4 - Friday, January 12, 2007 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com * L71 [ e 41tICl igan wily Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 413 E. Huron St. Ann Arbor, MI 48104 tothedaily@umich.edu DONN M. FRESARD EDITOR IN CHIEF EMILY BEAM CHRISTOPHER ZBROZEK EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS JEFFREY BLOOMER MANAGING EDITOR Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board. All other signed articles andillustrations representsolely the views of their authors. . MT A mistake to remember Bush defies experts and common sense in escalating war J the war in Iraq was cruel, wasteful and unnecessary before, it seems that things are only getting worse. In Wednesday's nationally televised address, President Bush made a reality the worst fears of the vast majority of Americans by announcing an escalation of the war. At a time when experts have begun consider- ing a phased withdrawal, Bush confirmed that he intends to send 21,500 additional troops into the Iraq quagmire. This is not the Carter Center or the Jimmy Carter we came to respect and support." - Advisory board of the Carter Center, a humanitarian organization in Atlanta, in a letter sent yesterday to former PresidentJimmy Carter announcing the board's resignation over Carter's remarks about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as reported yesterday by CNN.com. RYAN JABERI. J AKESMUD u/I Tackling the diversity. dilemm"a The majority of the troops will be sent to Baghdad. Bush says the intention is to aid Iraqi forces in the bloody task of retak- ing neighborhoods currently brutalized by militias. Never mind that a similar troop surge last fall failed miserably. Never mind thatvirtuallyevery politician onboth sides of the aisle think this is the wrong way to go. Never mind that even America's allies are hesitant to support this surge. Never mind that the American casualties in the war in Iraq now outnumber those of Sept. 11. Bush needs a legacy. To get one of those this late in the game, you have to gamble. The president sees your 3,018, and he just raised you 21,500. While his proposal is clear, what remains unclear is how Bush expects commanders to effectively use these additional forces. Many military leaders don't think more soldiers on the ground will make a dif- ference. Both of the leading American generals in Iraq oppose throwing more American troops into the fire, arguing that more troops mean more targets for insur- gents. But what do they know, they're just the ones fighting the war. Additionally, it's unlikely that adding even 20,000 troops in Baghdad, a city of some 6 million people, will make any significant difference. Previous troop increases in this highly volatile region not only failed, but actually deepened animos- ity and exacerbated the conflict. It will also take several months to transport the brigades to combat zones, and who knows what the situation on the ground will be like then? The president thinks he does - and he's sure enough to put 21,500 of us on the line. The plan comes on heels of a recent poll showing that only 12 percent of the Ameri- can public favors an increase in troop lev- els. Obviously the public favors a different course of action than that of their "com- mander in chief," but it's not just the public that feels this way. Recent polls of Anleri- can military personnel show that only 35 percent of them approve of the way Bush has handled the war in Iraq, down from 54 percent a year ago. The new Democratic Congress respond- ed with skepticism to Bush's troop increase, but even some Republicans have jumped ship. Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) called the plan "a dangerously wronghead- ed strategy," and even Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), one of the few politicians who have pushed for additional troops, has acknowledged that this small and short- term surge is unlikely to produce positive long-term results. Also, a recent poll found that, despite the administration's. rheto- ric, seven out of 10 Iraqis favor American withdrawal. Unfortunately, it seems yet again that the president has heard every- one and listened to no one. Congressional oversight is now the only way to curb the president's lunacy and salvage the few remnants of America's reputation and moral capital. But some Democrats claim Congress lacks the authority to stop the troop surge. Now isn't the time for the nascent Congress to get cold feet. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi recently suggested the possibility of Congress refusing the entirety of the president's funding request and authoriz- ing only what is needed for the troops cur- rently on the ground. She's right: Congress has both the power and the responsibility to override Bush's dangerously misguided proposal and steer the nation toward a more sensible strategy. court recently decreed that University admissions offi- cers must go colorblind, and do it now. Perhaps they saw the irony in the University arguing that appli- cants for admission shouldn't be judged by two different sets of criteria when the admissions policies it's defending do precisely that. Perhaps they found racial preferences themselves prob- lematic, or felt_ that the voters of Michigan had spoken. Racial preferences remain uncon- stitutional. Thankfully, the University seems to have taken the hint, JAMES all but abandon- ing a court bat- DICKSON tle and turning its attention away from defiant rheto- ric and toward practical solutions. Now, the University must somehow ensure that qualified minorities apply and matriculate here. The problem is that the