4A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, March 27, 2006 OPINION (Dhjes o * --dlLajL A..AA- tuan ARPF - - - 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 That will be decided by future presidents." - President Bush, discussing the total with- drawal of American troops from Iraq last week in a news conference at the White House, as reported last week on BBC.com KATIE GARLINGHOUSE HIoUSE ARREST Ca. .mh.p', a :eaoit$, .44 x 4, '4$Q 0 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. Barbie for president? EMILY BEAM LOOKING FOR AMERICA s America is ready first reference and described her as "the giant- she isn't masculine enough - and besides, she for a woman presi- slayer, a former beauty queen turned Phi Beta probably slept her way to the top. dent? I don't care; Kappa lawyer who ran for office the first time In addition to the media's mistreatment and I'm not even sure what only four years ago." The piece later offered stereotyping of female politicians, that we it means to be "ready" more detail: "A mother of three, she offers a haven't yet elected a woman president might But the public's readi- fierce handshake followed by a soft shoulder also have something to do with a lack of female ness for a female presi- touch, and appeals to voters by looking direct- politicians in the political offices that are often dent is big news these ly into their eyes with her clear blue ones." stepping stones to the White House. The pool days, given the possible Wouldn't it have been sufficient to call her a of women is smaller given that Congress is presidential bids from political newcomer? more than 85 percent male, and there are just Secretary of State Con- In the Daily last week, Michigan Student eight women governors. For these offices, just doleezza Rice and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clin- Assembly presidential candidate Nicole Stall- as for any other, female candidates face the ton (D-N.Y.). ings was likened to "Career Barbie" with "cof- same obstacles and must confront the same Every time a potential woman candidate for fee-colored eyes and an easy smile" Opponent stereotypes. president emerges, it's the same debate - and Rese Fox was spared some of the typical rheto- In 2000, Mattel Corporation released Presi- it's one that circles around the same stereo- ric, but she was still described as "bubbly" and dent 2000 Barbie as a role model to inspire types. Can Americans trust a woman to handle a "nice girl." young girls to enter politics. I'm not too com- national security? Perhaps her natural compas- These portrayals aren't the exception; they're fortable with girls modeling their dreams and sion and inherent skill at education and health the norm. Although the lack of female leader- identities off their Barbie dolls; I thought we policy would make up for it. ship is much less severe here at the University, moved past that. And indeed, many of us have The prevalence of women leaders around the candidates for student government still face - the Daily was inundated with letters last world, however, suggests that it doesn't really the student version of this national "discus- week from students upset about the "Career matter whether America is "ready." By all mea- sion" of women in power. Women leaders, still Barbie" reference. sures, Chile wasn't ready - the country has a a novelty in many areas, are subject to a double Those who wrote to the Daily last week were mostly deserved reputation for sexism and it standard on everything from their platform to completely right to do so, but there's more to just legalized divorce in 2004 - yet voters their haircut. And it's their haircut, not their being taken seriously as a female politician than elected Michelle Bachelet president this year. platform, that receives undue attention. not being compared to a doll. Before the "spe- But what is clear - and does matter - is I can wish that appearance never mattered cial attention" a female politician receives in the whether the media are ready for a woman in politics, that each candidate could campaign media is set aside, it must no longer be news that president. It's the media framing the candi- with a paper bag over his head and the results a politician is both capable and a woman. Only dates, the debate and often the election. And would be the same. But appearance does matter, then will discussing how motherly or caring a to that particular question of readiness, the and gender completely changes the framework female candidate is become as anachronistic as answer is clearly no. by which we judge. An attractive, young male comparing her to a Barbie doll. When Gov. Jennifer Granholm received the candidate? The next JFK. Make that an attrac- Democratic nomination for governor in 2002, tive, young female candidate? Unelectable. Beam can be reached at The New York Times called her "Jenni" on She's too hot, she won't command authority, ebeam@umich.edu VIEWPOINT A reflection on Women's History Month BY DANA CHRISTENSEN nontraditional careers that make them better monitor and address barriers to achieving full able to meet the financial needs of their fami- participation, such as discrimination based on Women's History Month this March pres- lies. A Department of Labor study estimates race, ethnicity, gender, age or disability; and ents us with an opportunity to look at women's that because of the affirmative action policies government outreach programs that ensure that progress in recent decades and what impact of the 1960s and 1970, five million minority women and minority owned businesses have a the proposed constitutional amendment to ban workers and six million women are in higher fair chance to secure government contracts. affirmative