4A - Thursday, February 22, 2007
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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Edited and managed by students at
the University of Michigan since 1890.
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Ann Arbor, MI 48104
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KARL STAMPFL IMRAN SYED JEFFREY BLOOMER
EDITOR IN CHIEF EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR 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.
Expected returns
Drop in minority enrollment a foreseen result of Prop. 2
roponents of Proposal 2 claimed to envision a color-blind
world. This world would be truly equal, they said, and pub-
lic universities would be fairer than ever before, because
considering race in the admissions process would be completely
unnecessary. They said that removing race as a factor in admissions
would not hinder diversity on campus. This week, however, this
rosy worldview was predictably proved wrong.
John's entitled to his opinion. I just
think he's wrong."
- Vice President Dick Cheney responding yesterday to Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) statement
calling former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld one of the worst secretaries of defense in history.
KIM LEUNG
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As expected, the acceptance rate of under-
represented minority applicants to the Uni-
versity has taken a sharp plunge since the
University was forced to stop using affir-
mative action programs last month. Before
Proposal 2 went into effect, 76 percent of
underrepresented minority applicants were
admitted; that figure dropped a staggering
43 percentage points after affirmative action
was taken away.
Even though this admissions cycle could
be an anomaly, given its close proximity to
the amendment's passage and implementa-
tion on the new state law in the middle of
the cycle, these numbers are a manifesta-
tion of Proposal 2 opponents' worst fears.
And judging from what happened when
California implemented a similar affir-
mative action ban several years ago, the
situation does not look too promising for
diversity at the University.
The University must do everything in its
power to fight against Proposal 2's detrimen-
tal effects. University President Mary Sue
Coleman has said, and the Supreme Court
ruled in 2004, that diversity is an impera-
tive aspect of today's college experience.
The ideal of a University environment that
fosters the "robust exchange of ideas" is still
within reach, despite Proposal 2's passage.
These new numbers demonstrate that in
the absence of affirmative action, this Uni-
versity will undoubtedly struggle to main-
tain racial diversity on campus. While it
should continue the fight in court to chal-
lenge the legality of the ban, for the time
being, it must act quickly to keep minority
enrollment from dropping again next year.
Fortunately, completed applications from
underrepresented minority candidates are
up by 14 percentage points this year, and
the number of total applications increased
by 5 percentage points. However, the fact
that underrepresented minority admissions
rates have fallen so quickly in the few short
weeks since Proposal 2's passage indicates
that this year's efforts were not sufficient.
The University has no choice but to intensify
its recruitment efforts and outreach pro-
grams to further boost the number of quali-
fied minority applicants.
Strengthening outreach programs also
means beginning the recruitment process
earlier in students' high school careers.
Prospective students in wealthier districts
often have the advantage of excellent college
counseling at school and at home right from
the start of high school. Affluent students
are put on a supportive academic track early
on and as a result are adequately prepared
for the application process. This is unfortu-
nately not the case in the struggling, under-
funded, majority-minority schools in urban
areas like Detroit.
The University can compensate for this
unfortunate reality by targeting its outreach
programs toward high school freshmen and
sophomores in areas with high underrepre-
sented minority populations. By doing so,
it can reach minority students who might
otherwise fall through the cracks. These
outreach programs can emphasize impor-
tant college preparation techniques like AP
classes, skills for the ACT and SAT, par-
ticipation in extra-curricular activities and
writing strong college essays - all essential
for admission into the University.
Hopefully University Provost Theresa
Sullivan's Diversity Blueprints Task Force
will have strong recommendations for these
outreach programs and additional funding
set aside to make them effective. Immedi-
ate action is crucial to reverse this drop in
minority enrollment and to keep admission
rates stable in the wake of Proposal 2.
While the legal implications of Proposal
2 remain questionable, what the University
needs to do now is clear.
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ust when you thought it
couldn't possiblyget any worse,
the Mackinac Center for Public
Policy has done it again. The think-
tank known for its staunch conserva-
tism and extreme free-market ideas
recently concluded that funding the
arts in Michigan should not be the
responsibility of- --
the state or its tax-
payers. But rather
than being upfront
about its intentions
in the state legisla-
ture, the center hid
this agenda behind
obscure "protec- JARED
tion from obscen-
ity regulations from GOLDBERG
the Engler era. ------ ------
Is it too late to tell them that fund-
ing the arts not only contributes to the
intellectual culture of this state but
may also help spur a fading economy by
making the state an attractive destina-
tion for burgeoning companies?
