhi, as
well as the 13 Republican
and
11
other
Democratic
co-sponsors of the resolution,
remain confident HJR-C is a
necessary measure for the
people of Michigan.
“It’s something that comes
up at all the coffee hours
and constituent events that
I have,” Rabhi said. “This
is one of those issues that
keeps on resurfacing. People
don’t like lame duck; it’s not
popular with the voters and
I agree with them. It’s not
really acceptable to have
this period of time where
accountability
is
at
rock
bottom.”
LOVE
From Page 1A
PATAGONIA
From Page 1A
PFAS
From Page 1A
LEGISLATION
From Page 1A
LEBANON
From Page 1A
Kempster and Jones began their
keynote presentation by discussing
what a healthy relationship entails.
By reflecting on their own relation-
ship, the two stressed how com-
munication, trust, boundaries and
understanding play into a produc-
tive and loving relationship.
They then discussed how their
identities as trans women im-
pacted their relationship and have
forged how they see their individ-
ual roles within their relationship.
“Us as trans people is a huge part
of our relationship,” Jones said. “I
am very comfortable speaking out-
wardly in public, that’s just part of
how I navigate my gender … Corey
is a woman with a deeper voice.
When we’re in public, I know to
step up in that moment … stepping
up for our safety is super impor-
tant to me.”
With Valentine’s Day coming
up, Kempster discussed her con-
flicting views on the holiday. She
often sees it as socially problem-
atic, but also recognizes it as an op-
portunity to celebrate loved ones.
“So much of Valentine’s Day
can occasionally be very hurtful,”
Kempster said. “It ends up being
very heteronormative. It implies
that the relationships in your life
aren’t important if you don’t have
romantic relationships or your
romantic dynamics are different
than what is celebrated in our soci-
ety, but I think we can build better
views and practices under these
days. Any day that gives space for
us to celebrate each other and tell
someone we love them and share
how we’re feeling with them is a
beautiful day.”
During a student panel portion
of the event, when student couples
engaged with Jones and Kempster
on ideas surrounding relation-
ships, LSA Junior Mike Zlonchev-
ich discussed how his girlfriend
encouraged him to expand who he
celebrated on Valentine’s Day.
“She asked me what I was doing
for my family on Valentine’s Day...I
had never thought of it that way
before. Up until that point, it had
always been about the person you
are with. Now, I’m planning some-
thing for my brother...It’s for every-
one I love in my life.”
SAPAC volunteer Claire Volk-
ert, an LSA sophomore, told The
Daily after the talk that the event
was purposefully held close to Val-
entine’s Day in an effort to open
up new avenues of discussion sur-
rounding healthy relationships.
“With the event being around
Valentine’s Day, we wanted to es-
cape the heteronormative narra-
tive that normally surrounds the
day, and talk about how all differ-
ent kinds of relationships can be
healthy,” Volkert said. “We want to
open up conversations to be more
inclusive and create an environ-
ment where everyone knows that
they deserve to have a healthy re-
lationship and can recognize the
values that go into that kind of re-
lationship.
Kempster concluded the event
with a reflection on what it means
to love another. She said to her,
Valentine’s Day is about more than
romantic love.
“With the falling in love trope, the
only harm of it is that we close our-
selves off to all the ways that we’re
loving people,” Kempster said. “So
often, we’re taught that there is
one kind of love that must be el-
evated above all else. Love doesn’t
always have to be hierarchical …
The more we can love, the better
our lives will be.”
LSA sophomore Mikayla Kruse
discussed how her women’s stud-
ies classes inspired her to learn
more about couples that fall out-
side of heteronormative labels.
“I’ve only really seen heteronor-
mative couples in day-to-day life,
so I thought it would be interesting
to learn what it’s like to be outside
the gender binary and hetero-
sexual assumptions,” Kruse said.
“I’ve taken a few women’s studies
classes, and you learn that people
are outside of the gender binary
and most things related to couples
are aimed at heterosexual couple …
It was interesting and I wanted to
learn about what that’s like in real
life, on a day-to-day basis.”
“LEAP
was
initially
founded in order to bridge the
gap where there is not really
a lot of English proficiency in
Palestinian refugee camps,”
Jenna said. “That is mainly
because there is not a lot of
English-focused
education,
and the funds for UNWRA do
not provide a lot of English
lessons.”
Jenna
and
Eldawy
discussed a typical week in
the life of a LEAP volunteer,
which
included
English
education, art classes, trips
to Lebanese cultural sites
and lesson planning. Jenna
said
while
her
students
were passionate about their
future careers, they knew
Palestinian
refugees
are
barred from working in about
20 professions and struggle
to find jobs even if they hold
advanced degrees.
“Some days, the (students)
come in and they’re having a
bad day and their motivation
is very low, because all they’re
thinking is ‘Ok, say I do this,
and then I take the entrance
exams and I get a donor to pay
for my college, I do all of that
and I don’t even end up getting
a job,’” Jenna said.
Eldawy
said
the
decaying
infrastructure
in
many
Lebanese
camps
is
discouraging
for
many
refugees and makes it difficult
for them to continue their
education.
“Over half of the Palestinian
refugee population in Lebanon
live inside of the 12 camps,”
Eldawy said. “This leads to a
lot of issues like overcrowding,
poor housing, sewage water
issues and electric issues.
