4 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 8, 2006 I U"'S E 9Cit CQ~it tIi OPINION DONN M. FRESARD Editor in Chief EMILY BEAM JEFEBLO R CHRISTOPHER ZBROZEK JEFFREY BLOOMER Editorial Page Editors Managing Editor EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890 413 E. HURON ANN ARBOR, MI 48104 tothedaily@michigandaily.com NOTABLE QUOTABLE Now, as for my timing and date of departure, I would have preferred to do this in my own way, but it has been pretty obvious." - British Prime Minister Tony Blair, announcing that he will resign by the end of the year in the face of fading influence and popularity within the government and among the electorate, as reported yesterday by the BBC. APPLY FOR A FALL OPINION COLUMN BEFORE SUNDAY. E-MAIL OPINION@MICHIGANDAILY.COM FOR DETAILS. Popping the abroad bubble WHITNEY DIBo 4 Scaring up votes National security legislation cynical, unwise 4 With only 15 legislative days remaining until Congress adjourns, there isn't time left for much significant legislation before the fall elections. Some issues, like immigra- tion reform, appear to have fallen by the wayside, particularly as the Bush Admin- istration hones one of its strengths: scaring citizens into voting Republican. Indeed, some Republican members of Congress have set their eyes on a pair of last-min- ute national security bills that could save their re-election campaign - or at least convince a few more voters that Demo- crats love terrorists. The Senate Judiciary Committee is cur- rently reviewing legislation proposed by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) that would offer Congressional blessing to the Bush Administration's otherwise illegal wire- tapping program, which a federal court judge ruled unconstitutional in August. At the same time, another bill is being discussed which would give the admin- istration the authority to employ military tribunals to try inmates at the prison in Guantanamo Bay. President Bush, hoping to maintain Republican control of Con- gress following midterm elections, has unsurprisingly thrown his full support behind both bills. This power grab would further erode the already weakened system of checks and balances that once kept the execu- tive branch in check. Indeed, the military tribunal legislation seeks to hand over, no questions asked, the very authority that the president asserted until the U.S. Supreme Court slapped down Bush's overreach of executive power this sum- mer. Even if President Bush vowed to use his expanded powers justly - and even if the American people had reason to believe he would do so - there's no guarantee that future leaders would do the same. Opposition or even skepticism toward the Bush administration's eagerness to put its agenda before constitutionally protected civil liberties has been framed as hazardous to national security. With the Republican Party banking on fear to hold control of Congress in the Novem- ber elections, these bills seem like a political ploy to hold onto its base and grab a few swing voters. This is nothing new - members of Congress tradition- ally use the weeks leading up to elec- tions to woo voters with legislation more likely to be crowd-pleasing than well thought out. But the importance of this legislation far exceeds the last-minute pork-barrel spending seen in a typical year - or the House's approval of a ban on horse slaughtering yesterday. (Even Democratic voters love horses.) The effects of strengthening the executive branch at the expense of judicial over- sight will last long after the election. Despite the gravity of these bills, divi- sions within the Republican Party, rather than united opposition to this legislation, may ultimately prevent either piece of legislation from making it out of commit- tee before the term ends. But with each bill drawn in black and white - one can either be in complete support or weak on national security - it may be difficult for many Republican congressmen worried about re-election not to take the bait. hat will 'it take for the American study-abroad bubble to pop? Or can it not be stopped? That is the question I was forced to ask myself soon after arriving in Barcelona last winter. By "bubble," I'm refer- ring to the thick wall American students often construct to cushion their experience abroad. Barcelona is magnificent, bus- tling with the vibrant energy of a European city that has found its voice. The city is brimming with Catalan culture and dotted through- out with Antoni Gaudi's breathtak- ing architectural masterpieces. Unfortunately, it also plays host to one of the largest American study- abroad bubbles in Europe. I was genuinely surprised to find that a good majority of my fellow travelers had little interest in immers- ingthemselvesinBarcelona'sculture. Many had come with friends. Most sought out the inevitable American bar scene that naturally caters to for- eign students who are more likely to pay eight euros for a beer. And away from the constant pressure of GPAs and GREs, many stayed sufficiently and blissfully drunk throughout most of the semester. Now, I'm no hermit - I certainly discovered the allure of going out in a foreign country. But what I found more rewarding was