4A - Thursday, November 2, 2006
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Edited and managed by students at
the University of Michigan since 1890
413 E. Huron St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
EMILY A. BEAM
DONN M. FRESARD CHRISTOPHER ZBROZEK JEFFREY BLOOMER
EDITOR IN CHIEF EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS MANAGING EDITOR
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board. All other signed
articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
Go withGranhoim
Incumbent isn't perfect, but is far better than DeVos
t has been nearly impossible for Michigan residents to
escape the barrage of political ads for the gubernatorial
race in the past few months. Incumbent Gov. Jennifer
Granholm and Republican challenger Dick DeVos turned
negative early, appealing to voters' fears - which are numer-
ous due to the state's poor economy. Many Michigan resi-
dents are understandably discouraged and may be inclined to
vote for anyone different than the status quo.
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Stealing Obama's thunder
hile Michigan certainly
could stand for serious
changes, it would be a ter-
rible mistake to assume that the cur-
rent situation would improve under
DeVos's leadership. Indeed, governors
have relatively little influence over
the performance of a state's economy,
particularly in the short term. No
matter who wins next Tuesday, the
unpleasant reality is that the decay of
Michigan's manufacturing base will
likely continue.
AlthoughGranholmhasoftenlacked
political courage during the past four
years, DeVos's extremely conservative
social views and unsound plans for
running the state represent a danger-
ous model for change - one Michigan
voters should reject.
DeVos would like voters to see him
as a successful businessman with the
ability and experience to whip Michi-
gan's economy back into shape. While
DeVos's large fortune might lend some
credence to his claim of business prow-
ess, the pseudo-pyramid scheme busi-
ness model behind Amway isn't terribly
relevant to running a state government.
DeVos hopes residents will assume
business leadership is wholly transfer-
able to political leadership - perhaps
because he has no real experience in
government. DeVos sat on the state
Board of Education for two years of an
eight-year term hefore resigning, and
he quit his seat on the board of Grand
Valley State University in 2000 after
missing 16 of 27 meetings.
It is important to consider what
actions DeVos will take to address a
budget deficit, given that his plan to
cut business taxes will lead to a defi-
ciency in the state's general fund when
the state already has a structural bud-
get deficit. It has been clear for some
time that the state's antiquated Single
Business Tax needs to be restruc-
tured, but DeVos says he would only
replace about half of the revenue gen-
erated by the SBT. Currently, the SBT
accounts for 25 percent of the state's
general fund. Another business tax
cut won't address the long-term
issues facing Michigan's economy.
Meanwhile, DeVos has avoided speci-
fying how he'd make up the lost reve-
nue - a dishonest but politically wise
move, considering that the reduc-
tion in business taxes he proposes
JACK DOEHRING
would likely result in enormous cuts
to social programs, higher education
and Medicare.
The dominance of the economy in
the campaign has helped DeVos by
allowing him to downplay his hard-
line social views. Social issues like
abortion are usually Republican main-
stays, but DeVos has kept surprisingly
quiet on them - and for good reason.
He is opposed to abortion even in
cases of rape and incest, and he has
spoken in support of teaching intel-
ligent design in the classroom. DeVos
may seem focused on the economy
now, but if handed the keys to the gov-
ernor's mansion, voters can expect to
learn just how conservative he is.
Like many voters, we're less than
thrilled with the progress Granholm
has made over the last four years.
True, she inherited a large structural
deficit created by years of tax cuts
under former Gov. John Engler, and
the sharply partisan state Legislature
was hostile to many of her ideas. Yet
she often seemed politically unable to
forge compromises on issues impor-
tant to her, leading to years of cuts in
state appropriations for higher educa-
tion, for instance.