The target of the center's attacks is
the Ann Arbor Film Festival. Founded
in 1963 by a University professor, the
festival has showcased many fascinat-
ing films over the years. According to
officials, the festival has no plans to
showcase pornographic films or any-
thing of that nature, and neither has it
done so in the past.
In a policy paper last year, "Enter-
taining Art: To Tax or Not To Tax
- That Is the Question," Michael
LaFaive, director of the center's
Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative,
explicitly called out the festival as an
example of exorbitant state funding
of the arts. But rather than explain
how exactlythe economy is hindered
by such funding, LaFaive produced a
list of past films that he determined
objectionable.
That was all that it took. Last May,
when the state House of Representa-
tives was determiningthe budget for
the Michigan Council for Arts and
Cultural Affairs, the state agency
that oversees grants for arts projects,
Rep. Shelley Taub (R-Bloomfield
Hills) suggested a complete revoca-
tion of funding. Using LaFaive's essay
as a playbook, Taub and her Repub-
lican minions dug out 10-year-old
regulations to justify the cuts. That
this occurred during an electionyear
should provide clues to Taub's true
motives.
The Michigan Council for Arts
and Cultural Affairs was formed in
1991 after former Republican Gov.
John Engler completely dissolved its
predecessor, the Michigan Cultural
Commission. Engler, like the Macki-
nac Center believed funding for the
arts was not the state's responsibil-
ity. When people protested his move,
he founded the Michigan Council of
Arts and Cultural Affairs, with half
the funding of its predecessor.
In 1996, the state House passed
three guidelines for any artist to
receive a grant through the Michigan
Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.
One of the regulations, which so far
remain unchallenged legally, pro-
hibits any union of human waste and
religious symbols, desecration of the
flag and depictions of sex acts. While
it is understandable that the state
should have some discretion over the
allocation of its funds, the problem
is that these guidelines happen to be
unconstitutional.
In a principally secular country
like ours, providing sanctity to reli-
gious symbols is a violation of the
establishment clause and the first
amendment. Desecration of the flag
is also protected speech; see Texas
v. Johnson and U.S. v. Eichman. The
third regulation is the most insidi-
ous. Without a definition of what
constitutes a sex act, it is difficult to
determine if a production violates
that clause, leaving it entirely up to
arbitrary judgment.
Regardless, this year the festival
had to seek out other sources of fund-
ing. The Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences (which has a pretty
big night on Sunday) pledged $10,000
to be used for programming about
the issue of censorship.
While there are many who believe
that cutting arts funding is just a way
for the state to eliminate waste, there
is a political dimension to it. To con-
servative puritans in Lansing and at
the Mackinac Center, attacking the
festival is an easy way to confront
Ann Arbor liberals and their ideol-
ogy. Furthermore, the film festival
itself, while non-partisan, has seen
an increase in the number of films
expressing a political opinion that
leans left-of-center.
It's in the state's
best interest to
fund the arts.
The saddest part of the whole con-
troversy is the effect it potentially
has on Michigan's economy. While
free-market extremists preach the
job-making potential of tax cuts - a
theory clearly disproved by Pfizer's
recent departure - it is culture and
the arts that bring and keep jobs in
a state. Companies like Google have
stressed how important the charac-
ter of an area's lifestyle is in a deci-
sion to locate there, and the arts are a
big part of that lifestyle.
States with well-established and
unique arts cultures like New York
and California are the ones that busi-
nesses flock to, even if they have to
pay a little more in taxes. Film pro-
duction in itself can also bring much-
needed revenue. As a filmmaker,
would you shoot in a state with such
ridiculous guidelines for receiving
artistic grants as Michigan? Our
theocratic legislators in Lansing
would be wise to open doors to events
like the AAFF not close them.
Jared Goldberg can be reached
at jaredgo@umich.edu.
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Editorial Board Members: Emily Beam, Kevin Bunkley, Amanda Burns,
Sam Butler, Ben Caleca, Brian Flaherty, Mara Gay, Jared Goldberg,
Emmarie Huetteman, Toby Mitchell, Rajiv Prabhakar, David Russell,
Gavin Stern, John Stiglich, Jennifer Sussex, Neil Tambe,
Radhika Upadhyaya, Rachel Wagner, Christopher Zbrozek
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Daily EIC naive in criticism of
reading lists, Shakespeare
TO THE DAILY:
Does Michigan Daily Editor in Chief Karl Stampfl
really think that having students read contemporary
novels willsolve America'swritingproblem(Whyyou
probably can't write well, 02/21/2007)? I agree with
some of his suggestions regarding these contempo-
rary texts, but unfortunately, writing problems stem
from sources deeper than what we read.
