“It was really inspiring to see so many students so invested in the election and taking action to better our future,” Wise said. The U-M chapter of College Democrats, who helped organize and host events to increase exposure of Democratic candidates to the student body, told The Michigan Daily in a statement following the election that they feel optimistic about the results. “We, the College Democrats at U-M, are elated by the results of the 2022 midterm elections in Michigan,” the statement reads. “We continue to express our support of Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist, Attorney General Dana Nessel, and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson as they continue to work hard for Michiganders. Now that the State House and State Senate have a Democratic majority, we are optimistic of what is to come with this progressive leadership.” LSA freshman Gavin Thomas, who said he is unaffiliated with campus political activism, said he was also content with the results. “I’m pretty happy with the outcome. I think that things worked out for the best, at least in my opinion,” Thomas said. “I think that that was one of the best results we could have gotten.” LSA freshman Mary Backman said she was particularly excited with the passage of Proposal 3, a ballot proposal to amend the Michigan constitution to enshrine the right to an abortion, birth control and other forms of reproductive healthcare. The proposal, which passed with 56.7% of the vote, received widespread media attention following the overturning of Roe v. Wade — a 1973 lawsuit which guaranteed the right to abortions nationwide — in June of this year. “I’m very excited,” Backman said. “I’m very happy with how the election turned out, (Proposal 3) passed and Whitmer is the governor, and I just couldn’t be happier.” Some students said they thought the campus reaction to Proposal 3 passing and the reelection of Whitmer was generally positive, including LSA junior Emily Karamihas, who said she comes from a more conservative part of the state. “A lot of my friends also shared my reaction, so that was definitely nice,” Karamihas said. “It’s definitely different.” Karamihas, who voted in her hometown of Dexter, Mich., said she was hoping for a Democratic win but wasn’t confident. To her surprise, Dexter cast a majority vote for Whitmer. “I know definitely in 2016, even 2020, there were a lot of Trump signs I would drive by every day,” Karamihas said. “I was not confident that it would be blue, but it was definitely what I was hoping (for).” Rentschler said he was actually expecting more votes in favor of Whitmer, who won with a 10.6% margin over Republican challenger Tudor Dixon. “I think I was surprised to see that the numbers didn’t have a bigger majority,” Rentschler said. “Governor Whitmer only won by about, I want to say, 7%. I think I was surprised, I would have thought it would have been more. All of (the proposals) passed with pretty small margins, and I would have thought to see more, especially for the state of Michigan.” Whitmer won reelection with a slightly higher percentage of the popular vote than her initial victory in 2018, when she won 53.3% of the popular vote. In 2018, 4.34 million ballots were cast. Students also commented on the significance of this year’s election, with this year being the first time Michigan’s gubernatorial race has been between two women. Following the election, the Michigan House Democrats appointed state Rep. Joe Tate, D-Detroit, to serve as speaker of the house. Tate will be the first Black speaker in state history. Democrats also selected state Sen. Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, as majority leader, the first woman to take up the post. Brinks is also the first woman to represent Grand Rapids in the state senate since 1920. LSA junior Safra Arevalo said she was proud to see the diversity in Michigan’s elected leaders. “I think it’s more important to see diversity in whatever level of government and legislation,” Arevalo said. “I think that’s just something important to me, so it’s nice to see that.” Rentschler echoed similar sentiments, saying that having Tate and Brinks in elected roles is crucial in increasing representation in the legislature. “Even if they prove to be lackluster, which I don’t think they will be, representation is important,” Rentschler said. “It’s good to let people both feel comfortable in their own bodies and know their voices are going to be heard and represented.” The U-M chapter of College Republicans, who publicly supported many Republican candidates this past election cycle, did not respond to requests for comment from The Daily. The organization issued the following statement on social media: “Despite yesterday’s results, College Republicans is proud to put our best foot forward in the good fight. Our work is not done,” the statement reads. Rentschler said he noticed that many conservative voices on campus tend to share their thoughts on social media, rather than speak publicly to likely avoid backlash. “Snapchat has those campus