Nonetheless, Granholm has a more
viable plan for Michigan's future than
simply cutting taxes and hoping for
the host. She wants to diversify the
economy though initiatives such as
the 21st Century Jobs Fund, while
staying committed to important
issues such as health care and educa-
tion. Granholm understands that tell-
ing eople to just get a job if they want
healthcare, as DeVos has, means little
in Michigan, where layoffs are com-
mon and when fewer employers offer
health insurance anyway. Instead,
she's proposed a plan that would
extend coverage to a large portion of
Michigan's uninsured.
iven the choice between Gra-
nholm, with her lackluster
record, and an experienced
moderate Republican - say, a lat-
ter-day version of William Milliken
- Granholm might not be the best
option. But that's not the decision vot-
ers have before them this fall. DeVos
is simply the wrong man for the job,
and the Daily endorses JENNIFER
GRANHOLM for governor.
Alot of media attention this elec-
tion cycle has focused on the
Democrats' chances of taking
back control of
Congress. Indeed,t
even as you reada
this, Rep. Nancy
Pelosi (D-Calif.)
is probably comb-
ing through fabric
swatches, trying
to decide how JOHN
she will renovate
House Speaker STIGLICH
Dennis Hastert's
(R-Ill.) office. But precious little of the
media's attention has focused on the
black community's upheaval in Mary-
land.
Republican Lt. Gov. Michael Steele is
running to fill the Senate seat vacated
by the retirement of Sen. Paul Sarbanes
(D-Md.). Traditionally, Republicans in
Maryland with aspirations for higher
office move south of the Beltway into
Virginia - a commonwealth more hos-
pitable to conservatives - but Steele
has defied odds by winning elections
in the Democratic stronghold. Now, he
has set his sights on making a splash on
the national stage by becoming the first
black Republican elected to the Senate
since Reconstruction ended.
The difference in the way the media
has treated Steele's candidacycompared
to Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) 2004
campaign is staggering. Obama received
wide acclaim for his speech at the 2004
Democratic National Convention for
talking about "purple" values, and pun-
dits immediately hailed him as the voice
of the "new" Democratic Party. Steele
made a similarly passionate speech at
the 2004 Republican National Conven-
tion in New York, but the media did not
throw any bouquets in his direction.
Now that the Obama has announced
that he will explore a 2008 presiden-
tial run - meaning the promise made
to Illinoisans (like me) to serve his six-
year term was not ironclad - the media
is doing everything it can to encourage
Obama speed up his so-called destiny.
Conversely, there has been very little
national discussion about how Steele's
election would signify a turning point
in the modern Republican Party and
the pursuit of higher office in general.
Obama is clearly the media's favorite
African-American..
Imagine that during Obama's senato-.
rial campaign, members of the National
Republican Senatorial Committee had
illegally obtained his credit information
by confiscating his social security num-
ber - what do you think would have
been the media's reaction? My guess is
that the media would have risen judi-
ciously to Obama's defense, demanding
prosecution of the perpetrators to the
fullest extent of the law and taking pity
on Obama for being the victim of politi-
cal tricks.
Well, the previously described situ-
ation actually happened to Steele. The
Democratic staffer in charge of the
operation received a pitiful punishment
of 150 hours of community service. If
this is the first you heard of it, I am not
surprised.
A black Republican
challenges the
status quo.
Discrimination on account of his
party preference is nothing new to
Steele, given his skin color. During a
2002 debate in Baltimore, supporters
of Steele's Democratic opponent pelted
him with Oreo cookies - suggesting
Steele may be black on the outside but
his policies make him white on the
inside. Late last year, Steve Gilliard's
blog The News Blog featured a doctored
depiction of Steele as a black-faced min-
strel. While stumping for Congressman
Ben Cardin, Steele's Democratic oppo-
nent, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer
recently said Steele "slavishly supports
the Republican party." Doesn't this hos-
tile treatment of a black man on account
of his political party go against the very
principles of equality and diversity that
liberals claim as their own?
Steele's campaign believes it can
convince black voters to move away
from their traditional alliance with the
Democratic Party, thereby minimiz-
ing Cardin's chances of being elected.
