4 -The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, December 5, 2001 OP/ED ae alg 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 daily.letters@umich.edu EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890 GEOFFREY GAGNON Editor in Chief MICHAEL GRASS NICHOLAS WOOMER Editorial Page Editors Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of the Daily's editorial board. All other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily. NOTABLE QUOTABLE a The boy-scout propaganda that we're re-making the world' is designed for domestic consumption. Schools and hospitals and homes are not going to be sprouting next spring or the one after in Afghanistan or Kosovo." -Journalist Tariq Ali in the political newsletter CounterPunch. r 'rl ' I! t ,t /fi ; , ti j N1 1 , f tl l ,y I ,' _ __ ,1 ,,, , + x n 1' ' t { , f ; . aktx ' -ara': LY:Ld ' e ---' L : 4 I L . ;-.. 0...___.. _. a ; E 1 7 ',, i _ lb CHIP~ CVLLtN 172. 4;7. * I Cl' i e 00 V, e - ct, O-A The liberal right turn MANISH RAIJI NOTHING CATCHY 3r magine the following k scenario: The U.S., recognizing the painful gap of wealth and resources between the rich and the poor nations, has decided to implement an aid program designed to alleviate the sit- uation. The U.S. will give foreign aid, in the form of money, to individual citizens of foreign nations. However, the money will be allocated via a spe- cific distribution method - only the most well off citizens of the poor nation will be given the aid, while the worst off citizens of the poor nation will be given nothing. Liberals would respond with outrage. The first part (giving financial aid to developing country) is a liberal idea, but the second part (giving the aid only to the wealthiest) would elicit an incredible amount of liberal criti- cisms. Conservatives would be equally outraged. Right wingers would consider the whole idea ridiculous - citing the need for isolationism. Moderate conservatives would have general dis- dain for the first part (suggesting that foreign development ought to be dven by non-govern- ment business), while being slightly more favor- able toward the second part (assuming that trickle-down economies would come into play - plus, conservatives just like rich people). But now, let's play a little word game that we've all played in grade school. We're going to replace some nouns and adjectives - thought the point of this lesson will not be about the English language. Let's replace "U.S." with "University." "Rich" becomes "white" and "poor" becomes "black," while "nations" become "communi- ties." "Foreign aid" becomes "educational opportunities," "money" becomes "admis- sions," "citizens" becomes "members" and "for- eign nations" become "underrepresented minority groups." The scenario would become this: The Uni- versity, recognizing the painful gap of wealth and resources between the white and the black communities, has decided to implement an aid program designed to alleviate the situation. The University will give educational opportunities, in the form of admissions, to individual members of underrepresented minority groups. However, the admissions will be allocated via a specific distrib- ution method - only the most well off members of the black community will be given the aid, while the worst off members of the black commu- nity will be given nothing. Liberals and conservatives alike ought to shudder. Affirmative action doesn't work because it tries to pass off two fundamental mistruths - that the real disparity in this country is between black and white and that diversity is a birthright. Let's not kid ourselves. There is a disparity between black and white in this country, but the fact is that the black/white issue is only a symptom of a larger issue: The disparity between the poor and the rich. It's surprising that liberals, who shudder at the idea of wasting resources on those that don't require extra help, would be so adamant in defending a program that does just that. A cursory look at impoverished high schools in this country - where less than ten percent attend college - is an indication of the need for upward mobility among the poor communities in this country. What is affirmative action doing to solve that? Would affirmative action decrease minority enrollment rates? Certainly, if it wasn't replaced with a truly affirmative application process - one that admits poverty is wreaking havoc on this country. Poor high schools across the nation have black student populations in the high-90 percent range - and they deserve a chance to succeed. The second myth perpetuated by affirmative action advocates is that being black is an auto- matic guarantee of cultural diversity. That's as ludicrous an assumption as any - but it's one that is entrenched in the liberal psyche. Take the following story: A (white) guy I know is applying to medical schools. At a recent interview, he was asked how many black people he knew - to which he answered "a few." When asked how many black people he's friends with, he admitted that his circle of friends is fairly monochromatic. Sounds to me like he lacks diversity. But he doesn't. Said (white) guy is an inter- national student, went to an international high school with students from around the world and knows more about other cultures than most. But his interviewer didn't consider him to be partic- ularly diverse because he is white: White people can't be diverse. I can't be the only one concerned about this subversive - not to mention false - definition of "diversity." Nor can I be the only one con- cerned about the status of the poor - who come in all different colors (including, dare I say it, white). I can't be the only one because, if I am, the hopes for a truly inclusive and equitable nation are shot. As hard as it is to root against my own school, I sincerely hope that the University loses these lawsuits. Because if racially biased admis- sions policies are struck down, maybe we'll start helping the people who really need it. Manish Rayi can be reached via e-mail at mraiji@umich.edu V VIEWPOINTS Affirmative action's fate tums on Dec. 6 BY AGNES ALEOBUA AND JESSICA CURTIN Tomorrow, when the federal 6th Circuit Court Court of Appeals hears the appeal of the two University of Michigan affirmative action