Hey everyone,
This was a really exciting weekend for the CRC. Not only did we participate in the Holiday Coat Drive and the Winter Bowl, our partners over at Spartans Against Drunk Driving held their annual forum in the Wonders Kiva on Sunday evening. The scene was quite serious as various speakers from the East Lansing community talked about how drunk driving has influenced them. Two MSU graduates recounted their tales. One of them was hit by a drunk driver, had to have pieces of windshield surgically removed from his face, spent months in physical therapy relearning how to walk, and is now a speaker for Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Multiple East Lansing and MSU police officers recounted tales of arresting drunk drivers or reporting to the scene of a drunken driving crash. Mayor Vic Loomis was the keynote speaker. He recounted an anti-drunk driving commercial where a home video shows a high school cross-country runner winning a race and then the screen goes blank and says that a drunk-driver killed the runner and her family in a crash shortly after the video wash taken. He cited MSU social norm statistics to show that SADD is making an impact, such as “81% of MSU students choose to use a designated driver” and “74% of MSU students choose not to drink and drive after having just one drink.”
The Forum could not have come at a better time. Mothers Against Drunk Driving just announced a few weeks ago that Governor Paterson of New York signed drunk driving legislation for his state. This legislation requires ignition interlock systems for those who have been convicted of drinking and driving. An ignition interlock is essentially a breathalyzer that is integrated into the ignition system of a car. When a person attempts to turn on their car, they have to give a breath sample, which is measured for blood alcohol content (BAC). If that BAC is over the legal limit, the car will not start. New York is the twelfth state in the US to pass legislation of this sort. The legislation also makes drunk driving with a child in the car a felony. This is based on the line of reasoning that a person who makes the decision to drink and drive with a child in the car puts that child in danger, and unlike an adult, that child might not have the option to stop the driver or leave. I am proud of New York for passing legislation of this sort. Through my work with Spartans Against Drunk Driving, I have lobbied countless Representatives and Senators to pass similar legislation in Michigan, but the bill was stalled in a past session of the legislature.
I expect that one day our legislature will pass a bill of this sort, and help protect us from people who drink and drive, and ultimately make terribly regrettable decisions.
I hope you have all enjoyed my blogs throughout the semester, as this will likely be my final one for 2009.
Take care.
Go White!
Mike Berkowitz
CRC Intern
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Sam Singh Event
Hey everyone!
The semester is edging towards the end, which brings projects, exams, papers, and among all: stress. However, the CRC interns were able to set one night aside and get together at Grand Traverse Pie Company (YUM!) and have a conversation with former mayor, Sam Singh. Each intern was granted the ability to invite one guest from the East Lansing community to join in our discussion. It was an enlightening talk about the challenges of maintaining multiculturalism within the city of East Lansing. Sam Singh has a lot of insight, because he recently returned from a world tour where he traveled to over 25 countries in sixteen months.
We discussed issues such as economic downfalls in East Lansing and Michigan overall, the education system, volunteerism, and Michigan State study abroad programs. Through our conversation, we all were able to discuss specific issues we face in East Lansing and ideas of potential solutions. It seems that this type of open discourse is necessary when dealing with problems of discrimination or inclusion. There also needs to be more of an emphasis on learning about other cultures that surround us either through going abroad, being involved in another type of educational international course, or even participating in some sort of pen pal program. It was really fun to discuss such serious issues that us, as CRC interns, need to strengthen ties within our multicultural community.
The night ended with our stomachs full of pie and our minds stirring with good conversation. It was an honor for Sam Singh to take time out of his life in order to talk with us. It was truly enlightening and one of my favorite CRC events yet!
Have a happy Thanksgiving and if you have any used or new coats, don’t forget to bring them back with you for the Coat Drive this Friday!
Go Green,
Kanika
The semester is edging towards the end, which brings projects, exams, papers, and among all: stress. However, the CRC interns were able to set one night aside and get together at Grand Traverse Pie Company (YUM!) and have a conversation with former mayor, Sam Singh. Each intern was granted the ability to invite one guest from the East Lansing community to join in our discussion. It was an enlightening talk about the challenges of maintaining multiculturalism within the city of East Lansing. Sam Singh has a lot of insight, because he recently returned from a world tour where he traveled to over 25 countries in sixteen months.
