4 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 31, 2006
OPINION
DONN M. FRESARD
Editor in Chief
EMILY BEAM
CHRISTOPHER ZBROZEK
Editorial Page Editors
ASHLEY DINGES
Managing Editor
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NOTABLE
QUOTABLE
I was treated
well, but I don't
know why I was
kidnapped."
- American reporter and Ann Arbor native
Jill Caroll, speaking to a Baghdad televi-
sion station following her release after
nearly three months in captivity, as reported
yesterday by The Associated Press.
..
; ;
"' , .
RYAN JABER JUST MAKES MUD
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.
Serving America
ANDREW BIELAK BURNING BRIDGES
n the weeks Created in 1994 as an umbrella organization has been unable to reach its full potential.
after the Sept. 11 for previous national service initiatives, Ameri- As he told me, they "thought it would be an
attacks, President corps constitutes the most comprehensive effort excellent initiative that would build into a
Bush stood as a poised, in recent history to increase service across the national movement, but I think at this point
confident leader, shar- country. Involved with more than 3,000 non- it's an excellent initiative that's an excellent
ing in the collective profits and public agencies, the organization initiative." Looking to the reasons behind
grief of the nation and has attempted to build an unprecedented level this stagnation, Gordon suggests an inherent
issuing stern threats to of direct action on issues of poverty, hous- contradiction between the idealistic rhetoric
those who dared attack ing, education and the environment. Through of freedom and liberty put forth by current
it. Calculated as his (somewhat) bipartisan support and funding, leaders and the actuality of their realization.
speeches might have Americorps has drawn in more than 400,000 "Freedom isn't just something that govern-
been, they carried an infectious air of hope, an participants since its inception, and demand for ment gives out - freedom is something that
honest belief that Americans have the potential membership has remained high into 2006. Americans create through their service and
to rise from the depth of tragedy and build a Unfortunately, Americorps's quiet success their commitments."
better future. seems to be overshadowed by clear evidence With a majority of his political capital long
For many of us, the prospects for reinvigo- of its limitations within the current political since evaporated, Bush now consistently finds
rating ideals of service and citizenship seemed climate. President Bush repeatedly articulated himself occupying his time with half-hearted
boundless. Rarely had so many Americans his support for the organization in the years attempts to justify the follies of his administra-
seemed so devoted to helping others and after Sept. 11, 2001, praising it as evidence of tion. Having long held the notion of freedom
improving the character of our country. Asked American's dedication improving our country to be a potential legacy of his time in office,
how ordinary citizens could contribute, the and helping others in need. In his 2002 State he has been undone by a particular naivete and
president outlined an initiative called "Com- of the Union address, he pledged to use an ini- overzealousness in the pursuit of this ideal.
munities of Character," which would "spark a tiative called "USA Freedom Corps" to expand More than anything, however, the pres-
rebirth of citizenship, character and service." and increase funding for Americorps and like- ident's greatest weakness in his attempt to
For the true optimists among us, these words minded groups across the country. leave his mark at the White House has been
suggested the possibility of a Kennedy-esque Discounting the political lip service, howev- the narrowness of his vision. Without encour-
return to civic engagement with government er, the president's treatment of the organization aging the development of a civically-minded,
and the expectation that Americans could suggests a fundamental unwillingness to fol- socially-involved ideal of citizenship, the
actively partake in bettering the country. low through with an ideal he pledges to stand president has promoted a decidedly one-sided
What fools we were. for. In recent years, he has only sparingly stood notion of freedom. The actions of this admin-
Nearly five years later, the Communities up for the interests and growth of the organi- istration have suggested that disconnected
in Character initiative lies dormant, the pres- zation, only allowing for the maintenance of complacency, rather than active engagement
ident's approval ratings are at all-time lows, its current budget when he receives adequate and participatory service, is the emblematic
and any notion that post-Sept. 11 engage- pressure to do so. Most tellingly, this year the trait of an ideal citizen.
ment sparked a rebirth in American service administration proposed a $22-million cut It's been almost 50 years since President
is simply laughable. Using the words "missed from Americorps's civilian program, adding Kennedy famously charged that we should not
opportunity" to describe this lack of a plan for that in the long run, it hopes to shut down this ask what our country can do for us, but rather
increased citizenship has become redundant. sector or the organization altogether. what we can do for our country. Rarely has 50
Perhaps the key to understanding the depth of Robert Gordon, a senior fellow at the Cen- years seemed so damn far away.
this administration's failure is examining the ter for American Progress who helped draft
organization that actively works to promote the original Americorps legislation, argues Bielak can be reached at
service nationwide - Americorps. that despite its popularity, the organization anbielak@umich.edu
Send all lttrstoth edio
LETTERS TO THE EDITOJR tot hedal y ~michiganiy. on
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Immigration solution?
