ARTS
over the
YEARS
Bis etum il ius eliquam usaerum eium
velicti comnit dunt, tota que consequo is
essunture dolor molesti beriore, il ea ne
plab ipsae excero te volorep tation re
videndunt omnihil ipienda veliqui nobites
et laboriame lantiossunt hil ius arumqui
dentibus, qui aliat pa qui simolessit, nes
escilit harum que volorit eicia con plis
everum fugitatur si quiae esto blaturem labo.
Itatas mos venis arumnihilla ntentotatem
aut etum hil il mod quam es est as endaesc
ipiendis escium lation cupta doluptam ab
MARCH: On March 16, the University of Michigan
campus wasleft in confusion and distress following false
reports of an active shooting. This led to outcry among
students regarding personal experiences, gun policy
and the University’s emergency response system.
APRIL 22: The Michigan Daily’s Editorial Board
evaluates the University’s hypocrisy with regards to
crime, safety and inclusion. There is direct reference to
the felony disclouse policy, which was announced by
the University on February 4, and it’s contradictions
with existing DEI initiatives.
2018
JANUARY: The University of Michigan kicksedoff its
Bicentennial year with a variety of events and celebrations
across campus.
NOVEMBER 16: With the suspension of University
Greek Life following a slew of sexual assault
accusations, students across campus questioned
the University’s social structure and the role of the
Interfraternity Council. The Daily called on the IFC to be
more transparent and provide a concrete plan of action
to combat the questionable behavior plauging the
organization.
JANUARY 25: The Michigan Daily’s Editorial Board
stands in solidarity with those affected by the crimes of
Larry Nassar.
APRIL 16: The Daily highlights the Stop the Straw
initiative in Ann Arbor. Contributors discuss their
work with Grizzly Peak Brewing Company and Frita
Batidos, two staple Ann Arbor establishments, to
eradicate the unassuming, yet dangerous, plastic
straw.
OPINION
over the
YEARS
As much as I would love to
find a different topic to write
about, the COVID-19 pandemic
has
been
the
only
relevant
topic that has been updating
itself for the past few weeks.
The
University
of
Michigan
encouraged all students to return
to their permanent residence,
so I left Ann Arbor to fly back
to South Korea last Saturday.
When I finally stepped out of the
airplane full of people sharing
the same objective of reaching
their homes after about 14 hours
of travel, I could see that my
home country was dealing with
the whole pandemic situation in
a radically different manner.
It usually takes about 10 to
15 minutes to get through the
passport control and pick up
your luggage at the Incheon
International Airport. However,
this time it took me an hour
and a half. Several teams of
airport staff members and public
health workers lined up the
passengers where they checked
if all incoming passengers had
downloaded
a
self-diagnosis
tracking application on their
phones.
I
was
given
more
than enough information and
explanation
regarding
the
application and the need for us
to download it to keep track of
our health. Then, when I finally
reached the actual checkpoint,
a public health official checked
my temperature with a simple
electronic
thermometer.
I
recorded
98.6
degrees
and
was given a piece of paper that
read “quarantine certificate.” I
was then asked to fill out brief
paperwork that asked for my
address and phone number. When
I asked the officer collecting the
paperwork what this was for, he
kindly answered that the Korean
government newly mandated all
its returning citizens to practice
self-quarantine for 14 days and
those pieces of information were
needed for the local government
of my residence to check on my
status. Out of curiosity, I then
asked if there would be legal
repercussions if I broke the self-
quarantine and the answer was,
as expected, yes. Noncompliance
to
the
self-quarantine
order
is punishable by up to a year
of imprisonment or a fine up
to 10,000,000 won, which is
equivalent to almost $10,000.
South Korea had two unique
strategies dealing with COVID-
19 that the United States did
not.
The
first
was
testing.
Korea was much quicker to
react to the global health crisis
when compared to many other
countries, partly because of its
past experience with Middle
Eastern Respiratory Syndrome
(MERS) in 2015. As soon as the
first confirmed COVID-19 case
from
China
was
announced,
Korean companies jumped in on
developing test kits. Beginning
in late February, soon after
the Lunar New Year holidays,
Korea started to develop the
capability
of
testing
about
20,000 people a day and now
has about 10,000 tests run per
one million people, which is the
highest confirmed data among all
affected countries.
The
second
strategy
was
heightened,
yet
relatively
well-accepted, surveillance on
citizens. This does not mean that
the Korean government wiretaps
phone calls or collects all private
information
to
track
certain
individuals down. Rather, the
government effectively utilized
the recent trend of cashless
transactions and spiked use of
smartphones to track people
who
came
in
contact
with
a
confirmed
patient.
