4A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 16, 2006

OPINION


Jbew Strb~ijau &zUl

DoNN M. FRESARD
Editor in Chief

EMILY BEAM
CHRISTOPHER ZBROZEK
Editorial Page Editors

ASHLEY DINGES
Managing Editor

NOTABLE QUOTABLE
It's a disaster, Medicare
Part D - D is unfortunately
for disaster."
- Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), criticizing the new Medicare
prescription drug plan March 7, as reported yesterday by washingtonpost.com.
Americans weak on the First
AARON KAPLAN LIFE DOESN'T GFT AN A

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other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their author.

.L.Mencken
once said that
no one ever
went broke underesti-
mating the intelligence
of the American peo-
ple. Now I know how
true that is.
A new study by the
venerable McCormick
Tribune Foundation
reveals that only 7 percent of Americans can
name at least three of the five freedoms (reli-
gion, speech, the press, assembly and peti-
tion) guaranteed by the First Amendment.
To find someone who knows all five, you'll
probably have to ask about a thousand peo-
ple. (Since this is a piece about ignorance, I'll
mention that one in a thousand is a miniscule
0.1 percent.) 'Luckily, Americans are quite
astute in other fields: 22 percent can name all
five Simpson family members and 25 percent
can rattle off all three American Idol judges.
A 2000 Roper survey of graduating seniors
at our top universities reveals, comfortingly,
that 99 percent know who Beavis and Butt-
head are.
The fact that students graduate without
knowing everything they should is certainly
nothing new, but some of these misconcep-
tions are too ridiculous for parody. Appar-
ently, one out of five Americans think people
have a constitutional right to own a pet. Aren't
you glad we fought the Revolutionary War
and kicked out King George's hamster-hating
redcoats? Nearly as many, 17 percent, think
the First Amendment, an 18th-century docu-
ment, gives them the right to drive a car. I
have no comment.
But I am genuinely surprised at how little
people actually know about the U.S. Consti-
tution. Proficiency tests and several years of
U.S. history and government classes - all
required for me in school - made it seem
like a unit on the Constitution or state and
local government came up almost every week.
I didn't see how it was possible to get to be 18
without having heard of freedom of religion.
It turns out I made a mistake: I vastly over-
estimated the degree of rigor in our education-
al standards. The state Senate is considering
a proposal that would require Michigan stu-
dents to pass four credits of English and math
and three each of science and social studies
in order to graduate high school. Currently,
the state requires only one class on, ironical-
ly, civics, and leaves the rest of the standards

up to local school boards.
Both parties, at least rhetorically, support
tougher standards and agree that a rigorous
high school education would make Michigan
students better candidates in college admis-
sions and the job market. I say sure, pass the
bill - but didn't this happen years ago? I
usually like decentralized government, but
at a time when businesses routinely complain
about their workers' poor writing skills, any
school board member who doesn't ask for
four years of English is simply incompetent.
Our high school students shouldn't be wasting
their time with courses like basket weaving
and Frisbee 101; they'll get that at Michigan
State.
For years, we've passed unprepared stu-
dents on to the next grade and eventually out
of the system because it's easier to pretend
everything is fine than to admit that we have
ninth graders who never learned how to read.
At the same time, we're asking far too little
of the vast majority of students who are per-
fectly competent but, being teenagers, will
learn only as much geometry, chemistry or
American history as they have to.
Intellectually, reading any of the myriad
studies that show how U.S. kids lag far behind
foreign students in math and science upsets
me just as much as ignorance of the Consti-
tution does. We're not challenging ourselves,
and it's bad for the country.
But as a student of politics and history,
unawareness of civil liberties strikes me at a
much deeper level. The John S. and James L.
Knight Foundation released a report earlier
this year showing that 36 percent of Ameri-
can high school students think newspapers
should be required to obtain government
approval before publishing stories. This isn't
evidence of political apathy or simply a weak
understanding of how the government works.
This is over a third of the today's youth flat-
out rejecting the core American value of
freedom of the press. Since when is this con-
troversial?
We need to commit to higher standards
everywhere, but in civics especially. When a
politician runs for president, he nearly always
tries to position himself as a man of the peo-
ple. Unless the people get smarter fast, pretty
soon we'll end up with a president who wants.
to end freedom of the press and enshrine pet
ownership into the Constitution.

