E 4A -The Michigan Daily - Monday, February 2, 2004 OP/ED Ulije t 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 letters@michigandaily.com opinion.michigandaily. com EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE ITX JTK7%T CT rV"%tr X I n ii,- A JORDAN SCHRADER Editor in Chief UN1VEITK OF 5 .IY MICHIGAN JASON Z. PESICK 'rSINCE 1890 A NZ.ESC Editorial Page Editor 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 We're going to be wise when it comes to the expenditure of the people's money." SAM BUTLER THE SOAPBOX n evX eryaxe n a... $ ,-e 0 - President Bush, on his proposed budget, despite predictions of a $521 billion federal deficit for the coming fiscal year, as reported yesterday by The Washington Post. You want them to do what? JOEL HOARD OH YEAH? Two weeks ago during the State of the Union address, President Bush called for increased .funding to promote abstinence among our nation's unmarried youth. The idea struck me as ludicrous, so in my last column I dismissed the president's call as part of his "not-so-hidden Christian agenda." I stand by that statement, but based on the correspondence I've since received, it became clear that my casual dismissal was inadequate for this topic, and if you'll indulge me, I'd like to explore it further. Let me begin by saying that I believe that choosing whether or not to have sex prior to marriage is a personal decision. It's not my place to tell you whether you should or should not engage in premarital sex, so my displeasure with the president's comments is not part of any pro-premarital sex agenda. What upset me about Bush's call for abstinence-only education is his true motive. Under the guise of preventing the spread of sexually transmitted dis- eases, the president is in fact promoting the spread of Christianity. With more and more of the avenues of direct promotion (the Ten Commandments in public courthouses, for example) clos- ing in recent times, Christian politicians are being forced to use back doors. Instead of promoting Christianity explicitly, they take Christian principles and promote them sans the Christian label. It's in the nation's best interest, they argue. And if everything that's in the nation's best inter- est happens to be eerily similar to the tenets of Christianity, they can't be held responsible. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that abstinence-only education simply will not work. Bush's plan operates on the assumption that if you tell a teenager not to have sex, he or she will not have sex. But telling a teenager not to have sex is like ... well, no analogy can appropriately encompass the stupidity and absurdity of the idea. It's outrageous to assume that Ameri- can teenagers will suddenly take what their teachers and parents tell them to heart, suppress their hormones and abstain from sex until they're married. It's simply in the nature of American teenagers to ignore their parents and teachers. Based on stories about the Bush twins that have cir- culated over the past few years, the presi- dent, if anyone, should understand that. And if good Christian girls like them (I'm assuming he raised them to be good Chris- tian girls) behave in such a manner, just imagine what all the other kids are up to. Still, he remains steadfast. At exactly what point in life do parents all of a sudden for- get what it was like to be a teenager and start assuming that their teens will mind them perfectly? But what if we forget the president's true motives for a moment and believe that the plan really is aimed at ending the spread of sexually transmitted diseases? It still doesn't make any sense. It's eerily similar to the war on drugs - the second coming of Nancy Reagan and "Just say no!" And we all know how well that worked out. Just like that war on drugs, the president's plan sounds like a good idea, but in practice it will have little or no effect. It won't work, because it addresses the problem at the wrong place. Didn't the president see "Traffic?" A proper sex education program should take that into account and then concede the point that most teenagers will have pre- marital sex. Not doing so is both irrespon- sible and dangerous. Bush, parents and teachers need to understand that teenagers face a constant barrage of sex-related material in their daily lives. From music to movies to television and Super Bowl halftime shows, sex is every- where. It's a part of modem American cul- ture, and it's here to stay. So, sure, tell teenagers about abstinence and how it's the safest option available to them. But don't expect them to take heed, and cer- tainly don't advertise it as the only option. Scare tactics will never win out over rag- ing hormones. Instead, tell them every option that's available to them. Teach them that sex is healthy and normal and that it can be conducted safely and respon- sibly. Most of all, be open and honest. A little bit goes a long way. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Bad job market is not a boon to graduating seniors To THE DAILY: I would like to congratulate Prof. Matthew Lassiter on his achievement of the Golden Apple Award. However, I was dismayed by his comment "I think the bad job market is the best thing to happen to college graduates in years." It seems cal- lous for a person who has a job that he excels at, in a field he is passionate about, to make such a statement about people whose futures are not as certain as his. Not having a job does not necessarily free up time to pursue political causes; usually it consumes time and energy in the search for employment. I would like to extend an invitation to Lassiter to join several of my graduating senior friends in thejobmarket and see if his optimism and excitement remains. BRIAN WIERS LSA junior Coleman needs to move past 'lip service' and engage with professors To THE DAILY: I attended the 14th Annual Golden Apple Award because one of my favorite professors, Matthew Lassiter, was receiving the award. The ceremony included various members of the University's community, including the director of Hillel and students on the Golden Apple committee, praising Lassiter. President Coleman also spoke about the importance of teaching at a large research university. Cole- man's words were overshadowed, however, by the fact that she addressed Professor Las- siter as Mark rather than Matt. It was a simple mistake, but one that spoke volumes about the sad realities of such a large university. Lassiter was receiving a student-nominated award that lauded his teaching ability as exemplary and our own president did not even know his name. I hope that in the future the importance of teaching is not just paid lip service and that Coleman actually meets and gets to know some of these great professors. LIBBY ROSENBAUM LSA senior 11 -----.---1 1 -. efficient. It surely can't be much, seeing as how Coleman accepted a $200,000 "bonus" last year in addition to her $475,000 annual salary. I urge our president to take a symbol- ic pay cut as a gigantic, and long overdue, first step toward University efficiency. Such a move would help convince Uni- versity students that Coleman is serious about her intentions to make the University a financially secure institution. Coleman's acceptance of such a large compensation package makes it difficult to accept the University's recent tuition increases as sim- ply "facts of life." Some members of the University's community are currently liv- ing much better than others. MICHAEL RoTH LSA junior Mock edition of the Daily is embarrassing to the 'U' To THE DAILY: Upon further inspection, it appears that the entire Jan. 30 issue is making a lame attempt at satire. For your information, you can post crap like that on other websites for free and not embarrass University students, staff and alumni by doing so. You certainly have every right to express your "editorial freedom," but you might want to think twice about doing so at the expense of your editorial credibility. Good luck in your McJobs after graduation. LISA MICHALSKI Alum Daily is 'as lame as the Every Three Weekly' To THE DAILY: Friday's front page cover "article" (Three 'snobs' slain outside Rick's, 01/30/04) was very distasteful. You guys are becoming as lame as the Every Three Weekly. BRIANNA KNOPPow LSA junior Assessment of Howard Dean's education plan is misleading, biased Tn T~ TNA77V affordable, and the Daily has a responsibility to its readers to be upfront about this. Dean's proposals actually reveal his igno- rance of student needs and what help for stu- dents is already available. In fact, most of Dean's proposals are regurgitations of loan repayment plans that already exist. For example, the Daily cites Dean's propos- al to limit student loan payments to 10 percent of income. Had the Daily done its homework, instead of repeating Dean rhetoric, it would have discovered that there is already a plan that addresses this problem. The "income contingent plan" now offered by the federal government goes well beyond the Dean proposal, as pay- ments could be as little as 2 percent of income under the existing plan. Dean's promise of $10,000 per year for college comes in the form of grants and loans and will consequently offer little to students already getting this amount in loans because Dean has not promised to increase the amount of grant money. Dean's proposals for higher education are not surprising, as they reveal his failure to do the tough work of researching what the real problems facing students are. What is shock- ing is the Daily's biased coverage of the can- didates this week. The Daily wrote off John Kerry's proposals (Evaluating John Kerry, 01/28/04), saying "Kerry's ideas on education reform, however, remain hardly adequate to satisfy the needs of Americas youth." The Daily proceeded to ignore important parts of Kerry's higher ed proposal, such as his $4,000 tax credit for each year of college which would reduce tuition costs for in-state University students by about 35 percent. Fur- thermore, Kerry's proposals would undeni- ably help to stop tuition costs from rising by granting $50 billion to the states for higher education. The Daily is correct in saying that reduc- ing the cost of tuition will encourage more students to attend college. Kerry's plan will reduce tuition costs; Dean's plan will not. The Daily needs to reassess its editorial page and ask itself if the purpose of the page is to offer a critical analysis of current events or if it is to uncritically showcase propaganda for Howard Dean because it lacks the courage to admit that maybe it was wrong about Dean. If the Daily staff wishes to support a candi- date, it should focus on finding legitimate reasons for doing so rather than trying to mislead readers regarding the candidates' higher education proposals. STEPHANIE PILAT Rackham 4 ....LL.... ... L....... ......d......... f. ,.....,. ,,.b~ ........