cases, American society will change. Our soci- ety is going to move either forward or backward - it can no longer remain where it has been. To coincide with the hearing, the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action and Integration and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary has organized a national civil rights march and rally. For the last four years BAMN has been fighting tirelessly to put these two historic cases at the center of the American political agenda. By skipping over a hearing scheduled for Oct. 23 in front of the assigned three-judge panel, to a hearing of all nine active judges on Dec. 6, the federal 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has expressed in a procedural way their understanding of the extraordinary importance of these two cases. The question that the court will answer with its ruling is whether we as a society will move backward toward more inequality, segregation, racism and injustice or forward toward more equality and integration, toward more justice and democracy. The two University affirmative action cases are our generation's Brown v. Board of Educa- tion. At stake is all we have achieved in the way of integration in higher education since the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Immediately, these two cases will determine if it will be legal to take any positive steps to integrate higher education in Tennessee, Ken- tucky, Ohio and Michigan. A negative ruling would immediately outlaw affirmative action; the incoming classes for fall 2002 at colleges, universities and graduate and professional schools would see a dramatic drop in black, Latina/o and Native American admissions. These cases are very likely to go to the U.S. Supreme Court and determine whether it will be legal to take any positive measures at all to over- come the racism and sexism of our society. We can win this critical fight. The tide is turning in our favor, but the question is very far from settled. We must now make the federal courts accountable to the people. We must make clear to them that resegregating higher education will not be accepted - that the condition whereby black, Latina/o and Native American people are marginalized and relegated to inferior education will no longer be tolerated. We can convince the courts to rule for jus- tice and integration by using the same persistent methods of mass organizing and mass struggle that secured victories during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Mass organizing and mass action are the methods that BAMN has been using to build the new civil rights move- ment. An example of this is the nation-wide petition campaign that has gathered over 50,000 signatures. The national civil rights march and rally in Cincinnati on Dec. 6 is another example. What the struggle against racism and for equality needs more than any other thing is lead- ership and organization. By stepping out in front with a clear plan of action, BAMN has rallied the support of the establishment civil rights organizations and has called a new civil rights movement into being. As has been the case with every farsighted leadership acting at history's turning points, we have drawn out unprincipled detractors of various political stripes. Awaken- ing the slanderers, cynics and foot-draggers is part of changing history. The fighting spirit and determination of the ,students and youth is contagious. BAMN stu- dent and youth leaders have drawn the establish- ment civil rights organizations into this struggle. Rev. Jesse Jackson and his Rainbow Push orga- nization are co-sponsoring the rally and march. Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth are scheduled to speak at the rally. The NAACP student and youth chapter at the University of Cincinnati has been instrumental in building the march and rally. The new civil rights movement is saying loud and clear - we will not go back to segre- gation in higher education. The students and youth of America will not be force-fed the "sep- arate but equal" lie any longer. We demand: Integrate the schools, we mean all the schools, and we will not rest until victory is won. Aleobua and Curtin are members of the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action and Integration and Fight for Equality By Ay Means Necessary. Straight ticket voting: A tool of inclusive democracy BY ERIC FELDMAN The Michigan Daily's Nov. 13 editorial, "Informed voting" misrepresents the true effect eliminating straight-ticket voting in Michigan would have. The legislation referred to, Senate Bill 173, would end straight ticket voting on Michigan's ballots, an option that allows voters to check one box to cast a vote for every candi- date of one party. Michigan has had straight ticket voting for 110 years - electing politicians of various political parties to office. Republican and Democratic country clerks - the people charged with making Election Day run smoothly - onnose this bill henue it will cause voter does not and should not carry any less weight than those who have the luxury to learn about each candidate. The Daily also claims that it is unlikely that this change will significantly affect the outcome of an election. However, in Florida in 2000, straight ticket voting would have led to thou- sands of more votes in Seminole and Palm Beach counties for all candidates running. Also, the ACLU testified to congress last April that eliminating straight ticket voting in Illinois, combined with other voting procedures, effec- tively disenfranchised voters in minority com- munities. Moreover, the Daily's claim that eliminating straight ticket voting is good dates. Democracy doesn't just work when peo- ple are educated; it works when people have choices. This bill has now passed the State Senate, and moves to the State House. I urge everyone to contact their State Representative, and to urge him or her to vote no on SB 173. You can find your State Representative on the State House Homepage: www.house.state.mi.us. For decades, you could only vote if you owned property. For decades longer, only if you were white, and for over a century you could only vote if you were male. Only forty years ago African Americans in the South could only vote if they could pass literacy exams. Q9 I I ANk 1