The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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Thursday, February 28, 2019 — 3
SCIP
From Page 1
CLIM ATE CHANGE OUTRE ACH
KARTIKEYA SUNDARAM/Daily
BLUElab President Natalie Brown discusses the scientific community’s take on climate change at the Climate Change
Outreach Panel at the Shapiro Undergraduate Library Wednesday evening.
“One of the early findings
was there was a big jump in the
number of students and facul-
ty and staff between 2015 and
2018 and those that believed
in climate change believed it
was impacted by human activ-
ity and thought that it was
impacting them personally,”
Marans said. “There’s a much
greater concern and aware-
ness about issues related to
climate change, that’s one big
takeaway.”
In addition, the SCIP data
has been used by other stu-
dents and faculty in their own
research. Callewaert said he’s
pleased with the number of
ways in which the community
has interacted with the data.
“I’m excited that overtime
we’re seeing more and more
people use the results,” Calle-
waert said. “Students that are
using it for their research, for
their honors theses, for their
dissertations — really excited
about that. We really have it
set it up from the beginning
so it’s something people can
use.”
LSA senior Greg Cogut has
been working with SCIP data
since his sophomore year as
an Undergraduate Research
Opportunity
Program
stu-
dent. Cogut’s focus is on the
areas of waste prevention and
travel
transportation,
add-
ing that he’s interested in the
human behavior aspect of sus-
tainability.
“My
(UROP)
topic
was
studying human behavior in
environmental
sustainabil-
ity,” Cogut said. “It was really
in conjunction with the notion
of what SCIP is looking for,
identifying trends at the Uni-
versity realm. We sort of view
the University as a living labo-
ratory.”
Cogut recently submitted
some of his findings for pub-
lication, explaining the track-
ing of change over time is a
unique aspect of SCIP data.
“The other academic jour-
nals … there weren’t many
studies that were very long-
term or that large,” Cogut
said. “When you’re dealing
with changing human behav-
ior, you really want to have a
long study and a large sample
population. I tested my own
theories about human behav-
ior
in
environmental
sus-
tainability informed by my
research and I was able to use
the SCIP data.”
Marans
mentioned
this
notion of tracking culture and
human behavior in the field of
environmental sustainability
has gained international as
well as national interest.
“There’s growing interest
not only in other universi-
ties in the United States, but
around the world in doing
what the University of Mich-
igan is doing with respect
to measuring and tracking
culture
of
sustainability,”
Marans said. “I’ve got a call
scheduled next week with a
woman in Taiwan. They want
to do something similar, they
requested some of our data,
there are other universities
around the world that are
interested in doing something
like our SCIP program.”
Callewaert
added
that
not all findings of the five-
year report indicate positive
changes. He cited increased
commute times for staff as a
growing trend over the course
of the program.
“Some of the more challeng-
ing pieces (are) that staff are
reporting longer commutes
each time,” Callewaert said.
“Fewer staff are living in Ann
Arbor because of the housing
prices, pushing a lot of staff to
live further and further out.
Their commute times have
gone up almost every time,
more time on the road, more
time in the car. Specifically in
terms of climate action that’s
a challenge. You have to let
people live where they want to
live, but it’s so consistent each
year staff commute gets fur-
ther — not so much for faculty
because, you know, higher
salaries.”
As for the future directions
of SCIP, a proposal has been
put in to receive additional
funding to continue tracking
trends on campus. Marans
said they are hopeful for more
time.
“The Graham Institute has
put in a big proposal to the
Provost’s Office to support
and continue to support not
just the SCIP program but all
these other things related to
culture,” Marans said. “We’re
waiting to see and the propos-
al was to extend the funding
for this work for almost three
more years, and we’re fairly
optimistic.”
Smith explained the demand to
hear Shapiro could be connected
to his strong media presence and
effective marketing of the event by
YAF.