SOWMYA KRISHNAMURTHY AUDI ALTERAM PARTEM
( G ive me more than 20 percent of unskilled or migrant
your job positions.
tired, Many of those immigrants actually add to
your poor, your huddled the nation's fiscal growth because they can-
masses yearning to not redeem any tax refunds associated with
breathe free." Emma their wages. The New York Times wrote
Lazarus's words, which that the Social Security system is supple-
appear on a plaque at mented with as much as $7 billion a year
the base of the Statue from illegal wages.
of Liberty, have always If the illegal labor market is curbed, then
signified America as a theoretically employers will have to raise sala-
safe haven for all. Amidst the recent immigration ries to attract domestic talent. But after being
debate dividing the country, however, America's conditioned to discard menial jobs to those on
open-arms policy has been seriously placed into the periphery for so many years, will Ameri-
question. cans bite the bait?
The hotly debated legislation that has already Let's be honest: We as a nation are stingy and
passed in the House and is now awaiting consid- are usually willing to risk social conscience for
eration in the Senate would make it a felony to a buck saved - excepting the Coca-Cola con-
enter the United States illegally. It would impose troversy at the University, of course. In 2003,
stringent penalties on employers and others who Wal-Mart was caught with more than 300 ille-
knowingly hire or provide succor to illegal immi- gal workers in 21 states, but that has not dimin-
grants - as much as a $25,000 fine per violation. ished its position as the most successful retailer
The bill also requires new investments in border in the world. Sure, every good liberal brags that
security and technology, including a 700-mile she loathes the retail giant but makes an excep-
wall between the U.S.-Mexico border. tion when she's on a budget. If Americans were
Considered less extreme, the alternative willing to pay higher prices, employers would
McCain-Kennedy bill differs most obviously in not resort to cruel and illegal labor and would
that it offers illegal immigrants what some consid- only have outsourcing as a cost control.
er amnesty and provides a measure toward perma- The solution to illegal immigration is difficult
nent residence and citizenship. Known as a guest and imperfect at best. As a nation founded on
worker program,this would enable undocumented and benefiting from centuries of immigration,
workers to apply for temporary legal status after it is hypocritical and un-American to take down
six years and eventually grant them citizenship the "vacancy" sign now.
upon proving that they're employed in the United But it is simply not realistic, neither financially
States. They also would have to pay a $2,000 fine, nor on a security basis, to welcome everyone. It is
submit to background and security checks, learn one thing to work here honestly and add value to
civics and English and pay back taxes. society, but quite another to freeload and expect
Like any hot-button issue, it's unclear exactly social cohesion. Amnesty for those already here
what the crux of the matter is. Are we really con- appears to be the most plausible solution, but
cerned that illegal immigrants might suck up our rewarding illegal immigrants while numerous
welfare dollars and expose the masses to tuber- legal immigrants wait in line at the mercy of a
culosis, or is the white noise simply a politically government bureaucracy sends a dangerous mes-
correct guise for xenophobia? sage of unfairness. As a legal immigrant myself,
From an economic standpoint it makes sense it took 16 years - not six - before I officially
that certain occupations - like restaurant became a citizen.
cooks, domestic servants and migrant farmers Illegal immigration will only get worse if
- are filled by low-skilled immigrant labor. unabated. Somehow lawmakers will have to
This is because of the discrepancy between reconcile this and pacify the electorate, without
foreign and domestic wages - roughly half of turning the country into a Wild Wild West of
Mexico's population lives on less than $5 a day, minutemen or destroying the American Dream.
whereas the national minimum wage in this -_____
country is $5.15 an hour. According to the Pew Krishnamurthy can be reached at
Urine lays only minor
role in hate on campus
TO THE DAILY:
If I were Nick Cheolas, author of Wednes-
day's viewpoint Setting the record straight on the
infamous 'hate crime' (03/29/2006), I would
begin this response by personally attacking
him and his campus affiliations, as he did to
Stephanie Kao in his viewpoint. However,
because I believe progress on issues such as
racism stems from productive campus dia-
logue rather than misinformed slander, I will
restrain myself and focus on the actual issue
at hand. Cheolas criticized campus groups for
naming "nonexistent" racist events, arguing
that groups who speak against hate crimes
would like the campus to have a "harsh" and
"contemptuous racial climate" and that "that
is our real race problem." This outrageously
implies that racism and hate crimes don't exist
on this campus, and that "certain" campus
groups (implying the United Asian American
Organizations) fabricate such events to justify
their existence.