stories for your (class) grade, and there’s a couple people who have been very vocal about their opinions about that,” Rentschler said. “They’re not being treated too kindly, I will say.” LSA senior Charles Hilu said the U-M campus has a problem with allowing conservative students to express their opinions. “I believe there is certainly a culture on campus where you’re expected to have a left-wing opinion, where you are expected to have opinions from the left,” Hilu said. “Many conservative students do not feel comfortable expressing heterodox opinions, and that’s rampant at the University of Michigan.” LSA freshman Gabe Khouri said voting is a responsibility, but he believes some people are pressured into voting just because they are eligible to and not necessarily because they are adequately informed about the candidates they’re actually voting for. “That’s why I held off from voting in this election, since I believe I wasn’t in the right place to vote just yet,” Khouri said. “For one, I hadn’t done enough of my own research on what’s at stake, which is mostly my own fault, but I digress. I also simply don’t feel ready to take on that responsibility, and I refuse to cave into pressure to vote for the sole reason that I’m registered, because that is an irresponsible approach to the voting process, in my opinion.” Looking beyond the immediate aftermath of the election, Karamihas said she’s hopeful for policies a Democratic trifecta might enact and is glad Republicans didn’t gain power. “I’m hopeful that laws helping protect the rights of trans people especially will become a reality, since they’re facing a lot of fear-mongering in the media lately,” Karahimas said. “I also definitely hope for better gun control legislation to help prevent mass shootings. To be honest, for me it really is mostly about avoiding the election denial, COVID denial and LGBTQ+ panic that seems so common among Republicans lately rather than any specific hopes for Democrats.” C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital has reached 100% capacity following a surge in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), according to a Thursday press release from Michigan Medicine. So far this year, the hospital has seen 259 cases of RSV, a 46% increase over 2021. This spike comes prior to the expected surge of the flu and COVID-19 cases. Across the country healthcare systems have already begun to see increased numbers of flu and COVID-19 cases and are encouraging everyone to stay up to date on vaccinations for both viruses. With an early increase in RSV cases in children’s hospitals across the country, health systems are concerned for the coalescence of all three illnesses. Luanne Thomas Ewald, chief operating officer at Mott and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital, said the surge is unprecedented. “We have never seen a surge in pediatric respiratory viruses like this before. Our hospital is 100% full,” Thomas said in the press release. “This is incredibly concerning because we haven’t even seen the full impact of flu season yet.” Due to the limited capacity at the hospital, Mott physicians including Dr. Kimberly Monroe, chief clinical officer and pediatric hospitalist at Mott, recommend parents call their child’s primary care physician to determine whether an in-person visit is necessary. “The vast majority of children with RSV experience cold symptoms and can rest and recover at home,” Monroe said in the press release. “However, if they’re showing any signs of severe illness, such as trouble breathing, they may need immediate care and should be brought to the emergency department. We’re particularly concerned about children under the age of 2.” Mott is working to increase bed capacity and possibly transfer patients to other local hospitals. “We’re working very closely with our partners around the state to find space for children who need care even if it’s not at our hospital. We’re also looking at unique ways to increase our bed capacity during the surge,” Ewald said. The fanfare of the Star Wars theme and Lil Nas X’s ‘Montero’ could be heard Tuesday afternoon from the top of Burton Tower on Central Campus. The music was a part of a special performance entitled “For Whom the Bells Poll,” which was held to bring the community together on Election Day. The election day medlies performed at both Burton and Lurie Towers were done by Music, Theatre & Dance graduate student Carson Landry, who studies carillon performance. A carillon is a percussion instrument consisting of a keyboard attached to cast bronze bells. According to Landry, the University of Michigan has two carillons which have a range of four and a half octaves. The Charles Baird Carillon in Burton Tower, donated by Charles Baird, the University’s first athletic director, is the third- heaviest carillon in the world today. In honor of elections, the U-M carillon studio invited community members to vote on songs for the live performances on Tuesday. This was also in partnership with the campuswide Turn Up Turn Out voting initiative, which