In the News
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October 4, 2017
“The Star-Spangled Banner” is a national symbol like the Constitution and flag, and has long been a channel for protest, says Mark Clague, associate professor of musicology: “It’s the role of these symbols to help us live in in the present to deal with the challenges of our time. It’s a misuse of the anthem to treat it as inviolate. It was always political. It is always changing. Patriotic symbols can’t function if they can’t respond to the current social moment.”
The Associated Press -
October 4, 2017
“We’ve known for over 50 years that providing information alone to people does not change their behavior. … There are a lot of reasons why people do what they do, but a lack of awareness of their actions’ potential repercussions ranks pretty far down the list,” said Vic Strecher, professor of health behavior and health education.
HuffPost -
October 4, 2017
Richard Rood, professor of climate and space sciences and engineering, and environment and sustainability, says Earth would keep warming even if we stopped emitting greenhouse gases now. “I compare it a little bit to like a big roast that you’re cooking in the oven. If you take it out, the center of that roast will continue to get warm.”
Michigan Radio -
October 4, 2017
“In the more than seven months since he became administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt has been on a reckless mission to dismantle public health safeguards and environmental protections. Mr. Pruitt’s EPA wants to postpone or roll back dozens of rules that save lives and provide clean air and water,” writes David Uhlmann, director of the Environmental Law and Policy Program at the Law School.
The New York Times -
October 3, 2017
If President Trump gets another Supreme Court appointment in the next year, “the court would almost surely erase the constitutional right to abortion and ban affirmative action in all public institutions — thus achieving two of the conservative movement’s highest aims in constitutional law,” says Richard Primus, professor of law.
Politico -
October 3, 2017
Magdalena Zaborowska, professor of American culture, and of Afroamerican and African studies, says African-American writer James Baldwin “created a kind of humanism within American culture that has been unparalleled. No one else has articulated who we are as a country, who we are as a place where the whole world meets.”
BBC Radio 3 (25:23 mark) -
October 3, 2017
Christian Davenport, professor of political science, doesn’t believe that America is regressing back into a more politically violent society like what we saw in the 1960s, an era marked by assassinations, civil unrest and political chaos: “This is not to say that there are no violent threats that exist in America, but that these are not that likely from behavioral challengers, and if they do occur they are likely to be isolated as well as not sustained over time/space.”
Vox -
October 2, 2017
Research by Sarah Miller, assistant professor of business economics and public policy, that examines the long-term benefits of Medicaid coverage for pregnant women shows that when babies born with coverage grew up and started families of their own, their kids had higher average birth weights.
Bloomberg -
October 2, 2017
“Typically, if you really want to mobilize people to act, you don’t scare the hell out of them and convince them that the situation is hopeless,” said Andrew Hoffman, professor of management and organizations, and environment and sustainability, commenting on the way climate change is often depicted in Hollywood movies.
The New York Times -
October 2, 2017
Scott Page, professor of complex systems, economics and political science, was interviewed about the implications of his research on diversity and collective decision-making, as presented in his new book, “The Diversity Bonus.”
The Washington Post