We were living outside of the
camps, directly outside of Burj
Shemali, and we experienced
power
shortages
hourly
almost. That was not even
inside of the camps.”
Jenna
said
she
hoped
students understood that even
though
many
Palestinians
in
the
Lebanese
refugee
camps were born in Lebanon
and have never seen their
homeland, they are proud of
their Palestinian identities.
“There is a saying: ‘The old
will die and the young will
forget,’” Jenna said. “When it
comes to Palestinian refugees,
that has never been more
untrue. A lot of the older
people there hold on very
strongly to their memories
and very strongly to their
roots and that translates. You
see how they passed it down to
their kids and their grandkids,
because
their
grandkids
were the same people in our
classrooms
drawing
and
talking about their homeland
because they know and they
fully believe they’re going to
reclaim their homeland one
day.”
LSA senior Ahmed Alabed
said
the
mistreatment
of
Palestinian
refugees
was
shocking, especially because
both
Palestinians
and
Lebanese identify as Arabs.
“To see inside of Lebanon
is so different than inside of
the West Bank,” Alabed said.
“It was really surprising to me
to see how Palestinians were
treated inside of Lebanon.
I thought that, ‘Oh, Arabs
would be there for each other,’
but I feel like it’s just as bad as
in the West Bank.”
LSA
sophomore
Maya
Chamra said hearing about
the
Palestinian
refugee
crisis from volunteers who
experienced life in the camps
first-hand was more powerful
than learning about it from
the news or in class.
“The
hopelessness
that
the Palestinians experience
because they face so many
barriers to get out of the
camps,” Chamra said. “I think
that’s really important. You
hear about the struggles that
they may face, you might read
about it in the news, but when
you hear personal experiences,
you hear it directly and it hits
a lot closer and you realize the
gravity of the situation.”
“This community is surprisingly
very relatable,” Henriksen said. “A
lot of the topics they talk about are
still very relevant to 21st century
politics. We live in a country
where identity is really important.
They have really interesting views
about race; many people today can
identify and relate to these stories
from over a hundred years ago.”
Henriksen’s project is funded
through
a
grant
from
the
Humanities
Collaboratory,
a
research
initiative
established
at the University of Michigan in
the summer of 2017 that provides
resources for humanities-specific
scholars to work on more research-
based projects. The grant gave
him the opportunity to create the
“From Africa to Patagonia: Voices
of Displacement project. Due to
the complicated nature of the
community, he realized this was
not just a linguistics centralized
study, but one that incorporated a
wide variety of different humanities
fields.
“We needed to be able to
research the community not in just
linguistic terms but also in terms of
their racial views, their historical
views, their views on ethnicity in
race — as they have a really long
history with Apartheid,” Henriksen
said. “So we realized as linguists, we
weren’t really trained in ways that
would allow us to approach these
questions on the human experience.
So we knew we had to work with
other collaborators.”
The
project
is
composed
of
an
interdisciplinary
team
of
U-M
faculty,
post-doctoral
students, graduate students and
undergraduates, totaling about 40
members altogether. Each of these
members stem from an array of
different fields, including history,
linguistics, literature, anthropology
and much more. The team has
visited Patagonia once in 2014 and
again in 2017, conducting more than
100 interviews in both Afrikaans
and Spanish.
Ryan Szpiech, associate professor
of Spanish, looks more into the
religious aspect of the relation
between the Afrikaans’ identity, but
because of the collaborative project,
has begun to branch out within his
own research. Szpiech noted how
certain values in humanities fields
tend to limit collaboration.
“In the humanities, we don’t tend
to work together,” Szpiech said.
“We read and write by ourselves
because of the emphasis in the
humanities on originality and the
form of an argument when writing
and researching. In the humanities,
there is a lot of stress on how elegant
your rhetoric is and how original
your ideas are, which really does
limit itself in terms of collaboration.”
Szpiech said he appreciates
how this project has allowed
him to explore disciplines he was
previously unfamiliar with.
“Co-writing, co-authoring pieces
together is so stimulating, it has
pushed us all too start talking about
things we’re not fully comfortable
with,” Szpiech said. “That is
something interesting about the
collaboratory; it’s not a whole bunch
of experts that are fully informed
of their subject. Everyone has
their area, but we have all sort of
branched out into new areas to
try on new things. Because we are
working together, we feel support
for each other.”
Similarly,
Myrna
Cintron-
Valentin, a doctoral candidate in
psychology, had to shift her view
of a “traditional lab” and learn new
skills like archiving, of which she
had no previous knowledge.
“I’ve worked in a variety of
different research labs — coming
from
psychology,
I’ve
had
experience with interdisciplinary
labs before where people from
different areas breed together
their knowledge into a project, but
never quite as I’ve experienced here
where I feel as if people’s different
academic
areas
of
experience
really come together to generate
new things,” Cintron-Valentin said.
“From the beginning, everyone was
deeply involved. It was not just one
person. All of the faculty members
and even the student interest have
been integrated into this one big
project.”
One of the components of
the lab is the incorporation of
more than 25 undergraduate
students. Henriksen’s aim is to
combat some of the problems
faced by the liberal arts in
higher education, such as the
decline in enrollment numbers
in light of rising student debt,
the 2008 financial crisis and
the job market. He hopes to
re-imagine humanities research
and education within its place
in 21st-century academia.
Read more online at
michigandaily.com