4A - Friday, October 12, 2007
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
C74C MC4igan 3a'*l
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IMRAN SYED JEFFREY BLOOMER
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR
KARL STAMPFL
EDITOR IN CHIEF
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.
The Daily's public editor, Paul H. Johnson, acts as the readers' representative and takes a critical look at
coverage and contentin every section of the paper. Readers are encouraged to contact the pubhlic editor
with questions and comments. He can be reached at publiceditor@umich.edu.
Un-leveling the field
Lawmakers' bickering threatens Michigan's students
Michigan lawmakers averted a government shutdown on
Oct. 1 by finally agreeing on a budget proposal, but the
state's fiscal problems aren't over. Kindergarten through
12th grade school districts - left in economic limbo as the legisla-
ture considered just how much money would be cut - are increas-
ingly burdened with interest payments on short-term loans to cover
expenses like teachers' salaries and utilities bills. With state edu-
cational funding down from $121 million in the 2006 fiscal year to
$93 million for the current fiscal year, schools have reason to be
concerned. The desperate financial situation that many Michigan
school districts face may force drastic cuts, which would put stu-
dents at a marked disadvantage in the increasingly competitive pro-
cess of gaining admission to the nation's top colleges.
It got the state's financial house in order.
I did what I thought was right."
- State Rep. Steve Bieda (D-Warren), responding to critics who initiated the process to recall him
after he voted in favor of tax increases, as reported yesterday by the Detroit Free Press.
CHRIS KOSLOWSKI A
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As admissions numbers at top-tier colleg-
es and universities around the nation have
shown, applicants are more well-rounded
and qualified than ever. More students are
applying to prestigious schools, and pro-
spective students are applying with higher
standardized test scores and higher grade
point averages. At Harvard, less than 10
percent of applicants were admitted in the
last admissions dycle, the lowest rate in its
history. To have a chance at a top university,
prospective students must have more than
just a high GPA and test scores: They must
be involved in sports or other extracurricu-
lar activities. Unfortunately, it will be pro-
grams like these that are the first toube cut if
districts continue to face tight budgets.
Some lawmakers fully expect these cuts
and applaud them as the elimination of
wasteful spending. Math and science pro-
grams - which are integral to districts
making the grade on the state's standard-
ized tests - will not be disrupted, but leg-
islators must realize that a quality K-12
education involves much more than these
subjects. Some legislators see art and music
programs as well as extracurriculars as lux-
uries that can be cut, but they are a neces-
sity for making it into top colleges.
As a result of cuts, teachers would have to
SEN
DPS shouldn't have to
coddle underage drinkers
TO THE DAILY:
I am writing in response to the Daily's
editorial on Tuesday (Dangerous decisions,
10/09/2007). While I understand that the
Daily is arguing that the Department of Pub-
lic Safety make it more convenient for dan-
gerously intoxicated underage students to
seek out medical attention, this is college and
incoming students are legally adults, whether
they act like it or not. Gone are the days when
mommy, daddy and the family attorney were
on hand to dig students out of trouble. So stop
sucking on momma's teat and grow up.
I find it disheartening that the Daily would
rather coddle these adults than promote
personal responsibility. Why is personal
accountability by way of responsible drink-
ing not advocated? Rather than maligning
DPS, we should work in conjunction with it to
promote responsibility. As noted in the edito-
rial, underage drinkinghappens, but students
have to know when to quit. As adults, we have
to deal with the consequences of our poor
judgements. Running and hiding from this
responsibility accomplishes nothing.
Additionally, the editorial argued that the
"threat of an MIP also deters friends from
stepping in to help a dangerously intoxicated
person." If these "friends" are more worried
about getting an MIP than helping a friend
receive much needed medical attention, they
are not true friends and will likely prove to be
dangerous to that person's health.
To the underage student who wants to
drink, do so knowing that it is illegal, but
don't complain when punishment is admin-
istered. If you do not seek medical attention
when highly intoxicated, know that if you
experience bodily harm or death, it was your
choice. Don't expect remorse.
Matthew Redmon
Engineeringsophomore
Group paints false picture
TO THE DAILY:
Two weeks ago, Israel IDEA wrote that
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
was a "murderer" and should, not have been
invited to speak at Columbia University ("It's
1938 and Iran is Germany", 09/26/2007). His
connections to Hezbollah, Hamas and Shiite
militia groupsin Iraq were also cited as rea-
sons against extending the invitation. Does
be laid off, increasing class sizes and elimi-
nating the personalized instruction that
separates best school districts from the rest.
Less money will be available for textbooks
and other educational materials. All of
these factors put together would mean that
the students graduating from Michigan's
public schools won't be on a level playing
field compared to super-qualified students
from other states.
At the University of Michigan, this trend
may mean that it would have to accept a
larger percentage of out-of-state students
because the overall credentials of in state
students would appear less impressive. Out
of state students are less likelyto stay within
the state upon graduation, and decreasing
numbers of in-staters hinders the Univer-
sity's potential to supply educated minds to
improve Michigan's flailing economy.
Education in the 21st century is very dif-
ferent from what it was even a decade ago.