For example, consider the analogy that public edu-
cation institutions in America are like cars. Teachers
are the engines of the cars, books are the tires and
students logically sit inthe driver's seat. If the engine
doesn't work properly, you can't get the car to go,
regardless of what kind of tires you use.
If we have to blame something, blame poor
instruction. Blame teachers' inability to teach texts
in ways that actively involve and relate to students.
Numerous works by Shakespeare, for example, focus
on tragedy. Who can't relate to that? The English
canon, or "classics," has one thing going for it that
many of Stampfl's suggestions do not: Those books
have withstood the test of time. Many think that
contemporary works need to do the same - prove
their own, if you will - before they make their way
into the classroom.
Like I said, I do agree with some of Stampfl's
suggestions. But he bases his distaste for the canon
only on what he has seen recently - i.e. what types
of literature he has seen taught here at the Univer-
sity. If students didn't learn to write well during
their primary or secondary educations, chances are
they won't improve much here. I advise Stampfl to
look into the classrooms of today's public schools.
Even in Michigan's current state, I highly doubt
that you would ever see "an entire English curricu-
lum (based) around an author (Shakespeare) whose
prose bears no resemblance to the writing students
will be expected to do once they graduate."
It's not so much what students read in schools,
but the quality of instruction they are given that
matters. Frankly, if the pedagogy is broken, it
won't matter what a teacher puts in front of a child
to read. Good writing can only be taught through
great instruction.
Stop being so hard on my friend William. He's
done a lot for us.
Noel Manning
Education senior
Daily fails to see the many
fruits of campus activism
TO THE DAILY:
As a student activist here at the University, I am
quite annoyed by the recent editorial that said cam-
pus activism has been largely dead for years (SDS
Redux, 02/20/2007). The Daily's lack of knowledge
about the political activism that thrives on this cam-
pus is staggering. To say "viable grassroots activism
has long been absent from university campuses" is to
ignore all the things college students have fought for
both across the country and here at the University
throughout the last 10 years. Student activism is and
has been quite vibrant. The Daily just needs to know
where to look for it.
Since the late 1990s, the anti-sweatshop move-
ment has been spearheaded by college students
unified under the national organization, United
Students Against Sweatshops, which has forced uni-
versities to adopt measures to attack this problem.
Here in Ann Arbor, Students Organizing for Labor
and Economic Equality has been fighting this fight
for almost ten years. During that time, every anti-
sweatshop measure the University has adopted has
been due to SOLE's efforts.
However, this is only the tip of the iceberg when
it comes to recent student activism. Other examples
include the Killer Coke Coalition, which got the Uni-
versity to cut its contract with Coke for a while last
year in response to the company's human rights vio-
lations. Students also recently got dorms to serve fair
trade coffee, and the mass mobilization against Pro-
posal 2 on campus got over 80 percent of students to
vote against it. Currently, campus environmentalists
are trying to get the University to use more renew-
able energy. Although the return of Students for a
Democratic Society is a welcomed development on
campus, the society is not entering into a vacuum.
Adam Lax
LSA junior
Daily fails to fairly cover
'Vagina Monologues'
TO THE DAILY:
My anger is directed toward Friday's articles
about this weekend's production of "The Vagina
Monologues" (This year, a role for men in 'Vagina
Monologues';ReconsideringEve's V-day 'Monologues',
02/16/07). The news article dealt only with the inclu-
sion of three male extras, who were onstage for less
than five minutes total. The arts story skirted around
the same issue, focused on last year's production and
denounced the talent in the show (before the writer
had even seen the production). There was not even
one reference to the theme of this year's production,
"The Beauty of the Individual Woman."
A reporter spent half an hour interviewing cast
members at one of our rehearsals, and the only com-
ment she chose to use was about the male extras.
Although I recognize the importance of the three
men in our production, they were in no way an over-
powering force and did not take attention away from
the 33 female cast members. The Daily's stories how-
ever, did just that.
SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU
As a cast member, I feel extremely misrepresent-
ed. It's obvious the Daily focused on minor details
as a result of knowing absolutely nothing about this
year's show - or maybe just not caring to find out.
Regardless of the Daily's apathy toward "The Vagina
Monologues" and its refusal to mention anything
significant about our production, our performances
were tremendously successful and powerful. I chal-
lenge the Daily to ask a member of this weekend's
audience if he doubted any cast member's talent or
was distracted by the male actors.
I hope that in the future it will write articles about
this event that are of real significance.
Dina Vovsi
LSA and Music sophomore
JACK DOEHRING
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