becoming close with incredible people from a host of different countries, join- ing a language exchange program, brushing up my flamenco dance skills at a local studio and discover- ing the infectious joy of FC Barce- lona football. While difficult to pop, the Amer- ican bubble is manageable - even in the major European and South American cities where it's most prominent. Here are a few humble suggestions for getting the most out of your semester - from a broad who's been abroad: 1. Even if you diligently patron- ize the best restaurants, visit the most important monuments and explore every nook and cranny of your chosen abroad city, you will still only be an outsider looking in until you've immersed yourself in the people who live there. One easy way to do so is by living with a host family - all you have to do is come home to live and breathe the culture of your city. 2. A word on travel. It can be tempting to hop on a plane, train or automobile every free week- end, particularly in Europe, where all those famous cities you've read about since fifth grade are just a few short hours away. I certainly took advantage of the cheap but some- what perilous Ryan Air, which flew me to from Barcelona to London for just 40 euros. If you're leaving every weekend, however, the daily life of your city gets lost in transit - not to mention that the best friendships are usually made between Friday and Monday. My suggestion is to pick a few weekends to travel when the airfare is just so good you can't resist and save the rest until the semester ends. 3. Self-select into the right pro- gram. If you want to surround your- self with students who understand the value of an enriching cultural exchange, look for hints that sug- gest the program is somewhat chal- lenging. Pick the one that requires a home stay, doesn't let you pick roommates, makes you write that extra application essay and has a strong set of language and academ- ic requirements. Most importantly, we as study- abroad students have an opportuni- ty even greater than soaking up the culture of another country: We have the ability to transform the way people view Americans. We are an army of foreign ambassadors, with the capacity to change the per- ception of Americans abroad - a perception we all know is deterio- rating daily. If we chose to seclude ourselves - or worse, embarrass ourselves - our eroding reputation will continue its steady decline. The bottom line is this: Before sending in that enrollment depos- it, ask yourself a very obvious but necessary question: Why am I going abroad? Why am I leav- ing the comfort of Ann Arbor and trading a semester at col- lege for a semester away? If your answer is because junior semester abroad has become the norm and all your friends are going to be away regardless, my suggestion is to skip it. Travel is too expen- sive these days to go abroad sim- ply to sharpen your international partying skills and hang out with other American students - not to mention that makes it difficult for students who are genuinely inter- ested in cultural immersion to sift through those who are there for the wrong reasons. So think out- side the bubble - before it soaks up your abroad experience. Dibo can be reached at wdibo@umich.edu. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Send all letters to the editor to tothedaily@michigandaily.com. Columnist overlooks glorious bounty of capitalism TO THE DAILY: Jared Goldberg's assessment of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina (The New Orleans white- out, 09/06/2006) irresponsibly condemned U.S. District Court Judge L.T. Senter's recent rul- ing, which prevented a couple whose home was destroyed by wind-driven water damage from receiving insurance money for damages not cov- ered in their policy. After interpreting Katrina as a victory for the inherently racist government, Goldberg stated that we should not let Katrina become a victory for "greed and capitalism." He fails to see that capitalism is exactly what the crippled city of New Orleans needed to get back on its feet last September and that capitalism is exactly what the city still needs today if a full recovery is truly desired. Did anyone honestly expect the government to handle such a colossal natural disaster quickly and efficiently? Katrina displayed the failure of government on every level - federal, state and local - to provide the goods and services that the residents of New Orleans so gravely needed one year ago and still need today. If the sprawling bureaucracy of government didn't get in the way of something it cannot handle, individuals would actually receive what they need, when they need it, from the private sector. It's time to stop play- ALEXANDER HONKALA Fno C MuiCKEF ing the negative name game with the word "capi- talism" and start focusing on the real problem of American society - big government. Jonny Slemrod LSA freshman Handheld scanners, not late students, blocked ambulance TO THE DAILY: In Thursday's Daily, University Executive Asso- ciate Athletic Director Mike Stevenson made one of the dumbest statements I have ever read (Stadium staff to fix ticket problem, 09/07/2006). When asked whose fault it was that an ambulance was