4 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 15, 2006
OPINION
clI1E Stdiau~d
DONN M. FRESARD
Editor in Chief
EMILY BEAM J
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
4 ,Win, lose or draw, millions of whites will
start to remember that they are part of a tribe ...
It's a win-win for us."
-A posting on a white supremacist website praising the new
season of CBS's "Survivor," which has generated controversy by dividing
contestants into teams based on ethnicity, as reported Sept. 4 by tvweek.com.
Picking up the slack
THERESA KENNELLY
4
Education first
Stingy state may see more teacher strikes
Classes are finally back in session in
Ypsilanti and Detroit, where deals
this week ended bitter teacher strikes.
The root causes that led instructors at East-
ern Michigan University and in the Detroit
Public Schools to walk out, however, remain
unresolved. The state's dysfunctional means
of funding its K-12 schools and its public uni-
versities will inevitably lead to more conflicts
unless the state remedies its chronic underin-
vestment in education.
The specific issues that led to strikes at
Eastern and in Detroit vary. Teachers in
Detroit, who frequently have to use their
own money to purchase school supplies in
the underfunded and mismanaged district,
were already paid less than teachers in most
suburban districts and refused to accept fur-
ther pay cuts. Professors at Eastern, mean-
while, were upset by salaries well below the
median for public universities in Michigan;
the school's newspaper, the Eastern Echo,
reports that many young faculty have found
they can make more teaching at Washtenaw
Community College.
The underlying cause in both cases, how-
ever, is the same - the tension that is all but
inevitable between instructors and admin-
istrators trying to run a school system with
hardly sufficient resources.
The passage of Proposal A in 1994, which
shifted much K-12 funding to a state per-
pupil grant, has failed to level out fully the
inequalities in school funding between dis-
tricts in richer and poorer areas. It did, how-
ever, restrict districts from raising many
funds locally, leading even many affluent
districts to experience fiscal crises in recent
years. Public universities, meanwhile, have
seen nervous legislators cope with declining
state revenues by slicing away at state appro-
priations for higher education.
School strikes are always unfortunate;
children and young adults seeking an educa-
tion shouldn't have to suffer for the public's
unwillingness to support schools, or for
the inability of administrators and teach-
er's unions to divide amicably the crumbs
the taxpayers toss them. Should the state's
neglect of public education continue, howev-
er, more strikes are all but inevitable: Faculty
at Oakland Community College requested
state mediation after their contract expired
Aug. 31, and more than 65 percent of teach-
ers in the Trenton Public Schools called in
sick Wednesday after working without a
contract since 2005.
With the recent announcement of even
more job cuts by the Ford Motor Com-
pany, it's painfully clear that manufactur-
ing is unlikely to ever lead Michigan back
to prosperity. A healthier state economy
will rely largely on jobs generated in the
so-called "knowledge economy" - and
attracting those positions will require an
educated workforce. It's difficult to see,
however, how the state can even begin to
change its image as an aging Rust Belt relic
until it gets more serious about supporting
its public schools.
A uof
last
Tues-
day, the
University's
applicant pool
may have just
become a lot
bigger. Given
Harvard Uni-
versity's decision to cancel its early
admissions program, schools with
rolling admissions, such as the Uni-
versity, are likely to see a tremen-
dous increase in the number of early
applicants - especially as other
prestigious schools that use "early
action" are expected to follow Har-
vard's lead. And while Harvard's
decision (supposedly) comes in the
name of equality, its effects paired
with the probable enactment of the
Michigan Civil Rights Initiative this
fall could soon make things a lot
more unequal at the University.
Early action - which allows stu-
dents to apply to college in the first
few months of their senior year of
high school and know their admis-
sion status by early December - not
only allows students to make their
decision early on in the admissions
season, but also gives colleges a peek
at their prospective student pool.
But as Harvard's interim presi-
dent Derek Bok commented on the
school's website: "Early admission
programs tend to advantage the
advantaged." This theory couldn't
be more true. Students who are
familiar with the ruthless admis-
sions process and who come from
families that strongly encourage
and support their college appli-
cation process are more likely to
apply early, thus improving their
chances of winning a spot at the
institution of their dreams.
But Bok's theory crumbles when
the University of Michigan comes
into play. There is no question that
VIEWPOINT
high school seniors feel pressure
to get into a college - any college
- early in their senior year. Even
the University's website for pro-
spective students reads: "Freshman
applicants are urged to apply as
early as possible in the fall of their
senior year." Thus students, espe-
cially the type who would apply to
Harvard early, are not going to wait
until March or April to know what
the next four years of their lives will
look like. The result will be an influx
of applications at the University and
other schools with rolling admis-
sions from students who may never
have considered attending the school,
but who apply so they can sleep at
night knowing that at least they got
in somewhere already. This rise in
quality applications at the University
can only mean one thing - a disad-
vantage for more students.