“I think because he’s a well
known speaker, he captures the
media attention from both sides of
the political aisle, a lot,” Smith said.
“It’s also not someone you see a lot
at Michigan. I know YAF is bring-
ing him and they did a lot a lot of
marketing prior to this through
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
That’s how I originally heard about
it. So I think that definitely had a
large impact (on ticket sales) and
YAF chapter in general was also
marketing.”
LSA freshman Chiren Moore,
who identifies politically as moder-
ate leaning towards conservative,
said students could be eager to hear
Shapiro because of an entertain-
ment value he brings to his talks.
Moore mentioned Shapiro is known
for quick remarks in question and
answer portions of speeches, which
have thousands of views on his You-
Tube channel with almost 600,000
subscribers.
“I think he’s a pretty controver-
sial figure in that people post videos
of him online and just the way he
speaks, he has very quick come-
backs and stuff like that,” Moore
said. “So I think a lot of people want
to go see that because he’s enter-
taining … I think there are a lot of
people that agree with him more
than people expect … But I think
a lot of people are going just to see
what happens.”
Moore thinks tickets sold out
quickly for Shapiro because they
were free.
“They (the tickets) were free,”
Moore said. “So I think that’s a big
reason why a lot of people got them
— cause you don’t have to pay for
them. And I wanted to go because
I’ve been listening to him for a
while.”
Moore said Shapiro’s appearance
on campus offers curious college
students an opportunity to hear a
conservative speaker in attempts to
shape their own political views.
“I think the reason a lot of people
wanted to go, especially college stu-
dents, is because in college you’re
exposed to so many new ideas and
it’s a really formative time,” Moore
said. “Because of a lot of these stu-
dents are just now getting to vote
… and they’re forming their own
political ideas.”
Not everyone is as excited about
Shapiro’s visit, though. On Feb. 22,
Ann Arbor residents and University
students gathered to discuss mea-
sures against Shapiro’s impending
visit and prepare the logistics for a
protest against the event.
LSA freshman Sophie Kehrig
also expressed concern regard-
ing the visit. They said they worry
bringing Ben Shapiro to campus
will spread harmful sentiments
among college students. They
referred to Shapiro’s past state-
ments that minority groups are not
“victims in American society” and
said people who identify as trans-
gender have “a mental condition in
which one believes he or she is of
the opposite sex.”
“I think he would be harmful
because he does this thing where
he tries to play like he’s respectable
or logical and then will undermine
any and all other identities differ-
ent from his,” Kehrig said. “And his
whole trying to take down this idea
of identity politics and his idea that
there’s a hierarchy of victimhood
and that being a really negative
thing… taking down other people’s
experiences and identities, for what
reason I’m never exactly sure, I
think is really devise and unpro-
ductive. And if you’re saying you
want everybody to be heard, this is
a man that speaks to the fact that he
doesn’t believe everyone’s voice and
or narrative deserves to be taken
seriously.”
Kehrig said they recognize the
need to engage in a multitude of
conversations with people who hold
varying opinions, but believes Shap-
iro’s talk on campus would more of
a negative than positive impact.
“I understand the necessity of
needing a multitude of opinions and
identities and why that’s important
even if you don’t agree with it,” Keh-
rig said. “Not much can get done in
an echochamber and I’m cognizant
of that. But at the same time there
comes a certain point where there
is more harm done than good. And
I feel like when the harm outweighs
the good in a situation like this I
think it’s time to reevaluate.”
The University’s chapter of Col-
lege Democrats declined to com-
ment on the event. The University’s
chapter of College Republicans did
not respond in time for publication.
Westa said in an email statement
YAF strives to educate University
students on conservative values,
and hosting Shapiro will offer stu-
dents a new political perspective.
“Young Americans for Freedom
(YAF) believes in individual free-
dom, limited government, free mar-
kets, and traditional values,” Westa
said in the email. “Our goal on
campus is to educate students on
conservative values they other-
wise wouldn’t be exposed to at
school. I can’t think of a better
way of doing this than to bring
the top conservative speaker
of our day to the University of
Michigan.”
