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