The reason for this is that Univer-
sity applicants who are actually set
on going to this school now have to
compete early on with anxious Har-
vard hopefuls. And as these appli-
cants claim spots - just to pacify
their borderline-psychotic worries
(and parents) - those who apply
later may not be offered a spot.
Unfortunately, schools the size of
the University cannot opt to delay their
application process in order to create
a more fair system like Harvard's.
The University's rolling admissions
process - which reviews applicants
in large spurts beginning in the fall
and continuing through spring, with
all final decisions made by late April
- is based on the reasoning that
the admissions office simply cannot
handle all 25,000-plus applications
it receives in a single round. So the
University is stuck admitting people
early on, without knowing how many
are really just waiting for their Ivy
League decision.
But while this is ultimately a
heavy burden on the University, Har-
vard has sent a message to the col-
lege world that admissions programs
at most schools need to be reformed.
Unfair and downright scary appli-
cation procedures - such as early
decision, which binds admitted
applicants to a university - are just
cruel to high school students who
may not be receiving the help they
need to decode applications.
Really,allthat Harvard - and any
other forward-thinking institution
- wants is to create as diverse and
qualified an incoming class as possi-
ble. To administrators at that college,
achieving this means setting a single
application deadline; to administra-
tors at this University, it should mean
sticking with an applicant-evaluation
system that puts people of all races,
genders and backgrounds on level
ground. And this practical method
of giving leverage to applicants who
are not fortunate enough to go to the
best high school, or to be born into
an affluent family, or who belong to
a disadvantaged ethnicity or social
class, is exactly what MCRI hopes to
destroy come November.
In the world of fair and equal col-
lege application processes, schools
wouldn't be burdened by other
schools' application deadlines and
every student would enter the college
race on equal footing. But until such
a world comes about, schools must
work together to unify and make fair
the admissions processes for the sake
of providing the best education to the
greatest number of students possible.
So for now, the University is going to
have to pick up some slack as Har-
vard and others rid themselves of
the early application processes. But
if Harvard ever decides to take Uni-
versity President Mary Sue Coleman
away from us, then we might just
have to go to the mats.
Kennelly can be reached
at thenelly@umich.edu.
A
I
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Send all letters to the editor to tothedaily@michigandaily.com.
Moderate Republicans corrupt
state and soul of Michigan
TO THE DAILY:
As someone who has seen moderate Republicans
corrupt the state and soul of Michigan, I would
like to proclaim my support for Morgan Wilkins,
a young conservative who recently was viciously
attacked by Republican scumbags like Kenneth
Mehlman. Morgan's views are more in line with the
people of Michigan than the party hacks in Wash-
ington. Perhaps if more grassroots activists had the
courage to raise awareness on the issues that matter
to Americans - like illegal immigration and affir-
mative action - we as a people could encourage
our national "leaders" to rethink their positions.
Anthony Mantova
Alumnus
Shaman Drum should keep
bread, hand out value
TO THE DAILY:
In a recent letter to the editor, University alumnus
Cristina Mezuk blasts the Daily for its recent trend
of "bashing" the Shaman Drum bookstore (Daily
unfair in comparing used book prices to new book prices,
09/14/2006). As a former Daily columnist who wrote
arguably the most scathing review of Shaman Drum
ever published in the paper (Why I am a capitalist: Sha-
man Drum Bookshop, 01/09/2005), I want to respond
to Mezuk's claims that the Daily's coverage of the
store has been unreasonable.
When I was a student, I felt that Shaman Drum
was, far and away, the most difficult textbook store
to shop at on campus. During the first week of class-
es, students often had to wait in long lines just to get
into the store. Once inside, they had to navigate the
cramped upstairs to get their books.
To his credit, the owner of Shaman Drum, Karl
Pohrt, readily acknowledges these issues. Those stu-
dents who wait in line are often provided snacks and
drinks. Pohrt has offered to discuss turning the store
into a co-op. And Shaman Drum does offer students
the option of preordering their books online.
But it isn't the store itself that I find so problematic.
It's that by ordering through Shaman Drum and only
through his store, University professors eliminate the
ability of students to decide for themselves whether
shopping at a locally owned store is worth waiting in
a long line or whether piece of Zingerman's bread is
fair compensation for dealing with the cramped inte-
rior.
Personally, I don't want a snack any more than I
want to start a co-op, and if I'm going to pre-order my
books online, I'm going to order through Amazon or
another vendor that will ship the books right to me,
often at no charge. I want to be able to take my $500 to
a local store, not wait in line, not pre-order my books,
go inside, browse, buy and leave. How is this an unrea-
sonable request when, nine times out of ten, I was able
to do exactly that at all three of the other Central Cam-
pus bookstores?
Dan Adams
Alumnus
The letter writer is aformer
Daily associate editorial page editor.