The color of
Advanced
Placement
AusoN GO
WHO \ATCHES TH WATCHsMEN7
W hat do
Advanced
Placement
exams, homecoming
court, your SAT/ACT
scores and a pimped-
out varsity jacket
have in common? All
are utterly uncool to
mention once you've
reached this institu-
tion of higher education.
But some things - such as talk about AP
credits - we shouldn't let die.
On a pragmatic level, the University's cha-
otic system of awarding college credit keeps
most students on their toes and AP savvy.
But what AP has become nationwide is also
indicative of our current education system
- and especially the racial inequalities that
persist in it.
The Advanced Placement program, launched
by the College Board 50 years ago, pushed stu-
dents to pursue higher learning and allowed
them to earn college credits - part of a move-
ment to boost American academic dominance
in the middle of the Cold War.
Since then, the program has expanded expo-
nentially. Once available only to an elite few,
nowadays more AP programs have made their
way to more than 15,300 high schools world-
wide. Newsweek*'even uses an equation that
includes the number of Advanced Placement
tests taken by students to determine its list of
the top 1,000 high schools.
AP has almost become the norm - and at
first glance, it seems to be successful. Most
research shows that AP students perform as
well as, if not better than, their peers who took
the equivalent college classes.
But then there is the ugly side of the APs. The
fact that students who take APs instead of col-
lege courses do better later shouldn't be too sur-
prising, but it also shouldn't be attributed to the
success of the AP program. A student who has
had the opportunity to take APs is also clearly
coming from a wealthier district and superior
high school. He is doing better in his second-year
course because he is a better overall student after
years of solid training, not just one AP course.
And just like we've heard a million times,
blacks and other minorities disproportionately
go to schools that can't afford to offer many
AP courses. The availability of AP courses
is heavily skewed toward white, wealthy high
school students. The numbers speak for them-
selves. In 2003, of more than one million test
takers, only 4 percent were black. Whites and
Asians made up 56 and 13 percent, respective-
ly, while Hispanics were 14 percent.
Even when they take the exam, underrep-
resented minorities fare much worse on APs.
Only 31 percent get a 3 or higher, compared
with 64 percent of exams taken by whites.
The College Board hasn't exactly tried its
hardest in correcting this institutional inequal-
ity, and the system is still imperfect when it
crosses over to the university level.
In theory, AP courses are supposed to
give high school students the experience of
a college-level curriculum, and the scores
at the end should reflect a college-level
understanding. Under the assumption of this
comprehension, colleges and universities
nationwide will award credit and exemptions
to its students. Teachers, however, know how
these tests work. Just as complaints have
risen concerning standardized tests required
by President Bush's No Child Left Behind
Act, critics argue that instructors have begun

"teaching to the test" - a concept that might
pass muster with the MEAP, but is complete-
ly antithetical to the university experience,
especially in the liberal arts.
My own extensive personal experience with
AP in high school has shaped my thinking of
the program. At my relatively well-off school,
I was encouraged to take the American history
AP test in 10th grade. Despite some uninspired
teaching - where rote memorization of dates
and people was the custom - I managed to
earn some college credit. Six years later, as
I complete my 100-level American history
requisites, I can only embarrassingly recall a
scant number of facts: the North won the Civil
War, FDR helped the poor and Vietnam was
a mess. Worse yet, no one ever talked exten-
sively about the role of slaves in the Ameri-
can Revolution, when the dislocation of Native
Americans actually started or the horrible con-
ditions of Japanese internment.
Clearly not all subjects are created equal,
and the case for English and history is different
from that of math and science. But one recent
study, which focused on math and science,
showed that students who have taken APs fare
little better than those who did not. This isn't
surprising news for some - the faculty in the
University of California system has considered
dropping the AP credit system program alto-
gether, while the University of Pennsylvania
now will only credit students with the highest
score possible, a 5.
Few drastic measures of this kind have
been taken by the University, which lets
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Kaplan can be reached
at aaronkap@umich.edu.


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR


VIEWPOINT
Students 4 Nothing

BY JON KOLLER
Anyone who has been around campus
knows that Students 4 Michigan is under seri-
ous pressure from new parties with new ideas.
The Student Conservative Party, the Defend
Affirmative Action Party and the Michigan
Progressive Party all have clear platforms that
they are promoting around campus. This is
all very threatening to Students 4 Michigan,
because, despite their claims to be dedicated
to improving campus life "4" all students, Stu-
dent 4 Michigan is really "4" nothing but get-
ting elected. They are Students 4 Nothing.
"S4N" was founded on a campaign strategy
- get together a bunch of students from differ-
ent campus groups, who will bring votes from
those groups with them, and get the party slate
elected. It works pretty well, especially when
you're running with little opposition. Platforms
get in the way with this strategy, because hav-
ing a shared vision makes it hard to bring
together students who stand for drastically dif-
ferent things. Best to let those issues slide to,
the side and just say you stand "4" all students.
It's an effective strategy "4" getting elected,
but not "4" getting results for students.
Without a platform - or even common
goals - S4N has no direction and no mes-
sage. Without their own ideas to talk about,
they have mostly been attacking the other par-
ties, particularly MPP, whom they perceive
as their biggest threat. Remember how MPP
presidential candidate Rese Fox is "biased"
because she has a strong track record for
advocating for a number of student groups?
They seem to have given up on that line once