Steele's election strategy hinges on get-
ting unprecedented support in Prince
George County - where Steele worked
for many years to build up the Repub-
lican Party. Prince George County is
the richest majority black county in
America, and a significant number of its
elected black Democrats have endorsed
Steele. A mutiny against the Democrat-
ic Party by black Marylanders is afoot,
and justifiably so.
In the history of the commonwealth
of Maryland, the Democratic Party has
never nominated an African-American
for governor or senator. This is alarm-
ing considering that about 28 percent
of Maryland's population is black and
black turnout on Election Day tends to
exceed 30 percent of total voters. Add-
ing insult to injury, black politicians
account for a mere 20 percent of Mary-
land's Democratic Congressional dele-
gation. Perhaps Maryland's black voters
have finally had enough with their mis-
representation in Congress.
Democrats are scared shitless of the
ripple effects Steele's election could
have on the black community. All of a
sudden, Obama will have an equally
credible conservative black opponent to
debate against on the Sunday morning
talk shows. Even scarier to Democrats,
Steele is the product of the exact oppo-
site of the principles Democrats spew to
the black community - he's privately
educated, socially conservative and a
strong supporter of the free market.
Most important, Steele's election will
signify Democrats can no longer take
the black vote for granted.
John Stiglich can be reached
at jcsgolf@umich.edu.
JOHN BACON
The Big House's capitalist roots
At the dedication game of Michigan's
new 84,401-seat stadium in 1927, the
Wolverines sent new rival Ohio State
home with a 21-0 thumping. In that
informal era, it was perfectly natural
for athletic director Fielding Yost to
walk back to campus with the game's
star, Bennie Oosterbaan.
"Mr. Yost was feeling pretty good,"
Oosterbaan said. "We'd won, and the
stadium was completely filled. He
turned to me and said, 'Bennie, do you
know what the best thing about that
new stadium is? Eighty-five thousand
people paid five dollars apiece for their
seats - and Bennie, they had to leave
the seats there!"'
Like most Ann Arborites, I've been
following the debate over the pro-
posed skyboxes very closely. While I'm
impressed by the passion the opponents
have for Michigan tradition, I can't help
but conclude they're pining for a past
that never was. If the best cure for nos-
talgia is a dose of historical facts, it's
time for a healthy shot.
While no one can be certain what Yost
would think of the skyboxes, the record
suggests he would approve - for the
very reasons he pushed to build the Big
House in the first place. As Michigan's
athletic director from 1921 to 1941, Yost
worked tirelessly to elevate the profile
of Michigan athletics - and, along with
it, his own. When someone asked famed
sportswriter Ring Lardner if he ever
talked to Yost, Lardner replied, "No, my
mother taught me never to interrupt."
Given Yost's massive ego, it's no sur-
prise he was obsessed with massive
stadiums. It galled him that Ohio State,
Illinois and other rivals built theirs
before Michigan got around to it. After
years of lobbying, Yost finally over-
came the objections of the faculty, the
students, The Michigan Daily and the
Board of Regents - which twice vetoed
the plan before passing it - to build his
Big House.
Michigan Stadium originally boasted
a permanent capacity of 72,000, includ-
ing hundreds of pricier box seats, plus
12,401 temporary bleachers - all this
to serve a city of just 35,000 people. It's
hard to argue Yost was anything but a
dyed-in-the-wool capitalist who fully
intended to maximize the profitability
of his football team.
Why Fielding Yost
would have wanted
luxury boxes.
Yost also installed footings for a
balcony of some 70,000 seats - which
strikes me as a pretty clear invitation to
future generations that Michigan Sta-
dium was not to be regarded as a sacred
mausoleum, but an organic building
designed to meet the changing needs
of the Athletic Department and Michi-
gan's fans. As proof, Michigan Stadium
has undergone 21 major renovations,
expansions and improvements, starting
in the building's second year, when Yost
added 13,753 permanent seats.
The Big House helped pay for Yost
Field House, the baseball stadium, and
- for all students - the golf course, the
Intramural Sports Building and Water-
man Gymnasium, arguably the best
women's facility of its time.