We discussed issues such as economic downfalls in East Lansing and Michigan overall, the education system, volunteerism, and Michigan State study abroad programs. Through our conversation, we all were able to discuss specific issues we face in East Lansing and ideas of potential solutions. It seems that this type of open discourse is necessary when dealing with problems of discrimination or inclusion. There also needs to be more of an emphasis on learning about other cultures that surround us either through going abroad, being involved in another type of educational international course, or even participating in some sort of pen pal program. It was really fun to discuss such serious issues that us, as CRC interns, need to strengthen ties within our multicultural community.
The night ended with our stomachs full of pie and our minds stirring with good conversation. It was an honor for Sam Singh to take time out of his life in order to talk with us. It was truly enlightening and one of my favorite CRC events yet!
Have a happy Thanksgiving and if you have any used or new coats, don’t forget to bring them back with you for the Coat Drive this Friday!
Go Green,
Kanika
Monday, November 23, 2009
UPCOMING INTERN EVENT
Hey everybody,
I hope you have been well and are getting ready for some well-deserved time off for Thanksgiving. I’m writing to you in excitement about one of the CRC’s final events for the year. On Saturday, December 5th from 6-8pm, the CRC will be hosting a Holiday Coat Drive at the Lincoln Room of the Kellogg Center. We want you all to come for some FREE refreshments and live musical performances by various groups, possibly including MSU’s very own RCAHppella vocal ensemble, an MSU jazz ensemble, and a vocalist from Lansing’s Refugee Development Center! All we ask is that you bring a coat to donate to St. Vincent Catholic Charities, a local charity that works to enhance the quality of life for local individuals and families in need. All are welcome, from students, to East Lansing residents, to MSU faculty and administrators, to friends and family. Come help local people in need stay warm this holiday season while having some fun with your friends from the community, and enjoying a free concert.
Hope to see you there!
Go White!
Mike Berkowitz
CRC Intern
I hope you have been well and are getting ready for some well-deserved time off for Thanksgiving. I’m writing to you in excitement about one of the CRC’s final events for the year. On Saturday, December 5th from 6-8pm, the CRC will be hosting a Holiday Coat Drive at the Lincoln Room of the Kellogg Center. We want you all to come for some FREE refreshments and live musical performances by various groups, possibly including MSU’s very own RCAHppella vocal ensemble, an MSU jazz ensemble, and a vocalist from Lansing’s Refugee Development Center! All we ask is that you bring a coat to donate to St. Vincent Catholic Charities, a local charity that works to enhance the quality of life for local individuals and families in need. All are welcome, from students, to East Lansing residents, to MSU faculty and administrators, to friends and family. Come help local people in need stay warm this holiday season while having some fun with your friends from the community, and enjoying a free concert.
Hope to see you there!
Go White!
Mike Berkowitz
CRC Intern
Recycling in East Lansing
Hey everyone,
It has been a while since I last wrote. I’ve been busy researching city recycling models for an independent study I’m performing in conjunction with the internship. I hope you don’t mind me getting a bit technical but I’m excited to tell you all about the conclusions I’ve drawn from the project and what it means for the city of East Lansing.
Basically, there are three different ways that a municipality can run a curbside recycling program. First, there is mixed waste recycling, where recycled materials and garbage are collected as one entity. This is beneficial because it requires no change in behavior of city residents, requires very little public education by municipalities, and lets the municipality choose which materials they wish to utilize from the collected waste. However, when garbage and recyclables are collected together, the recyclables often get contaminated, meaning they are unable to be reused. This happens when bottles break and intermix with paper products, or when recyclable materials have residues in them that diminish their quality. Contamination occurs at such a large level with mixed waste recycling that most municipalities will not use it.
The second model is called source separation. In this model, residents are required to clean, prepare, and sort their recyclables before the city picks them up, separate from their garbage. This is the model that East Lansing uses. This model is beneficial because material recovery facilities don’t have to spend a great deal of money sorting and cleaning recyclables before they sell them. The problem with this model is that it requires a great deal of public education, requires a great deal of effort from city residents, and can incur many collection costs.
The third model is called single-stream recycling. In this model, garbage and recyclables are separated, but all recyclables are collected together (called commingled recycling). This is beneficial because it is much easier for residents than source separating. It requires less public education and saves costs during the collection process. However, products are often contaminated, which makes the products less valuable and results in higher costs for sorting and cleaning.
After surveying a large portion of literature, most academics agree that source separating is the most cost effective recycling model for the time being. However, most of them also believe that as sorting and cleaning technologies become more advanced and their prices fall, single-stream models will be become the most cost effective recycling method.