Deporting illegal aliens does
not amount to xenophobia
TO THE DAILY:
Christopher Zbrozek's argument that taking a firm
stance against illegal immigrants amounts to a display
of xenophobia (A tale of two mistakes, 09/14/2006)
holds about as much weight as wet toilet paper. After
all, they are illegal immigrants.
Even if the United States were to enact some
sort of massive "round-up and deport" mission, it
would be within our legal right to take such mea-
sures. While I am opposed to such a plan, I would
not be so pretentious as to brand those who favor it
xenophobic or spout off such ill-considered state-
ments as, "the Republicans cornered the market on
racism." I would be especially careful not to make
those erroneous logical leaps if the paper I worked
for had just reported falsely on the very constitu-
ency I was attempting to lambaste.
Joshua Birk
LSA senior
What about New York?
BY BEN CALECA
This anniversary of the Sept. 11
attacks was my first glimpse of how
Americans outside of New York
remember the events of that day. I
spent my whole life until college
living in the city, and I had not seen
firsthand the way Americans around
the country recalled those events.
This week has given me a valuable
new perspective on how the nation
remembers the attacks, as well as
how this affects the realities facing
New York today.
The country remembered Sept.
11 with this past Monday's ceremo-
nies, but its collective memory is
far different from the memories of
New Yorkers. The understanding is
that no one will ever be the same.
This event's importance is felt as
strongly here at the University as in
any other part of the country, and
the sympathies of those who expe-
rienced Sept. 11 in Michigan can be
seen in their expressions. But some-
how the experience cannot be fully
understood by people so far away
from my beloved city.
Many here remember the fire-
fighters and police who gave their
lives helping to save others, but few
are aware of the sacrifices made by
those working for other agencies.
The Port Authority of New York, as
well as emergency medical techni-
cians, also lost lives in the attacks.
Some cannot remember how many
died, and others do not understand
just how important the World Trade
RYAN JABER JUS' MAKS MUD
Center was to New York residents.
We are asked by the president,
among others, to promote freedom
by going about our lives normally,
and for many who do not have to see
an altered cityscape off in the dis-
tance, that is much easier to do. The
Twin Towers used to be the landmark
of choice to show off the city, along
with the Statue of Liberty and the
Empire State Building. Every news
show and morning show on televi-
sion would proudly flash images of
lower Manhattan and the Twin Tow-
ers, the symbol of our economic and
technological prowess.
Since then, lower Manhattan
is rarely shown, and the focus has
been moved to midtown, where the
Empire State Building and Chrysler
building stand. Lower Manhattan is a
shadow of its former self. Businesses
once dependent on those who lived
and worked in the Towers are unable
to recover. Every time we look out
at the skyline of Manhattan, we are
reminded of what has happened by
what is no longer there. Some work-
ers who helped clear the rubble of
Ground Zero have contracted asthma
or more serious pulmonary damage. I
lived next door to a police officer who
suffered the effects of the toxic fumes
of Ground Zero, and this too is acon-
stant reminder of what happened.
Now more than ever, New York
needs the help and support of the
nation. Because of the new method of
allocating homeland security funds,
New York City has seen a 40-per-
cent cut in federal allocations. The
Department of Homeland Security
doles out funds based on the number
of "landmarks" listed as vulnerable
to terrorist attacks. Indiana has thou-
sands, including something called
"the Mule Day Parade." New York
City, apparently, has none.
In rebuilding the area, construc-
tion has been delayed by layer upon
layer of bureaucracy and poor plan-
ning. The fight over balancing secu-
rity, aesthetics and business interests
seemingly has no end in sight. In the
meantime, all that will be at Ground
Zero are two hollow footprints of
what once stood there and the cor-
nerstone to a building that may never
be constructed, which has already
sat there for more than a year.
The feeling nationwide is that ter-
rorist attacks can happen anywhere,
but the truth is that New York City
is most vulnerable, especially now.
If we are to remember the tragedy
of Sept. 11, we mustcorrect the mis-
takes of the past. The nation needs
to reconnect the events of that day
with the city in which they took
place. Only then would we refuse to
tolerate mistakes such as the rerout-
ing of homeland security funds.
As long as public policy is made
with memories of Sept. 11 taken
into consideration, we must make
sure that what transpired does not
become distorted in our minds as
Americans and remember that New
York is still feeling the effects of the
attacks five years ago.
Caleca is an LSA freshman.
WANT TO WRITE FOR THE DAILY?
COME TO OUR FINAL MASS MEETING THIS SUNDAY AT 8 PM.
WE ARE LOCATED AT 413. E. HURON ST. IT'S NOT THAT FAR.
JOHN OQUIST
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GIVE JESUS
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NO, DON'T EVEN BOTHER DOING
COMMUNITY SERVICE OR HELPING a
PEOPLE..JUST KEEP SHOUTING AT
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SURE TOOK MY TEACHINGS TO /
HEART, THANKS A LOT...JERKOFF.
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