Fielding Yost invented the lineback-
er, the no-huddle offense and the quick
kick. But his most important innovation,
by far, was the financially self-sufficient
athletic department. It is that tradition,
more than any other, which the Univer-
sity should endeavor to protect today.
By2010,theonlyBigTenschoolswith-
out skyboxes will be Indiana and North-
western - hardly Michigan's peers.
Michigan's proposed skyboxes will
require not a dime from the University's
general fund nor its students, which is
how most schools pay for sports. The
skyboxes will help fund 25 varsity teams
- 13 of them women's, and all but three
of which lose money every year.
The skyboxes will also keep ticket
prices down for the average fan. In the
early '70s, my parents' tickets cost $120
per season. Those exact same seats now
cost $1,266, an increase of more than
1,000 percent. The skyboxes will serve
as a progressive tax on the wealthiest
Michiganboosters, effectively subsidiz-
ing both non-revenue sports and tickets
for the average fan - the very tradition
Yost established in 1927.
The Athletic Department needs more
money to fund its teams, and if I have to
choose between extracting more from
starving students or corporate big shots,
I'll take the rich guys, every time.
And the best part is, when the game
is over, they'll have to leave the skybox-
es there.
John Bacon is the author of "A Legacy
of Champions," among other books,
and teaches a course on the history of
college athletics at the University.
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Don't blame low
graduation rates on
affirmative action
TO THE DAILY:
Sharmili Hazra's letter to the
editor (Choose long-term fix, end
affirmative action, 11/01/2006)
argued that affirmative action is
responsible for poor performance
among minority undergraduates
because they are at a "huge dis-
advantage because they are not
adequately prepared to face (the
University's) rigors." Where is the
evidence for this claim? Additionally, t
If you examine the minority qualified applican
graduation rates of universities or else we wouldn
before and after ending affirma- debate at all. Mo
tive action (for example, the Uni- leave school befo
versity of California system before so for financial r
and after Proposal 209), you do not may help to exp
see an increase in minority gradu- ence in graduatio
ation rates. While minority stu- the United States
dents face additional problems that class still has c
cause them to have lower gradua- accept without th
tion rates, affirmative action is not ment that affirmat
a factor, which implies affirmative admission to unpr
action does not allow unqualified students, we shot
minority applicants to be admit- dence.
ted. After all, what could be a
better sign of qualification than Dan Hirschman
graduation? Alum '06
here are far more Diversity o
ts than spaces -
n't be having this not shin co)
st students who
re graduating do what's nec(
easons - which
lain the differ- TO THE DAILY:
on rates, since in
, socioeconomic A university
olor. Before we to having a diver
inking the argu- should seek intell
tive actiongrants not diversity in so
repared minority ficial as students'
uld demand evi- color no more ret
beliefs and attitud(
I reject as racis
racial characteri
determine experie
fthought,
lor, is
ssary
truly dedicated
se student body
ectual diversity,
mething as arti-
skin colors. Skin
flects a person's
es than eye color.
t the belief that
stics inherently
nces and values.
In America, a person of any race can fewer Jews.
be rich or poor, educated or unedu- If we shifted our focus from
cated, liberal or conservative. The "diversity of skin color" to "diver-
problem, as we all know, lies in the sity of thought" or "diversity of
uneven distribution of affluence income," many races would be
among races. The answer to this included without institutionalizing
problem is to not create programs the notion that skin color is the key
that institutionalize a separation determinant of success. Affirma-
of races or make sweeping gener- tive action supporters must realize
alizations that assume every mem- that the majority of individuals who
ber of a race shares the same fair disagree with racial preferences are
or unfair opportunities. And aside not inherently racist; rather, they
from notions of segregation, such merely differ on how to achieve
programs also institutionalize an social equality for underprivileged
artificial hierarchy of races based minorities.
on subjective "feelings" of which
races need help - we need more Ari Siegel
blacks, fewer Asians, more Latinos, Business sophomore
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