SHAPIRO
From Page 1
“Title
X
ensures
that
every person has access to
birth control, STI testing,
cancer screenings, and other
essential health care servic-
es — no matter where they
live and how much money
they have,” Whitmer wrote.
“The
Trump
administra-
tion’s
actions
undermine
this bipartisan supported
federal-state
partnership
that has improved the health
of women and families for
decades.”
Whitmer
asserted
the
new changes would reduce
the
amount
of
federally
funded clinics, forcing indi-
viduals to travel further for
these health services or go
without. She asserted her
commitment to protecting
health care services and
said she will work to prevent
the proposed changes.
“It interferes in the doc-
tor-patient
relationship,”
Whitmer wrote. “When peo-
ple can’t see their provider
of choice, they delay or sim-
ply go without care. Along
with other newly elected
governors, I will explore
all options to block these
changes. I remain commit-
ted to the women and men of
Michigan who rely on Title
X for access to basic health
care services.”
Dylan Berger, president
of the University’s chapter
of College Republicans and
LSA sophomore, said in an
email interview that while
the members of their orga-
nization have a “wealth of
opinions” about abortion,
they hope that Republicans
and Democrats in Washing-
ton can find middle ground
in regard to changes pro-
posed for Title X.
“We hope Washington is
able to come together and
reject extremism on both
sides of this issue,” Berger
wrote. “It’s key to both pro-
tect the sacred value of life
and guarantee the personal
liberty of all our citizens.”
Katie Kelly, communica-
tions director for the Uni-
versity’s chapter of College
Democrats, said in an email
interview it was dishearten-
ing to see the changes the
Trump administration has
made to Title X. In most
cases, abortion services are
already excluded from fed-
eral funding prior to the
proposed changes.
Kelly sees the new rule
as limiting access to health-
care for millions of indi-
viduals who rely on more
affordable clinics for a vari-
ety of reasons.
“This is a blatant attack
against women and all indi-
viduals who take advan-
tage of the services offered
by clinics such as Planned
Parenthood,” Kelly wrote.
“It has been very clear for
a long time that money
from Title X cannot be
used for abortion services,
so this proposal will hurt
the health of those who use
these clinics for procedures
such as cancer screening,
general checkups, or family
planning.”
Opponents of the changes
to Title X are calling the
revisions a “gag rule,” which
will prevent providers from
discussing abortion options
with women or risk losing
their federal funding. Kelly
said the changes to Title X
demonstrate
a
continued
attack against women by the
Trump administration.
“By making family plan-
ning services like Planned
Parenthood choose between
Title X funding and pro-
viding
comprehensive
family
planning
services,
President Trump has essen-
tially implemented a domes-
tic gag rule,” Kelly wrote. “It
is unconscionable that our
President is attacking, yet
again, the health and bodily
autonomy of women. These
changes
will
hinder
the
ability of many low income
individuals from receiving
quality medical care.”
Public Health junior Tri-
sha Gupte criticized the
changes to Title X and said
the new rules severely limit
women’s choices for their
health. According to Gupte,
by
preventing
providers
from even discussing the full
range of healthcare options,
the Trump administration
is effectively denying indi-
viduals the right to make
choices for themselves.
“You
should
have
the
option to have access to
these kinds of services,”
Gupte said. “It’s important
to have choices. It’s impor-
tant that everyone has the
opportunity to make choices
that they want to, especially
when it comes to reproduc-
tive justice.”
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
WHITMER
From Page 1
He
has
toured
as
a
soloist with a multitude of
distinguished
orchestras,
holds eighteen Grammys, won
a Medal of Freedom, made a
small appearances on “The
Simpsons,” “The West Wing,”
and performed on an NPR
Music Tiny Desk Concert. Ma
is now touring the world in hopes
of promoting a seemingly ancient
message from Johann Sebastian
Bach.