Korea
has
the
highest
proportion
of
cashless
transactions
and
one
of
the
highest
phone
ownership rates in the world.
In
addition,
the
government
was able to successfully trace
those in mandatory 14-day self-
quarantine; the application I was
told to download upon arrival
was not only for self-diagnosis
reporting but also for location
tracking to notify the designated
local government official if I
leave my self-quarantine spot.
The designated local government
official calls me every morning
to check if I am still in my self-
quarantine spot and asks if I am
showing any symptoms. Korean
citizens, including myself, do not
have much problem with being
possibly
traced
or
receiving
phone
calls
from
the
local
government
every
morning.
Except
for
some
outrageous
cases of noncompliance to the
self-quarantine order, including
a South Korean student traveling
to Jeju Island with her mother a
day after arriving in Korea from
the U.S., most citizens are taking
social distancing fairly seriously.
I am certainly not an expert
in
biomedical
industries
of
either country but I doubt the
U.S. lacks the technology or
capital to develop testing kits.
One of the crucial differences
between Korea and the U.S.
was the government’s attitude.
President Trump dismissed the
potential severity of the virus
when it first emerged as a global
health threat while consistently
labeling it the “Chinese Virus.”
President
Trump
had
also
poorly reorganized the National
Security Council (NSC) so that it
was not fit to react to pandemics
like
COVID-19.
The
Obama
administration had done the same
but restored the original NSC
structure after going through the
Ebola crisis in 2014. In addition,
the Trump administration was
recently found to have told
the federal agency to classify
COVID-19 deliberations, keeping
crucial
information
like
the
scope of infection and quarantine
restrictions from the public.
While Korea learned from MERS
in 2015, it seems as if the U.S. did
not learn much from Ebola in
2014.
I am not saying the U.S.
should implement such a strict
enforcement on self-quarantine
and social distancing without
much consideration. Americans
could certainly react differently
than Koreans if they were legally
obligated to not leave their
homes and local government
agents
kept
track
of
them
constantly. However, given the
recent trend of ever-increasing
cases, some form of mandatory
social distancing does not sound
too egregious. The disease is not
successfully
being
contained,
especially in Michigan where
the cases only continue to rise.
Maybe the society as a whole
really should consider a hard-
hitting method like that of
Korea to possibly bring the
curve down.
What we can learn from Korea
The University of Michigan
recently announced that it would
transition to winter rush for social
Greek
organizations,
starting
in the 2019-2020 academic year
as part of a plan to improve the
first-year experience. The new
plan requires students to have
completed at least 12 resident
credit-hours and to be in good
behavioral and academic standing
before they can participate in
the rush process. The change
will affect about 2,000 students
annually according to an email
sent by E. Royster Harper, vice
president for Student Life on
March 21st.
The change comes following
a
two-month
self-imposed
ban on social activities by
the
Interfraternity
Council
after
reports
of
hazing,
drug and alcohol abuse, as
well as allegations of sexual
misconduct.
The
Zeta
Beta
Tau
fraternity’s
national
organization also revoked its
chapter at the University for
violating multiple policies and
endangering its members. We
believe this policy change is
a step in the right direction
toward creating a Greek life
system that exists to improve
the university experience of
students, especially freshmen,
instead of detracting from it.
The
decision
by
the
University
will
be
most
beneficial to the new freshmen
class and allow its members
more opportunities to become
better
acclimated
to
their
campus community. Being a
new freshman can be daunting,
and the question of whether
or not to join social Greek
life
in
the
first
semester
adds to the pressure. When
freshmen
arrive
at
college,
their first friends are often
those who live in the same
residence halls as them. As the
semester continues, students
find
themselves
branching
out and making new friends
through
their
classes
and
student
organizations.
This
allows freshmen to try various
activities and find what they
like best.
Fraternities and sororities
often sell the experience to
freshmen
by
promising
an
immediate new group of friends
and a great social life. Greek
life, however, is an aspect of
campus life that requires a
large time commitment and
could cause new students to
insulate
themselves
within
their fraternity or sorority.
With this change, students
will have more time and energy
to put towards the equally
important academic transition
from high school to college.
This will also allow freshmen
more time to find out how they
want to spend their time on
campus without first requiring
them to commit to a time-
consuming rush and pledge
process.