it became clear no logic was involved. Now
S4N is labeling MPP "cheaters" for violat-
ing a vague piece of election code. If I were
S4N, and I knew students were consistently
choosing to take S4N posters off their doors
and replace them with MPP ones because they
actually believe in what MPP stand for, I'd go
negative too. That, or develop a new strategy
that included standing "4" something.
S4N even attacks MPP for making valid
criticisms of S4N's widely acknowledged
failings. In his recent viewpoint (Pants on fire,
03/14/2006), former S4N representative Stu-
art Wagner tried to defend S4N's clear lack of
leadership in losing tens of thousands of dol-
lars on the Ludacris concert. Wagner trotted
out the tired S4N line that the $20,000 was
well-spent because it supported inclusiveness.
If I wanted to improve inclusiveness on cam-
pus, I wouldn't drop $20,000 on a rapper who
includes women by rapping: "U of M girls give
me U of M head." S4N's insists on attacking
its opponents, even when the attacks clearly
don't hold water. But that's all you really have
to talk about when you are "4" nothing.
Say what you will about the Defend Affir-
mative Action Party, the Student Choice Party
and the Michigan Progressive Party, but at
least they stand for something and give stu-
dents a clear choice of a direction for MSA.
Students 4 Nothing presents students with an
election strategy, negative campaigning and
- when it comes to wining results for stu-
dents - nothing.
Koller is an Engineering junior and is the
chair of the Michigan Progressive Party.

American right wing not
much better than Taliban
TO THE DAILY:
I find it ironic that Sam Singer (Forget vol-
unteer work, join the Taliban, 03/14/2006)
regards -"the ideological Right" as more genu-
ine guardians of Enlightenment values in this
country than academia. Singer does not define
exactly what he means by this term, so I can
only assume that Republicans are part of this
group. Assuming this to be the case, let's pick
a few illustrative examples. The ideological
Right's current figurehead, President Bush, felt
comfortable telling Palestinian Prime Minister
Mahmoud Abbas that he received orders direct-
ly from God to wage war against Iraq.
The Right's idol, former President Ron-
ald Reagan, told the world that Armageddon
was at hand and that it was his job to pre-
pare for it. Many on the Right also believe
that creationism should be taught as science.
And the Right can even find common ground
with the detested Iranians, such as in 2002,
when the conservative-nominated U.S. dele-
gation to the United Nations had no problem
in allying itself with Iran in order to keep the
phrase "reproductive health services" out of
a declaration on human rights, out of mutual
fear that this phrase could perhaps be inter-
preted to include abortion. "The ideological
Right" in this country and the Taliban are
birds of a feather, and it's difficult to discern
much difference between their beliefs.
John Morgan
Alum and Honors College
Administration Assistant
'U' cannot forget about
other aid recipients
TO THE DAILY:
In a recent letter to the editor ('U' should
not reward community college students,
03/13/06), David Waddilove pointed out that
a University education consists of more than

demic achievement were not much different
from those of my current graduate courses.
I think Waddilove is making a big assump-
tion that those who attend the University for
four years are actually engaged. Many students
commute from off campus and participate in
very few, if any, activities outside of attending
classes. While students from community col-
leges may have missed out on some University
undergraduate activities, I'm sure they'll have
no problem catching up with the rest of the stu-
dents who came in as freshmen.
Jill Lauka
School of Social Work
Political gain at root of MSA
Election Board decision
TO THE DAILY:
Yesterday's Michigan Student Assembly
Election Board meeting illustrated the extent to
which incumbency in MSA can be abused for
political gain. In an election, especially a hotly
contested one like this, it is important to have
a well qualified, neutral body that enforces the
election rules. Unfortunately, the board that
met last night does not meet this requirement.
Common sense mandate that the election board
be an "impartial body." However, this tribunal
was no such thing. Far from being impartial,
the election board was dominated by affiliates
of the Students 4 Michigan Party, most notably
S4M founder and MSA President Jesse Levine.
The fact that Levine not only failed to recuse
himself, but also only spoke primarily to
attack the arguments of the Michigan Progres-
sive Party, is disheartening because it shows
that he, along with the party he helped found,
has no qualms about abusing incumbency for
political gain.
The rules governing MSA elections are so
broad and overreaching that consistent enforce-
ment is impossible. The overreaching character
of these rules allows for substantial selective.
enforcement, undermining the integrity of any
Election Board decision. We call on all mem-
bers and supporters of our respective parties to
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Editorial Board Members: Amy Anspach, Andrew Bielak, Kevin Bunkley, Gabri-
elle DAngelo, Whitney Dibo, Milly Dick, Sara Eber, JesseForester, Mara Gay, Jared
Goldberg, Ashwin Jagannathan, Mark Kuehn, Frank Manley, Kirsty McNamara, Toby


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