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statenews.com | 7/31/14 | @thesnews
Finding Work
T r a n s p o r tat i o n
CLOSE to home In one East Lansing restaurant, MSU alumni provide insight into an uncertain job market
Ride-sharing smartphone app Uber debuts in E.L. By Meagan Beck
By Sierra Lay
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The State News
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As the U.S. economy is clawing its way out of the wreckage of the recent recession, unemployment rates continue to be a hot topic of discussion. But another trend reflecting the job market is present — underemployment — and it’s on the rise. The term underemployment refers to employment situations that has made workers bereft by some standard. While this can refer to not being given enough hours at a job, it also can mean a worker overqualified for their position. After graduation, some students find that despite having earned a degree, they find themselves working the same jobs previously used to pay for textbooks and tuition. The MSU alumni working at Black Cat Bistro both affirm and negate the trend, highlight the prospects for some graduates in a cautious job market. See EMPLOYMENT on page 2 u
Most recent unemployment rate for Michigan (2014) 7.5 percent, 44th in national rankings Previous underemployment rate in U.S. (October-December 2009) 3.5 percent of people who earned a bachelor’s degree
2.2 percent of people who earned a master’s degree or higher
Current underemployment rate in U.S. (June 2014) 12.1 percent (seasonally adjusted data)
Corey Damocles/The State News
Alumnus and East Lansing resident Seth Zundel operates a register, Wednesday at Black Cat Bistro in East Lansing. Zundel graduated with a degree in English in May, 2013 and is currently a server at Black Cat Bistro.
A new-to-the-area service known as Uber could give a boost to local ride-sharing in East Lansing and Lansing. Founded in 2009, the ridesharing service connects drivers to customers seeking a ride through a smartphone application. Uber officially launched in San Francisco in 2010 and has since expanded globally. East Lansing Mayor Nathan Triplett said ride-sharing, which Uber facilitates, and taxi cabs are distinctly different. “Our residents always benefit from having more transportation options available,” Triplett said. As the service has expanded to major cities around the world, it has not been met without contention. Cities across Europe, from London to Berlin, had traffic stopped in June as taxi drivers protested the application, Bloomberg News reported. The company has made it possible for anyone to sign up to be a driver after passing a background check. To be an Uber driver, the person needs to have a 4-door vehicle in excellent condition. Triplett said the technology is relatively new and the city is working on developing appropriate regulations. Royal Express Taxi driver Patrick Reynolds said cab drivers have strict regulations in terms of background checks and drug tests. Due to the requirements for taxi drivers, Reynolds said he has safety concerns with the new service and wants the See UBER on page 2 u
A d m i n i s t r at i o n
Lyman Briggs dean to also head College of Arts and Letters By Casey Holland cholland@statenews.com The State News nn
Beginning Aug. 1, one dean will be temporarily governing both the College of Arts and Letters and Lyman Briggs College. After the reappointment of College of Arts and Letters former dean Karin Wurst to the pro-
vost’s office, her newly vacated position is now open. While the university searches nationally for a new dean — a process that could take six to eight months once the school year begins — the acting dean of the College of Arts and Letters will be Elizabeth Simmons, who is the current dean of the Lyman Briggs College.
During that time, she was still dean of the Lyman Briggs College. However, it was also during that time she brought on two new associate deans to Simmons her college.
The two associate deans, along with an assistant dean, helped with the workload. Mark Largent, an associate dean for the Lyman Briggs College, said this won’t be as much of a transition for his college as it will the College of Arts and Letters. He added that it’s not
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Simmons said her responsibilities will essentially double during the university’s search for a new dean for the College of Arts and Letters and, while she’s certainly nervous, she feels more excited than anything else. “I don’t know what’s ahead, but it’s all in an excited way,” Simmons said. “I love working with different people in many
different fields. ... It’s why I’m at a university and not working at a science lab.” Simmons is no stranger to dividing her time within her work — during the 2013-14 school year, she was an American Council on Education Fellow, where she spent half of every month in the Office of the Provost at Yale University.
See DEAN on page 2 u
more inside
Corey Damocles/The State News
Ticks are preserved with ethanol in a tube, Wednesday at Biomedical and Physical Sciences on campus. Tick samples are assayed to detect the Lyme disease pathogen. Campus+city, pg. 5
sports+features, pg. 6
Campus+city, pg. 3