So why does this all matter? Because this means that East Lansing is running the model that I, and the literature, believe it should be operating. However, in the future, East Lansing should look into the potential for a single-stream recycling model when technology becomes available. This would make recycling in the city much easier for students (requiring less time and effort to recycling), and it would not require the city to educate upwards of 7000 new student residents on recycling policies each year. In the future, this would be the ideal model for the city of East Lansing.
Thanks for sticking with me through my research. I’m happy to have studied the topic and to have gained such a strong understanding of recycling in East Lansing. I hope that if any of you are interested in recycling issues, or have questions, you will feel free to contact me. I’d love to talk about the issues even further.
Go Green!
Mike Berkowitz
CRC Intern
It has been a while since I last wrote. I’ve been busy researching city recycling models for an independent study I’m performing in conjunction with the internship. I hope you don’t mind me getting a bit technical but I’m excited to tell you all about the conclusions I’ve drawn from the project and what it means for the city of East Lansing.
Basically, there are three different ways that a municipality can run a curbside recycling program. First, there is mixed waste recycling, where recycled materials and garbage are collected as one entity. This is beneficial because it requires no change in behavior of city residents, requires very little public education by municipalities, and lets the municipality choose which materials they wish to utilize from the collected waste. However, when garbage and recyclables are collected together, the recyclables often get contaminated, meaning they are unable to be reused. This happens when bottles break and intermix with paper products, or when recyclable materials have residues in them that diminish their quality. Contamination occurs at such a large level with mixed waste recycling that most municipalities will not use it.
The second model is called source separation. In this model, residents are required to clean, prepare, and sort their recyclables before the city picks them up, separate from their garbage. This is the model that East Lansing uses. This model is beneficial because material recovery facilities don’t have to spend a great deal of money sorting and cleaning recyclables before they sell them. The problem with this model is that it requires a great deal of public education, requires a great deal of effort from city residents, and can incur many collection costs.
The third model is called single-stream recycling. In this model, garbage and recyclables are separated, but all recyclables are collected together (called commingled recycling). This is beneficial because it is much easier for residents than source separating. It requires less public education and saves costs during the collection process. However, products are often contaminated, which makes the products less valuable and results in higher costs for sorting and cleaning.
After surveying a large portion of literature, most academics agree that source separating is the most cost effective recycling model for the time being. However, most of them also believe that as sorting and cleaning technologies become more advanced and their prices fall, single-stream models will be become the most cost effective recycling method.
So why does this all matter? Because this means that East Lansing is running the model that I, and the literature, believe it should be operating. However, in the future, East Lansing should look into the potential for a single-stream recycling model when technology becomes available. This would make recycling in the city much easier for students (requiring less time and effort to recycling), and it would not require the city to educate upwards of 7000 new student residents on recycling policies each year. In the future, this would be the ideal model for the city of East Lansing.
Thanks for sticking with me through my research. I’m happy to have studied the topic and to have gained such a strong understanding of recycling in East Lansing. I hope that if any of you are interested in recycling issues, or have questions, you will feel free to contact me. I’d love to talk about the issues even further.
Go Green!
Mike Berkowitz
CRC Intern
Monday, November 16, 2009
Raking Leaves
Hello!
There is a saying that claims fall is just a second spring and every leaf is like a flower. Well, at the past CRC intern event, the flowers were in bountiful numbers in the form of leaves. A few of us decided it would be a wonderful idea to rake leaves for some elderly in the East Lansing area. We got some addresses and took our rakes on the road.
I have never seen so many leaves before in my life. At one house, all of us were knee deep in leaves. It was ridiculous! The weather luckily held up, so we did not have to deal with muddy and wet leaves. It was a great way to bond with fellow interns while doing something that was helpful. We even had a chance to play in the huge pile of leaves for a bit, which was great! The individuals we met at the houses were very thankful and that made our hard work and sore bones worthwhile. We are throwing around the idea of doing this type of activity with snow removal.
Other than this event, us CRC interns have been working hard on keeping up with our work and school. We will be holding a coat drive on December 5th at the Kellogg Center from 6-8 pm. The clothing will be given to the Refugee Development Center. It should be a great time, more details to come soon. Thanks for reading ☺
Peace be the journey,
Kanika
There is a saying that claims fall is just a second spring and every leaf is like a flower. Well, at the past CRC intern event, the flowers were in bountiful numbers in the form of leaves. A few of us decided it would be a wonderful idea to rake leaves for some elderly in the East Lansing area. We got some addresses and took our rakes on the road.