admissions office can't just pull qualified minorities from thin air. The best minorities want to go to Har- vard or Yale. Others might not merit "qualification," no matter how holis- tic our admissions process becomes. Statistically significant disparities between applicants of different races are going to draw the attention of our University's watchdogs - the Center for Individual Rights and the Pacific Legal Foundation. The University has always worked to protect its image as awarm and wel- coming environment for minorities. From lawsuits to college preparation to public rhetoric, it has exerted itself in pursuit of diversity. But to achieve diversity in a post-Proposal 2 world, the University must cloak the pursuit of racial heterogeneity in the achievement of social justice that only tangentially creates it. At long last, the University must attack its diversity dilemma at its roots rather than its stems. And the root of this dilemma is the poor state of public education, which leaves the impoverished at a severe disadvan- tage in terms of educational and career opportunities. Our University has fought proud- ly on the front lines of the diversity wars, but away from the spotlights, the hardest work remains: ensuring that equality of opportunity in Michigan is more than a slogan. In its effort to find productive solutions to its diversity dilemma, the University has instituted programs like the Diversity Blueprints Task Force to suggest directions for it to focus its energies. I'd like to throw one in the hat: The University should start a charter school. Whatbetterway to improve K-12 educationinMichigan than by providing it? If the University will achieve a critical mass of minor- ity students, it may well have to create them. To pursue this, the University would first pick a disadvantaged area in Michigan, one whose schools could send more students to the University if they had better resources. Jackson, Benton Harbor and Inkster are all pos- sibilities. In collaboration with local leaders and corporate sponsorship, the University would establish a mag- net K-12 school, The University Open School. It would be open to all resi- dents who attend underperforming schools. Students will achieve admis- sion through a competitive admissions process in which things like personal commitment, parental involvement, capacity for learning and need factor into admissions decisions more than grades or test scores. The University Open School would be staffed by graduates of our schools of education and social work, along with other innovative, committed teachers who believe in the charter school's mission. Administered by University faculty, the Open School would give Michigan graduates the opportunity to give back to the state by increasing its economic viability through improving public education. Every teacher who works for the open School would live in and pay taxes in Michigan, while churning out bright, motivated students. As Donn M. Fre- sard recently opined (Straight talking on taxes, 01/09/2007), southern states have struggled to attract top compa- nies because their populations lack the skills to do the work needed. Recent history has proven corporations will- ing to bear the brunt of higher taxes and low incentives so long as the working public is smart enough to be trained to do necessary work. Anoth- er top-quality school in the state of The 'U' must build diversity from the ground up. Michigan certainly wouldn't hurt our economy. Regardless of how fast the Uni- versity acts and what course it takes, minority numbers will surely drop in the interim; critical mass will wilt. Whether or not the numbers stay low is how the University will be judged - a fate to which the University has doomed itself by placing racial diversity on a pedestal. Lawsuits and speeches won't be remembered if minority numbers are abysmal 10 years from now. The University could take a defiant approach, garner plen- ty of attention and have no effect on minority representation, or it could take an approach with fruits that are sustainable and enduring. The future of diversity is yet to be written, but the clock is ticking. James Dickson can be reached at davidjam@umich.edu. EE E ( T SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU Students hear anti-Semitic racism; there's no other way of putting it. language in Ann Arbor TO THE DAILY: I applaud Jared Goldberg's column high- lighting the current existence and prevalence of anti-Semitism in America (The war on Hanuk- kah, 01/11/2007). Too often, people forget that Jews are a minority, not only in America, but in the world. Furthermore, as a minority that has achieved success in many areas of Ameri- can life, Jews are a prime target for undeserved criticism and hatred. The "old" anti-Semitism is alive and well, not only in America but here in Ann Arbor, too. This year, while walking to Yom Kippur services, the holiest of the year in the Jewish faith, my friends and I were suddenly accosted by a man driving his car down South Univer- sity Avenue. The man started screaming at us, "Take those silly hats off your heads." At first, we weren't exactly sure what this guy was talking about or if he was even talking to us. But then he repeated, "Take those fascist hats off your (expletive) heads," we realized he was referring to our yarmulke, the skullcap worn as a marker of a Jew's deference to God. My friends and I realized that engaging and debating some guy driving his car on the eve of the holiest day of the Jewish year wasn't in our best interests, so we wished him a "lshana tova" (happy new year) and continued on. Although this incident