Let's be completely frank. Racism is not
only a part of our country's - and, for that
matter, our institution's past - but it is some-
thing that has been built into the very structure
of our society and is still an inescapable part
of everyday life for many people. As a white
woman, I can understand that Cheolas, as a
white male, has probably never personally felt
the negative effects of racism. The times I have
felt them have been very few and far between,
while my friends of color cannot avoid such
things. The same applies to sexism - some-
thing that my male friends usually don't even
think about, yet, as a woman, I experience
regularly. To spend an entire viewpoint debat-
ing whether or not urine was involved when
two students were harassed with racial slurs
is missing the point: Hate is hate - urine or
no urine. If, as a campus and as society as a
whole, we want to eliminate racism, people of
all races have to actively confront the ideolo-
gies underlying hate crimes, not mock their
victims.
Lindsey Rogers
LSA sophomore
one burst a bag of gold nuggets all over the
East Quad lawn? No.
He was picking up trash. He continued jog-
ging in front of me, picking up trash here and
there - paper plates, wrappers, cups in a frat
house hedge and all the other little bits of litter
that make Ann Arbor look dingy.
So, I want to give a big thank you to this
stranger. Thanks for making our messes mys-
teriously disappear. I'm sure some people will
wonder where their trash went - thanks for
keeping them clean.
Dan Bertoni
LSA junior
A reality check for
skybox stammers
TO THE DAILY:
In Letter to Regents slams skyboxes
(03/28/2006), professor emeritus John Meyer
remarks that when the University builds pri-
vate skyboxes in Michigan Stadium, "the for-
tunate will be above, and the masses - the
great unwashed - will be sitting in the gen-
eral seats." Meyer needs to be reminded that a
single season ticket to the Big House cost $350
last year, not including a mandatory donation
of up to $500 and a waiting list that costs $100
per year. The only thing the skyboxes will
separate are the elite from-the elitest.
Bridget Isaia
LSA senior
Regents must remember
the Halo, students
TO THE DAILY:
I am sure that the University student body
is overwhelmingly against skyboxes being
tacked onto Michigan Stadium, but does any-
one listen to students anymore at the Univer-
sity? Regents, please remember the ghastly
halo fiasco!
Ken Massey
Alum
Daiks love affair with
have to let us know every time two SOLE
members come in contact. Just think how
many more Sudokus would fit in the space
you save!
Pavel Malik
LSA senior
Calls for divestment
from Israel misguided
TO THE DAILY:
I am writing to express my deep concern over
yesterday's letter by David Skrbina and William
Thomson (Consider divestment from Israel and
Palestine, 03/30/2006). Many members of the
University, including me, are deeply concerned
with the Israel-Palestine conflict. However, the
constant call from a minority of faculty and
students for divestment from Israel has gone
too far. Skrbina and Thomson are portraying
a one-sided, distorted picture that doesn't cor-
relate with current affairs in the region.
Last Tuesday, two major events occurred
in Israel and Palestine. In Israel, new elec-
tions were held, resulting in a majority of
parliament members calling to end the Israeli
occupation in the West Bank. Furthermore,
Ehud Olmert, the newly-elected prime minis-
ter, stated that he will withdraw settlers from
most of the West Bank. In Palestine, a new
government was sworn into office, but it is
controlled by Hamas - a terrorist organiza-
tion according to the United States, European
Union, Canada, Japan and many other coun-
tries. This organization has been involved in
the murder of hundreds of innocent people,
targeting them in malls, discos, restaurants
and coffee shops.
Skrbina and Thomson, in their insightful let-
ter, forgot to mention the new developments in
the region. They did not recognize the refusal
of the new Palestinian government to accept
Israel's right to exist. Apparently, they forgot
to state that rocket attacks against Israel from
the unoccupied Gaza Strip are routine. Fur-
thermore, they did not mention the fact that
University President Mary Sue Coleman, the
University Board of Regents and the Michigan
Student Assembly have all stated their opposi-
tion to divesting from Israel.
M