4 - Tuesday, September 25, 2007
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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We can only make minds, and to do this, we
must have access to the full range of inquiry."
- Columbia University President Lee Bollinger on the responsibility of institutions of higher learning in his opening
statement at an event hosted yesterday by his university featuring Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as re-
ported by The Columbia Spectator. Bollinger is a former president of the University of Michigan.
JOHN OQUIST
KARL STAMPFL
EDITOR IN CHIEF
IMRAN SYED
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR
JEFFREY BLOOMER
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.
Louisiana low
Racism lives - out there and closer to home
acism isn't what it used to be - or so you'd like to think.
With poll taxes and Jim Crow relegated to the past
seemingly replaced now by only the hollow cries of racial
discrimination from people like O.J. Simpson and Kwame Kilpat-
rick, who use race as an excuse to cover their mistakes - it's easy
to think that the goal of racial equality and harmony has largely
been accomplished. Events unfolding in Jena, La., though, are a
brutal reminder that whether we want to accept it or not, racial
discrimination and segregation still exist in our country, and we
still have a responsibility to address them.
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"We appear to have the same problem."°
The conflict at Jena High School cen-
tered on a long-standing school tradition
of white students gathering at "white tree."
When a group of black students raised their
concerns about the tradition to the school's
principal last August, he responded that
black students had just as much of a right to
gather at the tree. But three white students
responded differently: They hung nooses
from the tree. What followed was a series of
small clashes between white and black stu-
dents that culminated in six black students,
now commonly known as the "Jena 6,"
attacking a white student last December.
As indefensible as the Jena 6's physi-
cal retaliation might have been, the justice
system's response was more appalling. The
three white students who hung the nooses
and initiated the conflict were suspended
from school for three days. The six black
students were charged with conspiracy to
commit a second-degree murder - hardly a
just charge, considering the victim was well
enough to attend a party the night of the inci-
dent. After conviction, the Jena 6 received
reduced sentences, mostly because of the
national attention the cases received from
civil rights groups. But the blatant structur-
al and cultural inequality that brought about
the original charges didn't change.
While the Jena 6's case may shock our con-
sciences and remind us of the state of race
relations five decades ago, racial discrimina-
tion is not outside of mainstream America or
even our own community. It's easy to forget
while living in Ann Arbor, but according to
data from the 2000 census, metro Detroit
is the single most segregated area in the
country. Seventy percent of students in the
Detroit area attend schools where 90 per-
cent of the students belong to the same race.
The same data helped label the Detroit sub-
urb of Livonia as the "whitest city in Ameri-
ca." Even though it isn't codified in law, this
still amounts to segregation.
BEN J. NIU
Economics
Katherine Berezowskyj's viewpoint (Eco-
nomics for the rest of us, 09/18/2007) on the
arduous nature of Economics 101 and 102 is
indicative of the deteriorating state of edu-
cation in America. As domestic competency
in math and the sciences continues to fall
relative to that of other countries, increasing
numbers of students are shying away from
majors and careers in these areas. The void
caused by this subsequent exodus of domes-
tic students'has largely been filled by greater
numbers of international students, many of
whom display more enthusiasm and/or capac-
ity for such fields.'
Berezowskyj is calling for the dumbing
down of even the classes that offer a small
sample of more technical and rigorous math-
ematical thought. De-sanitizing mathemat-
ics from such introductory courses as Econ
101 and 102 is exactly the opposite of what
we as a university and a country should be
doing. The level of mathematics required for
Econ 101 and 102 is equivalent to that of high
school pre-calculus. Instead of following the
writer's call for less math intensive versions
of 101 and 102, institutions of education must
enact more stringent guidelines for essential
courses in mathematics and the sciences that
will allow America to maintain its standing as
the preeminent bastion of human capital.
For those who cower at the prospect of
calculating a tip without the aid of technol-
ogy - even though most curriculums intro-
duce percentages in middle school - this may
indeed pose somewhat of a challenge. Instead
of criticizing an introductory course for not
Where segregation exists, everyone
stands to lose. Blacks and other minorities
are increasingly pushed into under-funded
schools and dangerous, dilapidated inner-
city neighborhoods. Whites flee to the
suburbs, where they are temporarily able
to turn a blind eye to this problem. When
they join the workforce, though, it's tough
to ignore America's diversity. Inevitably,
people raised in segregated areas must deal
with a diverse body of the American popu-
lace, and they often simply aren't prepared.
That promotes further discrimination, and
the cycle continues.
A solution to this problem doesn't entail
lying to ourselves and believing that we
live in a colorblind society where these
problems don't exist. That ignorance leads
to flawed approaches that ignore real-
ity, like the U.S. Supreme Court decision
this summer to ban mandatory busing for
integration of schools. While a colorblind
society is everyone's goal, the means to
that goal must recognize that racial injus-
tice exists and then work to improve it.