aims to increase student voting engagement. Carillonist and associate professor of carillon Tiffany Ng said that this performance was part of a larger project to find ways to incorporate the carillon in the community. She said the project was launched to help address the physical isolation that can occur when carillonists perform in the bell tower. “What we’re doing is not saying, ‘Hey, come vote through a bell tower concert,’ but actually, ‘Who is already getting out the vote and how can the bell tower be involved in that?’” Ng said. Since the carillon is usually played during very public events, Landry explained the carillon has a unique role that can bring awareness to certain issues and reach many people in the community. “The carillon is a very publicly present instrument,” Landry said. “It is very important that we are connected to the community, and what we play on the carillon is representative of our entire community and what people want to hear.” LSA senior Allen Gibson said that performances like these are a fun way to increase voter engagement in the community. “I definitely feel like any effort to increase voter participation or (to) get people encouraged to go out is important,” Gibson said. Business senior Jeremy Vandenhout, who attended the performance in the Tower, said this performance was very special because the audience could enjoy the music while having a scenic view of the campus from above. “This is a great opportunity to get that front row seat and really understand where the music is coming from that we hear everyday,” Vandenhout said. The songs chosen for the event included popular music from movie franchises and artists, such as John Lennon. After the 30-minute performance, many spectators said they enjoyed the final song, which was Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.” Though this event was meant to encourage voter participation, Vandenhout said that it was not just about the elections, but also about bringing people together. “I think even on Election Day, people are going to probably vote regardless of whether there’s music going on,” Vandenhout said. “But this (event) again is a great way to build community.” Ann Arbor resident Zachary Storey said he follows the Ann Arbor City Council and heard from others in the community about the lines at the University. Arriving at the event with more blankets in tow, Storey, who voted at the Ann Arbor Public Library location earlier in the day, said the turnout among student voters sends “a clear message” that young people care. “I just would like to encourage students to just continue your civic involvement,” Storey said. “Get curious about city council, get curious about the county commission, and there’s a lot of local things that your voice can really make a difference (in), especially at the city level. In my opinion, I don’t think the city does really well at reaching out to students. But if students speak up, that’s going to be a voice that isn’t usually heard, but people will listen. Julia Hale said she procrastinated registering to vote when she recently moved back to Ann Arbor after college, so she joined the line at UMMA at 7:45 p.m. to register and vote at the same time. “I just felt like this election was too important to not vote in,” Julia Hale said. “I just don’t want to take any risks. I feel like every vote counts, and I strongly believe in harm reduction. So I want to do my part.” Julia Hale said she was inspired to wait in the line because she believes there is a lot of work that can be done for the country, and voting is an important part of that. “I think that maybe if I were out there doing organizing work and all that other stuff, I wouldn’t feel like my vote counted as much, but I don’t have time for that in my life right now,” Julia Hale said. “So I think what I do have time for is waiting in line, so I can do that, and I’m doing it.” News Wednesday, November 16, 2022 — 3 Burton Bell Tower strengthens community with election day melodies CAMPUS LIFE Star Wars, Lil Nas X songs echo from the prominent campus landmark Mott reaches 100% capacity following surge in RSV NEWS Record surge of pediatric respiratory illness leads to bed shortage The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com JI HOON CHOI & GRACE LONG Daily Staff Reporter & Daily Contributor MATTHEW SHANBOM Daily Staff Reporter BLUE WAVE From PAGE 1 STUDENTS WAIT IN LINE From PAGE 1 The University of Michigan Precision Health program is launching MY PART, a genetic testing program aiming to collect a more diverse and holistic biorepository for future research. While some U-M community members are excited by the promise of advancing genetic research, others have expressed concerns over data privacy. The project aims to provide bioinformation to researchers looking to make medical breakthroughs in the future. To incentivize participation, subjects are paid $25 and given access to their personal ancestry tree for compensation when they give a blood or saliva sample, which will then be stored in the MY PART central biorepository. Participants were also asked to fill out a variety of questionnaires regarding their health information. