4A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 23, 2006
OPINION
ai St ijpu &dlgd
DoNN M. FRESARD
Editor in Chief
EMILY BEAM
CHRISTOPHER ZBROZEK
Editorial Page Editors
ASHLEY DINGES
Managing Editor
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890
420 MAYNARD STREET
ANN ARBOR, MI 48109
tothedaily@michigandaily. com
NOTABLE
QUOTABLE
44 It is deeply
troubling that a
country we helped
liberate would hold a
person to account
because he chose a
different religion
over another."
- President Bush, speaking yesterday in
defense of Abdul Rahman, an Afghan man who
may face the death penalty for converting to
Christianity, as reported yesterday on CNN.com.
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Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board. All
other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their author.
Could it happen here?
CHRISTOPHER ZBROZEK BORN IN TiIE U.SA
Jordan Nott did
what he was sup-
posed to do. Hav-
ing become depressed
after a friend's sui-
cide, the sophomore at
George Washington
University checked
himself into the uni-
versity's hospital one
night when he was
contemplating suicide.
As a result, Nott received a letter a day and
a half later from George Washington's admin-
istrators: Either withdraw from school, or face
disciplinary proceedings for violating the
school's code of student conduct. His "endan-
gering behavior" - being suicidal - could
result in suspension or expulsion if he chose
not to withdraw.
Nott withdrew from school, and his case has
received national attention and criticism that
universities, often out of fear over potential
lawsuits, have sought to distance themselves
from students who need help. The Washington
Post, which covered Nott's story, reported that
in recent years, an increasing number of col-
leges and universities have added involuntary-
leave policies for mentally ill students.
One of them, it appears, is this institution.
On a website listing University policies
affecting students, there's a policy titled
"Emergency Mental Health Withdrawal and
Readmission." It lays out a mechanism by
which a student with mental health concerns
can seek to withdraw from the University. It
also contains provisions for the administration
to seek an involuntary withdrawal. Associate
Dean of Students Stephanie Pinder-Amaker
confirmed that this is a relatively new policy,
which went into effect on Jan. 6, 2004.
I was shocked when I found out about this
policy. On the surface, it appears to allow
what happened to Jordan Nott to happen to
any student here. Though speaking to Uni-
versity administrators has allayed my worst
fears, I still find some aspects of the policy
deeply troubling.
I spoke with Sam Goodin, the director of
services for students with disabilities and
one of the policy's original authors. Goodin
pointed out that no students have been with-
drawn under the policy. Fears that the Univer-
sity is quietly ridding itself of any student who
becomes depressed are unfounded.
And, according to Goodin, the University
certainly did not draw up the policy as a means
of avoiding liability in any lawsuits that might
result from a student's suicide. "That never
came up with the group that wrote it or the
group that implemented it," he said.
Goodin presented the mental health with-
drawal policy as a means of avoiding a rash deci-
sion. "If (the policy is) followed, we shouldn't do
what George Washington did," he said. Under
the policy, students would have some input into
the decision of whether they will be allowed to
stay at the University. "The point of it," Goodin
explained, "is to have enough due process that
we don't violate a student's rights."
Written guidelines for making a withdrawal_
decision that Goodin provided support this
benign interpretation of the policy. In addition
to considering whether a student is compliant
with treatments for his disorder, those making
a withdrawal decision would be instructed to
consider factors such as which potential solu-
tion would be least disruptive, or how a change
in where the students lives would affect her.
The policy on mental-health withdrawal is
written, however, in such a manner that it could
lead to a situation similar to Nott's in its effect,
if not in its callousness. Particularly troubling
is a provision for emergency interim with-
drawal. Although this part of the policy urges
that "every attempt" be made to meet with the
student, it appears possible under the wording
that a hospitalized student could be temporar-
ily withdrawn without being consulted.
That, admittedly, is a far-fetched concern for
a policy that has not been used so far. But there's
a much broader problem here: Why should the
University be able to suspend a student against
his will on account of his mental illness?
Certainly, there are situations where a stu-
dent will respond better to treatment in the
company of his family, away from academic
pressures. It seems equally clear, though, that
there are cases where leaving one's friends and
classes behind in Ann Arbor would do more
harm than good. To suggest that the University
would know a student's interest better than the
student himself is more than just a return to
the in loco parentis doctrine of decades past;
it's an unproductive assertion of power more
likely to breed resentment than recovery.
Besides, there are already enough barriers
facing students seeking help for a mental ill-
ness, ranging from the long wait times for an
appointment at Counseling and Psychological
Services to broad, harmful societal stigmas -
that people with mental illnesses are "weak,"
that depressed people can just "snap out of it."
Do we really need to add the possibility, how-
ever remote, that the University might seek an
involuntary withdrawal to the list of concerns
facing a student who is trying to build the cour-
age to seek treatment?
Events this semester have shown, tragically,
that not every student at the University with a
mental illness receives the help he needs. All
of us, students and administrators alike, should
be doing what we can to make it easier for those
who need treatment to seek it. I fail to see how
the University's involuntary withdrawal policy
contributes to that goal.