Additionally, the new winter
rush process helps new students
become
acclimated
to
the
drinking culture on campus. As
most students are aware, the
social atmosphere in college is
usually vastly different from
high school. The expectations,
the amount of alcohol and other
drugs available and the number
of people with whom students
can engage in these activities
drastically
increases
during
Welcome Week. Nowhere is
this more pronounced than
in fraternities, who host the
majority
of
Welcome
Week
events and provide alcohol for
thousands of students every
weekend.
There are obvious dangers
associated with this newfound
easy access to alcohol and
other substances, as evidenced
by
more
than
30
hospital
transports during the weekend
of the Michigan State game
and seven during Halloween
weekend. With winter rush,
students will still go out and
experience college life, but will
be able to make better decisions
about the drinking culture that
comes with it, as they would
have had time to acclimate in
the fall.
There are, however, some
concerns about the new policy.
Suspending
fall
rush
for
fraternities may also simply
lead to an informal rushing
process that may exclude some
freshmen who do not have
the right connections. This
“underground
rush”
would
also be completely unregulated
by
the
University,
though
one could possibly argue that
currently the University has
very little oversight regardless.
Lastly,
this
decision
also
could
unfairly
affect
multicultural
fraternities
who provide a unique space
for
the
members
of
their
respective communities. When
minority students arrive at the
University’s
predominantly
white campus, multicultural
Greek life can offer a support
system that the transition to
winter rush could threaten to
delay.
Overall, however, the change
to a winter rush process is a
strong step by the University
to
improve
the
first-year
experience
and
limit
the
insularity of Greek life on
campus. Freshmen will have
an
opportunity
to
explore
their
interests
and
make
better-informed
decisions
about their social life and
future involvement in student
organizations.
And,
in
the
face of recent controversies
surrounding Greek life both on
campus and nationally, lifting
some of the pressure to join the
Greek
community
freshmen
often face could have long-
lasting benefits.
From the Daily: Winter rush,
step in the right direction
Just over a month ago, I
contributed to a Michigan Daily
Editorial Board article on the
COVID-19 outbreak, a piece which
primarily warned the community
not to panic. In light of recent
events, it’s almost surreal to
think about sitting in that room
now, jokingly passing around
hand
sanitizer
and
casually
discussing what I then believed
to be a novel issue that would not
have any major impact on life at
the University of Michigan. And
coverage did die down, for a time.
But now, COVID-19 seems to be
the only thing anyone is talking
about — and for good reason.
On
Wednesday,
March
11,
University
President
Mark
Schlissel
announced
on
Twitter that all classes on the
University’s
three
campuses
would be canceled for March
12 and 13 and would move to an
online format from March 16
through the end of the semester.
Events of more than 100 people
were canceled, along with all
spring and summer study abroad
programs. This announcement
followed similar decisions by
schools
across
the
country,
including
the
University
of
Washington, Harvard University
and Michigan State University.
Also on Wednesday, the World
Health
Organization
declared
the coronavirus outbreak to be a
global pandemic as it continues
to spread rapidly. Sporting and
cultural events — including the
2020 NCAA men’s and women’s
basketball tournaments — are
continually being postponed or
canceled, and on March 12 Gov.
Gretchen Whitmer announced all
Michigan K-12 schools will close
through at least April 5. All of this
demonstrates how COVID-19, a
story I and many others thought
would be lost to the 24-hour news
cycle, has rapidly developed to
impact life on campus, in Ann
Arbor and across the world
in a massive and seemingly
unprecedented way.
Despite
everything
that’s
happened in the past few days,
however, I stand by the original
message
the
Editorial
Board
published in February — don’t
panic. This is easier said than
done when it feels like the world
is crumbling around you. It
certainly seems that way for me.
As a junior transfer, my limited
time at the University has been
cut even shorter and the social
network I was growing has
been blunted. My spring study
abroad is canceled and I won’t
be spending this March making
brackets or watching games. Of
course, COVID-19 is much greater
than any individual biography.
With this outbreak playing out
on such an expansive — indeed,
global — scale, broad actions must
be taken. Likewise, something
widespread is being revealed.
This viral event is highlighting
the fundamental errors in the
way we live and the way our
societies are structured. If we pay
close attention to what is being
uncovered
and
respond
with
meaningful action, the COVID-
19 outbreak can be a learning
opportunity.
The development of COVID-
19 has coincided with the 2020
presidential
primaries,
and
one of the key talking points
in the goal to unseat President
Donald Trump is health care
reform. Sen. Bernard Sanders,
I-Vt., argues this outbreak has
shown America the necessity of
adopting Medicare for All. When
a health crisis has the potential
to impact everyone, it becomes
clear
that
everyone
should
have
access
to
high-quality
care. While some insurers have
pledged to cover the cost of the
coronavirus test, the expense
of further testing and treatment
that will accompany a positive
result may prevent individuals
from seeking the care they need.