Some call it affirmative action, but more
accurately it is an understanding that we
can't pretend hundreds of years of racial
oppression never happened.
Although state law now limits the Uni-
versity's specific capacity to progressively
address race problems, it is still the Uni-
versity's responsibility and our own per-
sonal responsibility to embrace diversity
and work toward a more integrated and
diverse society. This means respecting
diversity at our university and in our own
communities, regardless of whether the
problem is as blatant as the one in Jena or
as subtle as the one in Detroit.
High school students aren't born with
the hatred to hang nooses from a tree.
That is a learned behavior passed down
from generation to generation. It's our
generation's turn to end it.
for all of us
being simple enough, we should be perturbed
by that fact that some students cannot calcu-
late 20 percent of a $15 meal.
Additionally, Berezowskyj's description of
Econ 101 and 102 as "a battleground for future
CEOs" is by all interpretations an asinine
characterization. The hyperbolized ferocity
of competition and the writer's fear of a "GPA
hit" are entirely mollified by the fact that
enrollment of an immense number and vari-
ety of students allows for the curve to soften
grade distributions.
I do have to applaud Berezowskyj, how-
ever, for having the foresight to recognize the
benefits of basic economic training in con-
junction with her other classes. As a recent
graduate from Cornell University and fellow
liberal arts student, I probably took many of
the same history and government courses as
the writer. In similar situations, I too found
that while economics is an invaluable tool
and subject, many of my peers were neither
required to take nor versed in such methods
of thought. Therefore, I believe that more lib-
eral arts majors should make Econ 101 and 102
requisites for degree completion. In addition,
all majors should have a working understand-
ing of essential fields such as mathemat-
ics, science and writing. If not to maintain
basic levels of academic competency for the
continued success of American society, this
understanding is important to ensure that
restaurant service personnel everywhere may
receive a fair tip.
Ben J. Niu is a graduate student in economics.
Don't. take a hike
T elling people here at the Uni-
versity that I'm from Georgia is
a great icebreaker. More often
than you'd think,
it evokes a few baf-
fling questions, like,
"Did your family ~
own slaves?" Mostj
of the time, though,
the first question, in
a tone of utter con-
fusion and intrigue
is, "Why did you EMMARIE
come to the Univer-
sity of Michigan?" HUETTEMAN
Well, there's
the perfect college town. There's the
world-class political science depart-
ment. And there's the irony of making
my father (who grew up in Michigan)
pay my out-of-state tuition. With the
recent $2,000 tuition hike and the
threat of another later this academic
year, however, I don't feel as comfort-
able joking about that anymore.
If you don't know why your tuition
went up this semester, it's because the
state is in economic trouble. That's a
serious problem for the University.
While most students were enjoying the
beginning of summer vacation in May,
legislators were dragging their feet
in balancing the state budget - and
watching the state deficit grow to an
ungodly $802 billion.
Lansing had to correct its mistakes
somehow, and that's when its gaze fell
on the state universities and communi-
ty colleges. Maybe the state legislature
noted the success of research universi-
ties like ours and said, "Hey, they've got
money, and we need money." Whatever
Male students out of
line atfootball game
TO THE DAILY:
I admit that I'm not a huge fan of
football games, but I do,like most stu-
dents, enjoy going to the games and
seeing us win. At Saturday's game,
there was -a group of Penn State fans
who probably share the same senti-
mnents that I do, which are wanting
to support their team and hoping it
wins. When they got to their seats
in their white and blue jerseys, there
were boos from everyone aropd. As
the game continued, the harassment
got worse.
Within this group were females,
who were not only called "bitch-
es," but were also subject to spit
balls. When that didn't seem to get
through to them, male Michigan
students started to make sexual
references to them. Other students
told them they were out of line, but
it didn't seem to affect them. One of
them even said, "I pay $40,000 to
go to school here, I can say what-
ever the fuck I want."
An employee from the Sexual
Assault Protection and Awareness
Center who is a good friend of mine
and satinmysectionstoodup against
the harassers - to no avail. Toward
the end of the game the inappropri-
ate remarks stopped, but one of the
girls was obviously emotional and
many of the other students were bla-
tantly disturbed.
Is this how our university should
be represented? Is this the kind of
education that people are getting
from their $40,000 tuition? The Uni-
versity just added gender identity and
expression to its nondiscrimination
policy so it is clear that the Universi-
ty is progressing toward true equal-
ity. But is the same true of students?
I can think of countless times when
the logic, legislators clearly disregard-
ed their responsibility to higher educa-
tion and decided to slash $179 million
from state schools.
The legislature would argue that it
didn't actually take away these funds,
because the official language of the
budget "postpones" the payment of
$140 million to state universities until
the 2008 fiscal year. But when the Uni-
versity Board of Regents announced
in July that the slashed funding would
translate into a 7.4 percent tuition hike,
it sure felt like we'd been robbed.