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Janet Houghtby, manager of cohort development at Precision Health, said the main goal for the project was to bring in people outside the hospital setting who have been underrepresented within medicine to create greater inclusivity in research. Houghtby said participants were mainly recruited from preoperative areas, so all samples were coming from a similar population. “We were getting kind of the same type of people coming through and participating,” Houghtby said. “We really realized that in order to make a difference in medicine and people’s health care and treatments, (we need to) to look at how we can best serve everybody.” Jennifer Smith, professor of epidemiology and a member of the cohort development team, said in an interview with The Michigan Daily this project is a better way to get holistic health information from patients, which will aid staff in conducting more accurate and beneficial research. “We think of genetics, and it (seems like) all geneticists, they only care about your genetic predisposition, but honestly, Precision Health is so much more than that,” Smith said. “Being able to integrate genomics into social factors or environmental factors, really understanding the person as a whole, is very important.” In the genomics field, informed consent is an essential part of the research process. Houghtby said this is an important focus for MY PART as well because of the critical information that will be stored in the biorepository. “If you’re going to sign up for something, you should know the purpose, you should know what the risks are, what the benefits are and how we’re going to protect your privacy,” Houghtby said. MY PART will assign each participant’s genetic data a code rather than their name, so it can not be attributed to a unique individual. However, in the MY PART consent document, it is noted that they are not able to guarantee anonymity indefinitely. “Today, researchers cannot identify you if they only have your DNA,” the consent document notes. “This could change in the future. Researchers will be asked not to do this, but we cannot promise that this will never happen.” Smith said this uncertainty is common when it comes to genetic research because it is difficult to predict where future technology will lead the field. “If I gave the government your DNA code, they wouldn’t be able to tell who you are because they can’t match it to anything,” Smith said. “But we don’t know in 20 years if, you know, everybody’s DNA is going to be on file somewhere in the government, so we can’t predict what matching might be able to happen at some point in the future.” In order to achieve diversity among participants, MY PART has been cold emailing pre-existing Michigan Medicine patients who are members of underrepresented demographic groups. Some demographic characteristics the group screened for include age, race and ethnicity. LSA senior Claire Waldron said she was initially enticed by the monetary compensation, as well as the prospect of getting access to her ancestry records without having to pay. Though she had reservations about the validity of the information, Waldron said she trusts Michigan Medicine as a strong research institution. “They have good intentions with it,” Waldron said. “It’s the University of Michigan, and I trust them. I do think that with good intentions, there can always be less than ideal outcomes, and that’s something with a lot of uncertainty.” Smith sees potential benefits in the form of preventative care and new treatment options. “For example, our database has a lot of people who have cancer,” Smith said. “By studying their genetics, which don’t change over time until they get cancer, a genetic disease, we can actually identify people who might be at higher risk for certain cancers. We’re trying to do the preventative pieces and the treatment pieces. Genetic studies can help with both of those things.” LSA senior Casey Martin said she would not feel comfortable participating in the study because of the vast amount of information researchers would have and the lack of control she would have over this sensitive data. “Even your doctor doesn’t have your genetic information unless you’ve gotten genetic testing done, and even if you have, it’s normally for a very specific thing,” Martin said. “The University of Michigan would just have that, and what are they doing to protect it?” Participants are allowed to withdraw from the study at any time, but the informed consent document notes that they will not be able to get back samples or any information that has already been shared. U-M Precision Health program collects biorepository of genetic data for future research RESEARCH Project aims to create inclusive database for more accurate, holistic studies ISABELLA KASSA Daily Staff Reporter Read more at MichiganDaily.com A student casts her vote in the UMMA at 1 a.m. Wednesday morning. GRACE BEAL/Daily