Moreover,
not
everyone
has
access to health insurance — in
2018, 27.5 million Americans
were
uninsured.
And
many
of those with insurance have
prohibitively expensive barriers
to accessing coverage, such as
high deductibles, copays and
out-of-network costs, all factors
which are especially salient given
the current economic crisis that
has accompanied COVID-19.
Even long before the outbreak
began, the American health care
structure has been shaping how
this or any other public health
concern would play out. Millions
of Americans are denied the
preventive care and knowledge
that
could
support
improved
outcomes in a crisis, such as
regular check-ups and diagnoses
of
chronic
or
underlying
conditions. Health care is a
human right and no one should be
denied the opportunity to achieve
their best health — or survive
a pandemic — based on their
socioeconomic status. COVID-
19 has fully exposed the flaws
of a largely private insurance
market and an overpriced medical
system. It has given us evidence
of an urgent need to entirely
restructure how we design and
distribute health care.
Beyond treating coronavirus,
the
wide-scale
preventative
measures enacted to slow the
disease’s spread provide a chance
at a re-evaluation of how we work
in America. Several of the world’s
largest
companies,
including
Michigan-headquartered
Ford
and General Motors, tech giants
Amazon and Google and financial
firms
JPMorgan
Chase
and
Goldman Sachs, have instituted
work-from-home
policies
for
at least some employees. Like
the
University,
a
substantial
number of academic institutions
are
transitioning
to
remote
learning. It seems COVID-19
has finally motivated the world’s
largest
and
most
influential
institutions to consider policies
that disability advocates have
been pushing: more expansive,
accessible
work-from-home
policies. These remote policies
can spur innovation which will
shape a more accessible working
landscape
for
all
people
of
varying abilities. We can discover
that it is entirely possible to be
productive from home — for some,
it may be far more productive
than sitting in an office. We can
build a more flexible schedule in
which productivity is not limited
from nine-to-five. We can even
reconstruct
the
concept
of
productivity, acknowledging the
importance of work across the
gamut of pay grades and pushing
for living wages.
Of course, not all work can
realistically be done remotely
— retail and customer service
are notable examples. For these
roles, we must mandate paid
sick leave, as illness should not
prevent one from making rent or
putting dinner on the table. In
customer-facing roles, especially
those involving food, people
should not be working when
sick — for their own health and
for the health of others. Across
the board, we must normalize
the often-chastised concept of
taking a sick day. Our current
working
environment
pushes
for self-sacrifice for the goal
of productivity, but a rapidly
spreading and potentially deadly
virus is a grave reminder of our
limited time and the importance
of prioritizing the well-being
of ourselves and of others over
monetary gains. This outbreak is
a call to reconsider how we view
work in our global society and to
rediscover a healthier work-life
balance.
COVID-19 is having radical
impacts
on
both
local
and
global communities, and the
ramifications will be felt for
years to come, fundamentally
changing the way we live. And
where there is change, there
is opportunity. It’s absolutely
justified to feel like the world
is falling apart and to have the
associated panic for a period of
time — my now-private Twitter
feed
is
a
primary
example.
But if we adopt a mindset of
acknowledging
the
flaws
of
modernity which COVID-19 has
brought center-stage and strive
to take action in response, we
may emerge from the chaos on
the path to a society that is more
fair and equitable than the one
we had before. In this period
of temporary social distancing,
it’s especially critical to keep in
mind that it’s not me, it’s us. Let’s
capitalize on this opportunity
to think and act radically for a
better future. This contemplative
approach
is
imperative
to
emerging
successfully
from
COVID-19 — along with washing
our hands for at least 20 seconds.
What COVID-19 is uncovering — and what we can learn from it
MARY ROLFES
2020 Columnist
MADELYN VERCAECKE/2020 Cartoonist
2019
2020
2017
2018 MICHIGAN DAILY
EDITORIAL BOARD
JANUARY 22: A surprisingly transparent email was sent to
students by President Schlissel announcing that Provost
Martin Philbert had been placed on administrative leave
after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. The
Michigan Daily Editorial Board stands in solidarity with
those who have come forward and those affected.
MARCH 17: Students received an email from U-M
Housing titled “URGENT: Petition to Remain in
Housing.” The next day, Housing apologized for the
confusion and clarified students did not have to move
out at 8 a.m. that day in response to COVID-19.
MIN SOO KIM
2020 Columnist
4A — Saturday, May 2, 2020
Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com