With each undergrad on campus
now $700 to $2,000 poorer, this is the
perfect time for some good news. After
all, the next fiscal year starts Oct. 1, so
we're less than a week away from the
fundingthey promised us. Right?
Wrong. Withthe deficitnow project-
ed at a comparatively modest $1.7 bil-
lion, Lansingis eyeingthe state'spublic
universities once more as its ticket out
of debt. One budget plan, proposed by
Republicans in the state Senate, sug-
gests that the state hold onto the prom-
ised $29.6 million of the University of
Michigan's funding to reduce the defi-
cit. Should that plan or any form of it
pass, we'll be scrambling to make up
our own budget deficit on campus.
If the Republicans get their way, the
University willbe forced to take anoth-
er look at its budget for this school
year. And if the University's reaction to
slashed funding last May is any indica-
tor, we could be looking at a mid-year
tuition hike.
- It's a threat that should send shock
waves through campus, but to many
students, tuition hikes just aren't very
SEND LETT
women and members of the LGBT
community have been harassed
around me. I pay tuition here, too.
I'm pretty tired of being ashamed of
many of the male students here.
Brett Beckerson
LSA senior
The letter writer is a project director at the
TriangleFoundation, an advocacygroupfor
the LGBT community in Michigan.
Don't rally to raise taxes
on struggling state
TO THE DAILY:
I am writing to advise anyone
attending Wednesday's student rally
in Lansing that you will be not only
protesting'for lower tuition, but also
for a tax hike. The budget that Gov.
Jennifer Granholm has proposed is
the largest in the history of Michi-
gan, but this year's tax revenue will
not be what she had expected it to be
because income has fallen statewide.
Right now all the special interest
groups in Lansing - from cable com-
panies to public employee unions to
public universities - are clamoring
for their piece of the pie, but the pie is
almostgone. The onlywaytoincrease
funding for universities at this point
would be through a tax hike.
You will hear that state spending
on higher education has been cut
again and again, but this is not the
case. State funding of higher educa-
tion has remained almost constant
since 2004. The reason our tuition
has gone up is that the public uni-
versities budgets have grown. The
administration will say that the costs
of education are growing, but what
costs is it talking about? What our
tuition raises are really going to are
annual raises for faculty and admin-
istration.
Instead of asking for more tax
exciting. Admittedly, you don't see me
rushing to paint my body with deficit
figures and chain myself to the Michi-
gan State Capitol in protest. However,
it doesn't look like legislators are going
to redeem themselves next Monday.
It's completely unacceptable for the
state to shrug off its responsibilities
and expect us to pick up the slack.
Tomorrow, we can tell that to the
state. The Michigan Student Assembly
is sponsoring buses to take students to
Lansing for a rally in support of higher
education. Students from public uni-
versities across Michigan will par-
Students should
go to Lansing to
get in their word.
ticipate in the rally at 2:30 p.m. to tell
the state legislature that we expect to
receive the funding it promised. Buses
will leave from the Union at 12:30 p.m.
tomorrow and are scheduled to return
by 6 p.m. Professors have been asked to
be lenient with studentswho request
an absence for this rally.
Show the legislature that you're pay-
ingattention:Takeanafternoonofffrom
class to wear your Michigan shirt and sit
on the Capitol lawn with your frinds.
It's even supposed to be a nice day.
Emmarie Huetteman is an associate
editorial page editor. She can be
reached at huetteme@umich.edu.
ERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU
dollars from Michigan's already
strapped families, we should be call-
ingupontheuniversitytoresponsibly
manage its budget instead of raising
our tuition. If the administrators are
really as altruistic as they claim, then
that is exactly what they should do.
The rally's organizers may saythat
they are only trying to keep tuition
down, and this may well be the case.
But as is often the case in life, there
will be unintended consequences.
The state is on the verge of a shut-
down, and the only way to increase
funding to universities would be
increasing taxes on Michigan's
already struggling work force.
Clark Ruper
LSA senior
The letter writer is a member of
Studentsfor aFree Economy.
Michigan fans create
welcoming environment
TO THE DAILY:
To the fans and students of the
University of Michigan: As a Penn
State student and fan, I am commit-
ting seven horrible sins in writing
this letter. However, I would like
to express my sincerest gratitude
for the respect you greeted me with
at this weekend's football game.
Despite the few remarks of "Joe
knows your mom" in response to
my "Joe Knows Football" T-shirt, I
was extremely impressed with your
Midwestern hospitality. After my
first experience at the Big House,
I applaud you Michigan fans for
making my eight-hour drive back to
Happy Valley just a little bit easier
after a heart-breaking loss.
MeganDelany
The letter writer is a senior at
Penn State University.
C
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