action would have on Michigan occupational classifications today. Educational programs will be threatened the women. The reality is that affirmative action has most if MCRI passes. Among those suscep- Despite having 20 women in elected and benefited women more than any racial minori- tible are summer and after-school programs appointed offices and three women in Con- ties. This fact is often lost in the debate about for boys or girls; recruitment and support pro- gress, Michigan does not fare well in many affirmative action, which is too often treated grams for high school and community college equally meaningful categories. as being only about race and "racial prefer- students in career education programs that are We rank second to last in the country with ence." We can't let ourselves be divided and non-traditional for their gender, such as men respect to relative earnings of men and women: conquered. in nursing or women in skilled trades; appren- Michigan women earn only 67 cents for every A glance at the effect of Proposition 209 in ticeship, education and training programs for dollar men earn. Today, women remain California, which banned affirmative action nontraditional occupations; outreach and fund- severely underrepresented in nontraditional in 1994, shows the dangers ahead. University ing for women and minority math, science and occupations, even though these jobs pay 20 to professor Susan Kaufman recently reported technology teachers; and scholarships, fellow- 30 percent more than traditionally female jobs. how the ban has affected programs to improve ships and grants for women and minorities at In 2002, for example, women made up only access and exposure to education, employment all levels of education. 10.8 percent of engineers, 1.4 percent of auto and business opportunities for girls or women Do not believe the supporters of California mechanics, 1.8 percent of carpenters, 30.6 per- and minorities - including breast cancer businessman Ward Connerly when they say cent of doctors and 29.2 percent of lawyers. screening, battered women's shelters, science that there are exceptions to the affirmative Sex discrimination, including sexual harass- and math programs for girls, summer and after- action ban. There are not. Should this state ment, continues to act as a glass ceiling. In school programs and teacher training. A law- constitutional amendment pass this November, 2004, there were 25,194 individual sex dis- suit currently pending under Proposition 209 you can bet that there will be years of litigation crimination complaints filed with the Equal challenges all programs providing services or to determine its reach. This Women's History Employment Opportunity Commission. This funding targeted for women in California. Month, Michigan residents should celebrate number includes more than 15,800 sexual Kaufman finds that should the initiative the achievements women have made with the harassment claims - up significantly from the pass, many similar programs could be vul- help of affirmative action programs and think 10,500 filed in 1992. nerable in Michigan. These programs include hard about what could be lost when they go to Even though we still have a long way to gender-specific community or public-health the polls in November. go, we have solid evidence that affirmative programs, such as breast, cervical and prostate action programs have opened up job opportu- cancer screening; breastfeeding promotion, Christensen is an LSA senior and chair of nities for qualified women to achieve higher prenatal smoking cessation and domestic vio- the University's undergraduate chapter of the wages, advance in the workplace and seek lence programs; review systems designed to American Civil Liberties Union. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR send all letters to the editor to tothedaily@richigandaily. cor. a Daily Opinion's coverage of the Michigan Student Assembly elections, including commentary upon the attack on MPP's website as well as discussion of the election results, will continue in Wednesday's paper. S4M apologizes for attack on MPP website last week TO THE DAILY: Despite Students 4 Michigan's success in the recent student government elections, the results are bittersweet. On the eve of the election, an S4M party member coordinat- ed a premeditated attack designed to shut down the Michigan Progressive Party web- site. These websites are used to funnel stu- dents, to the voting waeite.and ithis ation On behalf of S4M, I would like to apolo- gize to the University for this attack. We regret the wound that has been left on both the electoral process and student govern- ment. I wish Nicole Stallings and Justin Paul the best of luck in unifying a divided Assembly in the coming months and work- ing with other parties in pursuing election reform. Robbie O'Brien LSA junior The letter writer recently resigned as chair of Students 4 Michigan. Although an agree- (03/24/2006). Finally someone else besides me has acknowledged this iPod epidemic! I am a University bus driver and have also noticed the powerful effect these little devices have on people. Students are cer- tainly in their own world when listening to their music - and usually to a danger- ous degree. Almost on a daily basis, I see iPod listeners walk right out into oncoming traffic without looking. Obviously, these devices hinder people's attention spans, even while doing such simple activities as walking. The worst cases I've seen while Editorial Board Members: Amy Anspach, Andrew Bielak, Kevin Bunkley, Gabrielle D'Angelo, Whitney Dibo, Milly Dick, Sara Eber, Jesse Forester, Mara Gay, Jared Goldberg, Mark Kuehn, Fr.nk ManlP KirsrvMramara_ Shae) Momin. Raiiv Prabhakrar Katherine Seid, Gavin