After playing a snippet from
Bwach on the piano, Ma told the
crowd that the selection was just
one of 25 different variations of the
same piece.
“All music is based on variation,”
Ma said. “In fact, I would go as far
as to say that all life is based on
variation. There is infinite variation
that exists in nature, and in human
nature. Today, we are acutely aware
that there is nothing more constant
than change. Constant, continual,
unrelenting change. But, every
change has a starting point and
ending point. Just like a spiral, we
keep surrounding the same evolving
things.”
These variations resonated with
LSA sophomore Colleen Jones.
She told The Daily after the event
that she thought it was interesting
that someone like Ma could be so
consciousness of these ideas.
“It is interesting he thinks about
and understand the mutability and
the ever-changing nature of life in
general,” Jones said. “Mutability
is like the one constant in our lives
— we all have these variations. For
Yo-Yo it wasn’t just being an artist it
was also his social impact.”
There
are
three
specific
variations and changes Ma said
impacted his life and have defined
his world view and thinking. He
noted although these variations
might not appear in a standard
biography, they are essential to how
he practices being a cultural citizen
and musician.
For the first variation, he took the
audience back to the beginnings of
his life and career and mentioned
the constant stress from his two
musician “tiger parents,” and the
importance of practicing, or what he
calls “the first principal of music.”
“Scales, arpeggios: that was my
daily diet,” Ma said. “But, I want to
talk about a different kind of practice
— the practice of experimentation
and experience. This is the practice
that helped me move from being
a cellist to a musician, to thinking
about being a cultural citizen. It is
through the practice of experience
and experiment that we invented
culture, and it is through the
continual practice of experience and
experiments that culture evolves.
Life, I’ve found is full of infinite
variety.”
He said he found this variety
in college. One day, he went to the
doctor after being questioned about
his limp by his future wife and was
diagnosed with scoliosis. He had
two options: either get a difficult
surgery right then or wait until age
23. Once he was engaged, ready
to start a family at 23, he thought
surgery would be the right choice.
“Inevitably, I play like it’s the last
time I will ever play a piece,” Ma
said. “The fact, that I confronted
that as a possibility in the
beginning of my performing life.
That I could access that feeling at
any given moment; that is success.
I even grew two inches. Through
the surgery, I was given a gift, of
liberation. Every day after that I
was given a gift.”
Ma then transitioned to his
second variation. While studying
at Harvard, Ma was exposed to
French culture, Russian studies and
the German language. However,
Ma
loved
anthropology
and
archeology the most. He became
fascinated
with
the
Kalahari
Bushmen tribe and their distinct
music, which is found in one of the
oldest human rituals today. While
traveling to Botswana, he had the
honor to meet the !Kung tribe of the
Kalahari Bushmen, participating in
these ceremonies.
“I interviewed this one woman
and asked, ‘why do you do this?’”
Ma said. “She looked at me and
replied;
‘because
it
gives
us
meaning.’ That is exactly what
culture is for: it gives us meaning.
How powerful, how simple, how
true: it gives us all meaning.”
Ma sais his last variation
happened only eight days ago. He
and his wife had just returned
from the Galapagos Islands. He
talks about the bird, lizards and sea
lions all living peacefully, evolving
over time. He recalled the case of
finches, who underwent changes in
a short period of time.
“We do not see evolution as
theory, but as a direct result, as
experiences and experiments, not
unlike culture,” Ma said. “In this
case, natures’ experiences and
experiments. Therefore, human
activity becomes a dominant force
on our planet.The result of our
experiences, and our experiments,
will be measurable hundreds of
years from now.”
LSA
sophomore
Elizabeth
Haley told The Daily she found
the idea of current choices having
a visible effect to be exceptionally
striking.
MA
From Page 1
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
The SCIP data
has been used by
other students
and faculty
in their own
research