I have never seen so many leaves before in my life. At one house, all of us were knee deep in leaves. It was ridiculous! The weather luckily held up, so we did not have to deal with muddy and wet leaves. It was a great way to bond with fellow interns while doing something that was helpful. We even had a chance to play in the huge pile of leaves for a bit, which was great! The individuals we met at the houses were very thankful and that made our hard work and sore bones worthwhile. We are throwing around the idea of doing this type of activity with snow removal.
Other than this event, us CRC interns have been working hard on keeping up with our work and school. We will be holding a coat drive on December 5th at the Kellogg Center from 6-8 pm. The clothing will be given to the Refugee Development Center. It should be a great time, more details to come soon. Thanks for reading ☺
Peace be the journey,
Kanika
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Happy November!
Happy November everyone!
We are already half way done with the semester! I cannot believe how fast this semester has gone by (even though it goes by this fast every year). This past weekend was Halloween. Therefore, the city of East Lansing was graced by many interesting costumes such as H1N1 Swine Flu, a band of Care Bears, Lady Gaga, and a ‘Party in the USA’. Because it only happens once a year, we like to extend it as long as possible. On Wednesday, the CRC got the chance to participate in Safe Halloween with the rest of Greek life.
Safe Halloween is an event that allows children from the community Trick or Treat in a ‘safe’ environment. It was held during the hours of five to seven, so it was still light out. There were hundreds of children walking up and down MAC (which was shut down for the duration of the event). There were tables lining the street with different fraternities and sororities holding simple games to entertain the children while giving out candy. It was a wonderful event. There was music, laughter, pumpkins, and hay all over! The children were absolutely precious. My favorite costume would have to be a little boy dressed up as Michael Jackson. On the back of his leather coat, he had written: “You’ve been struck by a smooth criminal”. It was GREAT! The CRC table consisted of heaps of candy and three jars. We made the children guess how much candy was in each individual jar and if they guessed right, they got to take home the whole thing. It was pretty successful. Two jars had 100 pieces of candy and the other had 300. We got a few guesses from the younger kids of “five” or “ten” which always made me giggle. Overall, it was really fun and the weather was perfect! It was a great way to feel connected with the community while participating in an event that was mainly through Greek life.
After the event, a couple of the interns headed to Noodles and Company for some dinner. Not only is the food delicious, but we were supporting our very own Mike Berkowitz and Spartans Against Drunk Driving (SADD) in a fundraiser. It was wonderful to see the restaurant packed with people, especially because a lot of them were in costume. 20% of the purchase was donated to SADD. It was a completely successful day. We all were happy from all the cute children, full from a delightful dinner, and helping out SADD, a great organization.
We have a lot going on in the next couple of weeks. I cannot wait to keep you posted! Hope you have a great night!
Go White,
Kanika Suri
We are already half way done with the semester! I cannot believe how fast this semester has gone by (even though it goes by this fast every year). This past weekend was Halloween. Therefore, the city of East Lansing was graced by many interesting costumes such as H1N1 Swine Flu, a band of Care Bears, Lady Gaga, and a ‘Party in the USA’. Because it only happens once a year, we like to extend it as long as possible. On Wednesday, the CRC got the chance to participate in Safe Halloween with the rest of Greek life.
Safe Halloween is an event that allows children from the community Trick or Treat in a ‘safe’ environment. It was held during the hours of five to seven, so it was still light out. There were hundreds of children walking up and down MAC (which was shut down for the duration of the event). There were tables lining the street with different fraternities and sororities holding simple games to entertain the children while giving out candy. It was a wonderful event. There was music, laughter, pumpkins, and hay all over! The children were absolutely precious. My favorite costume would have to be a little boy dressed up as Michael Jackson. On the back of his leather coat, he had written: “You’ve been struck by a smooth criminal”. It was GREAT! The CRC table consisted of heaps of candy and three jars. We made the children guess how much candy was in each individual jar and if they guessed right, they got to take home the whole thing. It was pretty successful. Two jars had 100 pieces of candy and the other had 300. We got a few guesses from the younger kids of “five” or “ten” which always made me giggle. Overall, it was really fun and the weather was perfect! It was a great way to feel connected with the community while participating in an event that was mainly through Greek life.