was quick, it had a last- ing impact not only on my holiday but also on my attitude toward the Ann Arbor community in general. The anti-Semitism on this campus is not some creation of right-wing Jews in some proto- cols of the elders of Zion's propagandist agenda. It is real, it may be prevalent and it's something our community has to confront. Anti-Semitism is Jeremy Borovitz LSA sophomore Every Three Weekly doesn't want goodpress TO THE DAILY: When we read your story in Wednesday's paper (B-school takes on humor rag, 01/10/2007), we were shocked at the slant toward the utter filth known as The Michigan Every Three Weekly. This paper - which feigns satirical prowess - deserves no leeway or credibility, and we are incensed that you missed your opportunity to expose it for the racist, homophobic, misogynis- tic publicationitis. Meanwhile,youcompromised the esteem of the hard-working, honest admin- istrators, associate deans and faculty who break their backs every day threatening to dump this scandalous newspaper into the garbage where it belongs. We, too, can barely get by the "fake front page" stories when we read it. We're sorry that this "Onion-like parody newspaper" is held in such high regard, while the Daily is discarded on the floors of bathroom stalls, awaiting possibly nefarious usage by the next stall patron. We certainly hope that the Business school will dispose of the next issue, which might even contain an apology to these veritable fiends when it hits newsstands on Jan. 22. Justin Wynn, Andy Braaksma, Bryan Kelly and Mike Ravenscroft Wynn and Braaksma are LSA seniors.. Kelly and Ravenscroft are LSA juniors. They are editorsfor The Michigan Every Three Weekly. JONATHAN CHANG I am America's brother Editorial Board Members: Kevin Bunkley, Amanda Burns, Sam Butler, Ben Caleca, Devika Daga, Milly Dick, James Dickson, Jesse Forester, Gary Graca, Jared Goldberg, Jessi Holler, Rafi Martina, Toby Mitchell, Rajiv Prabhakar, David Russell, Katherine Seid, Elizabeth Stanley, Gavin Stern, Jennifer Sussex, John Stiglich, Neil Tambe, Rachel Wagner. JOHN OQUIST I LVE} / Y E I, too, singAmerica. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong. Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When company comes. Nobody'll dare Say to me, "Eat in the kitchen," then. Besides, They'll see how beautiful Iam And be ashamed- I, too, am America. - "I, Too" by Langston Hughes Those words sum up much of the festering discontent many minorities in America felt towards the system of segregation and Jim Crow laws prior to the Civil Rights Act of 1965. This Martin Luther King Day, let's not for- get who put the D in American democracy. No, it wasn't Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman or Ronald Reagan. It was none other than the preeminent Dr. King. Without King's work spearheading the Civil Rights Movement, America couldn't call itself a great liberal democracy or promote its core values and way of life to other nations. For that reason, America celebrates MLK Day as a national holiday. Who would think that just 40 years ago, a large por- tion of America's black population could not be served food with a smile and a little bit of respect? Imagine an America with segregated toilets, drinking fountains and schools with playgrounds determined by color. If it sounds a bit like South Africa's infamous apartheid system, it was America before the Civil Rights Movement. Could we really call ourselves a liberal democracy prior to this ref- ormation of conscience and social justice? My mother, a young Chinese immigrant in the early 1960s, who was neither black nor white, felt consternation and fear at having to choose between white or black drink- ing fountains. She dreaded making a wrong choice - and getting a beating. A white man once told her that she could drink at the white fountain, but later, she was unsure and simply drank from the sink inside. The Civil Rights Act did not instantly sweep away years of segregation and the mentality behind it. A black room- mate in college told me his parents said, "Just hold it. They won't serve us!" in the early 1970s while traveling by car through west Texas. Some gas stations still didn't allow blacks to use their toilets years after 1965. This MLK Day, let's not forget the alliances that all great leaders must forge. Some are bonds of friendships while others are intellectual bonds. In regard to the latter, one of King's inspirations was Mahatma Gandhi. Much of the American Civil Rights Movement and its tactics were based on non-violent, social protest movements similar to the ones Gandhi successfully led in South Africa and India. Gandhi's precepts built the foundation of non-violent social protest movementslike those ledby AungSanSuuKyi in Burma, Steve Biko and Nelson Mandela in South Africa. Likewise, in Gandhi's journal notes, he beams with admi- ration and respect for two of his great role models, Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Gandhi states that their writings led him to focus on non-violence and the credo, "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." As the saying goes, "Gold always shines." Great minds borrow from like souls. Thus, let's remember the contri- butions of both King and Gandhi towards making America what it is today. King was the musician, Gandhi the piano and Thoreau and Emerson were two of the keys. Let your gold be the ability to think independently, borrow from great minds without preconceptions and forge alliances that unite all brothers in America and beyond. Jonathan Chang is a freelance writer and an alum of the University of California at Los Angeles. 0