Zbrozek can be reached at
zbrozek@michigandaily.com
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Send all letters to the editor to
tot hedaily@michigandaily. corn.
Students deserve better than
lease ordinance, Greden
TO THE DAILY:
The notion that the housing ordinance
passed Monday by the Ann Arbor City Coun-
cil will do anything to alleviate the various
problems faced by students during the leas-
ing process is absurd. Stripped of a provision
that would mandate staggered viewing and
leasing dates - allowing students to more
carefully consider their options before being
rushed into a lease - the ordinance is entire-
ly toothless. It only postpones the still-inevi-
table housing rush until December, when
students are trying to focus on studying for
finals, not on haggling with ethically-chal-
lenged landlords. Further, that Council-
man Leigh Greden (D-Ward 3) would be
involved in such a farce is as cynical as it is
characteristic. Greden, a true antagonist of
the student population (certainly Daily read-
ers will recall his central role in the couch-
ban fiasco of 2004), is rather transparently
attempting to salvage his deservedly awful
reputation amongst students in advance of
his campaign for state Legislature. Univer-
sity students ought to call him on this sort of
nonsense and demand a housing ordinance
that will make a difference.
Luke Entelis
Alum, RC '05
Superficial descriptions not
helpful to student voters
TO THE DAILY:
Although I was glad to see that the Daily
is attempting to help student voters make
informed decisions regarding the Michigan
Student Assembly and LSA Student Govern-
ment elections, Monday's article profiling
two of the presidential candidates for MSA
(MSA elections 2006: presidential candidate
profiles, 03/20/2006), was disappointing to
read. As a former (female) vice-president
of LSA-SG, I was highly offended at this
to really compare the candidates, their par-
ties and their platforms. Not until I flipped
to the remainder of each article on page 7A
did I find any information that might inform
readers about which candidate would best
serve students if elected. Even there, the
information appeared closer to campus gos-
sip than informational journalism. Please
continue to cover important events like the
elections this week but also be cognizant of
the potentially detrimental messages you
send your readers.
Alexis Bates
LSA junior
Poor coverage contributes
to MSA election apathy
TO THE DAILY:
To preface this letter, I am not affiliated
with any of the parties running for MSA
this week - I am simply a student who was
utterly disappointed when I picked up the
front page of Monday's Daily (MSA elec-
tions 2006: presidential candidate profiles,
03/20/2006). Once again, the Daily seems
to have forgotten its responsibility to the
University's student body and instead has
chosen to revert to blatant sexism (and bad
journalism, at that).
How awesome is it that at one of our coun-
try's most prominent public universities, two
women are the most high-profile contend-
ers for student body president? Instead of
highlighting this fact and helping students to
make informed voting decisions, the Daily
resorts to comparisons to Barbie dolls and
pop princesses. I, for one, could care less
about plastic. I am interested in what these
two candidates have to say about their abili-
ties to move our student body in a more posi-
tive direction and how they intend to do that.
Unfortunately, the Daily has not provided
me with that information. Instead, I can now
tell you the color of Nicole Stallings's eyes
and about Rese Fox's "bubbly" personality.
If I recall correctly, no one wrote a front-
page article about Jesse Levine's luscious
seriously. It is an indication that groups like
the Daily need to treat the elections more
seriously - and that means providing solid
information about the candidates, not what
they're wearing in their Facebook pictures
and how they look like "the perfect pack-
age."
Becca Rueble
LSA junior
The letter writer is co-chair of the
MSA Women's Issues Commission.
Student apathy does nothing
to solve society's problems
TO THE DAILY:
The comments of RC senior Tara Smith in
the article Protestors mark three years of Iraq
war (03/20/2006) reflect a cliched sentiment
among many students. Her assertions that
protesting in Ann Arbor is "sad" and merely
"preaching to the choir" are the same tired
apathy that results in, among other things,
America's pathetically low voter turnout rates.
In addition, by stating that the rally's message
was a simplistic "Impeach Bush," she showed
a complete ignorance of the actual demands
issued at the rally. Woody Allen said: "Eighty
percent of success is showing up." I agree with
Smith that there are no easy solutions to the
quagmire in Iraq. However, we will not suc-
ceed in finding those solutions until students
like Smith, who profess opposition to the war,
decide to show up. That is what's sad.
Joseph Kuilema
School of Social Work
Ann Arborites don't really
care about underprivileged
TO THE DAILY:
The fact that the Ann Arbor Transportation
Authority wants to cut service to Ypsilanti
proves that the "socially conscious" residents
of Ann Arbor, and students and faculty of the
University, are pretentious snobs who only do
just enough public service to the poor to make
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JUST BECAUSE OF THE WANTON
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CONSUMING A PRODUCT SHOULD BE
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AND BY CAMPUS, I DON'T MEAN THE
DOZENS OF PRIVATE ESTABLISHMENTS
LITERALLY ON CAMPUS WHICH OFFER
COKE, I MEAN UNIVERSITY BUILDINGS,
BECAUSE STUDENTS CANT BE
'' BOTHERED TO WALK A FEW FEET TO
SHOW THAT WE DON'T SUPPORT
MURDERITHIRD WORLD NATIONS.
GO U.S. HEGEMONYI
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