After the event, a couple of the interns headed to Noodles and Company for some dinner. Not only is the food delicious, but we were supporting our very own Mike Berkowitz and Spartans Against Drunk Driving (SADD) in a fundraiser. It was wonderful to see the restaurant packed with people, especially because a lot of them were in costume. 20% of the purchase was donated to SADD. It was a completely successful day. We all were happy from all the cute children, full from a delightful dinner, and helping out SADD, a great organization.
We have a lot going on in the next couple of weeks. I cannot wait to keep you posted! Hope you have a great night!
Go White,
Kanika Suri
Friday, October 30, 2009
Intern Dinner Date
Hey everyone,
I’m really excited to tell you about an awesome dinner date I had this week. The Mayor Pro Tem, Diane Goddeeris, and I had a chance to go to Dublin Square and get to know each other. Diane works part time as the Mayor Pro Tem, and full-time as a nurse at Sparrow Hospital. I find it extremely beneficial that serving on the East Lansing City Council is a part time commitment, even for the Mayor. That way, people with widely diverse backgrounds and expertise are able to be a part of the council, such as Diane who is a nurse or Victor Loomis who is a business owner.
I have been particularly interested in East Lansing recycling since I started on as a CRC intern, and my meeting with Diane provided a great opportunity to learn more about it. Diane said that although she is really proud of East Lansing’s recycling, there are still problems with the current system that need to be addressed. One of those markets has to do with corporate offices and businesses recycling programs in East Lansing. Diane said that many businesses create large amounts of waste that could be recycled but often have only one common trash due to the inconvenience of recycling. Also, many businesses in East Lansing don’t recycle because they yield too much material to contain and manage in recycle bins. Diane suggested that it might be worth looking at special recycling programs for businesses that face this problem.
Another problem is that the market for recycled materials has decreased in response to the economic recession. When there is less demand for those materials, municipalities often lessen their initiatives to increase recycling, as well as programs to recycle different types of materials, because there is no economic incentive driving it. Diane suggested that maybe we shouldn’t view recycling as a business. We should do it because it is morally the right thing to do, and thus, continue expanding recycling during times when the market does not dictate so. I absolutely agree with her, and have always felt that we view the environment as too much of a business/economic resource. Jean Heglend, author of Into the Forest, argues that we often take our natural resources for granted, and that we might not be able to survive if they were gone. For reasons like these, I think we need to have a better relationship with our environment, which includes recycling outside of market demands.
I hope that throughout my time as a CRC intern, I get an opportunity to make a difference in some arena of environmental relations with the city of East Lansing.
Go Green!
Mike Berkowitz
CRC Intern
I’m really excited to tell you about an awesome dinner date I had this week. The Mayor Pro Tem, Diane Goddeeris, and I had a chance to go to Dublin Square and get to know each other. Diane works part time as the Mayor Pro Tem, and full-time as a nurse at Sparrow Hospital. I find it extremely beneficial that serving on the East Lansing City Council is a part time commitment, even for the Mayor. That way, people with widely diverse backgrounds and expertise are able to be a part of the council, such as Diane who is a nurse or Victor Loomis who is a business owner.
I have been particularly interested in East Lansing recycling since I started on as a CRC intern, and my meeting with Diane provided a great opportunity to learn more about it. Diane said that although she is really proud of East Lansing’s recycling, there are still problems with the current system that need to be addressed. One of those markets has to do with corporate offices and businesses recycling programs in East Lansing. Diane said that many businesses create large amounts of waste that could be recycled but often have only one common trash due to the inconvenience of recycling. Also, many businesses in East Lansing don’t recycle because they yield too much material to contain and manage in recycle bins. Diane suggested that it might be worth looking at special recycling programs for businesses that face this problem.
Another problem is that the market for recycled materials has decreased in response to the economic recession. When there is less demand for those materials, municipalities often lessen their initiatives to increase recycling, as well as programs to recycle different types of materials, because there is no economic incentive driving it. Diane suggested that maybe we shouldn’t view recycling as a business. We should do it because it is morally the right thing to do, and thus, continue expanding recycling during times when the market does not dictate so. I absolutely agree with her, and have always felt that we view the environment as too much of a business/economic resource. Jean Heglend, author of Into the Forest, argues that we often take our natural resources for granted, and that we might not be able to survive if they were gone. For reasons like these, I think we need to have a better relationship with our environment, which includes recycling outside of market demands.
I hope that throughout my time as a CRC intern, I get an opportunity to make a difference in some arena of environmental relations with the city of East Lansing.
Go Green!
Mike Berkowitz
CRC Intern
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