delayed in responding to a call because of the line outside of Michigan Stadium, Stevenson said, "I guess I'd blame the 15,000 students." He seems to have conveniently forgotten the fact that the large mob of people was there because the handheld scanners that his department was using for entry into the stadium created a huge bottleneck at the gates, and there was nowhere for the crowd to move in order to get out of the way. The students were definitely not out there by choice. I can't speak for everyone, but given the choice between seeing our home opener or blocking an ambulance, I'd choose football every time. Paul Webb Engineering sophomore VIEWPOINT Would you choose Detroit? By JAMES DAVID DICKSON I lived in Detroit proper; I had to attend high school in West Bloom- field. Although my father is a teacher for Detroit Public Schools - or, perhaps, because he was a teacher for Detroit Public Schools - he would not let my sister or me attend high school in the city. Todaymy father's decisions are all the more clear. And reflecting back on high school in West Bloomfield, the choice made sense then, too. I remember my first few weeks at West Bloomfield High School, how my father always had time to drive us to school because - surprise, surprise - Detroit's schools were on strike. The more things change ... Today, Detroit is in another labor dispute with its teachers, and it is playing a dangerous game with the educational pros- pects of its residents. The rever- berations of this strike will be felt far beyond a week or two of lost pay for teachers and missed class for students. By playing hardball with the very people it is relying upon to educate its youth, Detroit has managed to make the least livable city in Michigan even less viable. It has indicated to its residents, to its suburbs and to the nation that it's simply not serious about investing in its residents, in human capital. To teachers seeking work, to parents desiring the best educa- tion for their children, in the eyes of the once-optimistic University grad who momentarily believed that Detroit was "back" - and to companies considering locales for opening businesses - the school strike has set the city back at least five years. Detroit, despite its charming areas, culture and history, is a raw deal for anyone considering living there. Let's think about this. You just graduated the School of Education or earned a master's degree from Eastern. You believe in Michigan, so you don't simply take your edu- cation and run - you start look- ing for jobs in the state. Schools need teachers, there are plenty of schools in Michigan, and you're armed with a degree that can take you anywhere. Let's say you want to stick around the Metro Detroit area. Your choices are thinner from there: Detroit or the suburbs. You can go to a suburban school, rich with resources, including the most important variable: interested par- ents who value education. Parents who go to parent-teacher confer- ences. Parents who will pass amill- age every two years if that's what's necessary to give their children the best. Parents who, when apprised of a problem student, will take the teacher's side and help get their child back on track. Parents who work with the teacher to produce a successful student, often crafting them from children of otherwise modest intelligence. A suburban school district, for its flaws, gives you the resources to be a successful teacher. Your classroom has textbooks, usu- ally the newest and the glossiest. Your classrooms have computers with Internet access; meaningful research is mere keystrokes away. The question isn't whether you'll be given the means to provide a basic education, but if you can take the really expensive class trip to Washington, D.C. Or you can go to Detroit, where teachers have been on strike two times in the last eight years and which wants its teachers to take a 5-percent pay cut over the next twoyears.Detroit,whichdemands so much of its teachers, and yet gives them so little. Local news channels run their annual stories detailing the deteriorating condi- tions of Detroit schools, revealing generally substandard facilities with asbestos but without text- books. This is where you'd choose to work? A city that doesn't invest in its students? Match the low pay to the low resources, and what does Detroit offer, really? With the latest strike, Detroit is staking out the dubious position of giving the least supported teach- ers in the state even less reason to remain with the city of Detroit, whose schools will be overtaken by the great state of Michigan in just a matter of time; Detroit, whose high city taxes and poor services have led anyone with the means to leave for the suburbs. Is this where you'd choose to live, armed with the best degree money can buy? Dickson is an LSA senior, the former editor in chief of the Michigan Review and a columnist for the Daily. I I 3 k: . 2,.. Y _.... va3 G ' i } F; y' M. i f. 1, , Viewpoint Policy The Daily welcomes viewpoints from its readers Viewpoints have one or several authors, though preference will be given to pieces written on behalf of individuals rather than an organization. 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