Current college upperclassman looked at
extracurricular activities as an extra boost
to their college admissions profile, but today
that boost is essential. It may be difficult for
state lawmakers to understand that districts
must provide classes for more than just what
is on the MEAP. It is essentialthat they aban-
don their outdated outlook on education.
vD LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU
this mean that involvement with Hamas and
Hezbollah are additional evidence of Ahma-
dinejad's evil or does it mean that these Arab-
Islamic groups are made evil by association
with the Iranian president?
I don't know, butI think the question is too
easily resolved by representing these separate
organizations as one cohesive group. Having
done so, to apply the denunciation of "mur-
derer" to one condemns them all. In reality,
Hamas, Hezbollah, Shiite Iraqi militants and
Iran are separate entities in separate nations
with distinct agendas. They are connected
and do cooperate at times, but they are not
united. That is an important distinction.
Consequently, to invite Daniel Pipes to
speak promotes and reproduces this blanket
representation of Arab-Islamic culture and
politics. Pipes himself has been called a "rac-
ist" with a "fascist-style campaign" in The
Arabist - though I understand why Israel
IDEA is more inclined to agree with his rep-
resentations than those of Ahmadinejad.
Although Ahmadinejad is most likely a
bad guy, lumping him with other groups we
know so little about and labeling them all
"terroristic, suicidal and hegemonic" is dubi-
ous because such labels purport to possess an
authority on representation that makes me
uncomfortable in the absence of adequate,
unfiltered speech from the other side.
Gabriel Tourek
LSA sophomore
The cigarette tax is not the sil-
ver bullet the government
makes it out to be. Congress
recently. proposed
raising the federal
cigarette tax from
39 cents to $1 per
pack to pay for an
expansion of the 9
State Children's
Health Insurance
Program. That I
expansion would PATRICK
have increasedZ
the enrollment of ZABAWA
the program from
6.6 million children to 10 million, but
President Bush vetoed the legislation
last week. Defending the increased tax,
legislators made the ageless argument
that it would improve public health
by encouraging smokers to quit smok-
ing. But that's not true: The cigarette
tax hurts America's poor and causes
unnecessary governmental influence
in personal decision-making.
When the price of cigarettes rises
because of a tax, a number of smok-
ers would certainly be dissuaded from
buying them. To some, cigarettes
are only worth their current price
and continuing their habit would be
uneconomicalif the price of cigarettes
increased. But since smoking is an
addictive habit and is hard for many
to give up, many people would con-
tinue buying cigarettes and cut back
in other areas of their lives.
It may be easy for the rich to pay
the increased price, but less fortunate
smokers may have to tighten their
belts. A 2002 National Health Inter-
view Survey found that 33 percent of
Americans below the poverty level
smoke, while only 22 percent of the
population at or above the poverty
line does. Because a disproportionate
number of smokers are below the pov-
erty line, the poor would be hurt most
from in increase an the cigarette tax.
A recent report by the Tax Foun-
dation revealed that no other federal
tax hurts the lowest 20 percent of
households by income more than the
cigarette tax. By obtaining the $35
billion needed for the S-CHIP expan-
sion through a cigarette tax increase,
the lowest 20 percent of households
pay 37 times more than they would
be under an income tax increase. The
cigarette tax increase leaves little
room for those below the poverty line
to maneuver. They may be forced to
cut down their grocery bills and doc-
tor visits. For those with low incomes,
the question of what to cut because
of an increased cigarette tax should
never have to be faced.
Proponents of increasing the ciga-
rette tax argue that it discourages
smoking, but this reasoning could
be extended to justify governmental
interference in other personal affairs.
The surgeon general considers smok-
ing a health hazard, as every packet of
cigarettes is required to explicitly state.
However, the surgeon general also
considers obesity a major health prob-
lem. As reported in the San Francisco
Chronicle in 2003, then-surgeon gener-
al Dr. Richard Carmona "called obesity
the fastest growing cause of illness and
death in the United States and said it
deserved more attention than any other
epidemic." Perhaps the obesity epidem-
ic is enough cause to tax fast food in the
same way cigarettes are taxed.
A local fast food tax nearly became
a reality in 2005 when Detroit Mayor
Kwame Kilpatrick proposed a 2 per-
cent tax on all fast food sold within the
city's borders. A fast food tax would
be another ridiculous instance of gov-
ernmental interference in personal
decision-making. Thousands of people
each day eat fast food because of its
convenience and affordability. Taxing
fast food would force many people to
avoid it, but it might also stress their
lives unnecessarily as they seek less
convenient and more expensive sourc-
es of food. The decision as to whether
or not the convenience of fast food is
worth its unhealthy effects is person-
al, and the government has no right to
interfere with it. The decisionbetween
the costs and benefits of smoking is
personal and should be made without
governmental interference.
Cigarette tax may
help poor kids, but
it hurts the poor.
0
The federal government and all 50
states use the cigarette tax to raise
revenue. The amount of the cigarette
tax is constantly raised, because tax-
ing a small minority is easier than tax-
ing the general population. The recent
proposal to increase the federal ciga-
rette tax to fund the S-CHIP is apoor
decision. The S-CHIP was conceived
to assist the less fortunate, but the
cigarette tax is the single mosthurtful
federal tax to the lowest 20 percent of
American households by income.
The cigarette tax is not a cure-all. It
taxes the poor, coerces personal deci-
sions, and encourages further govern-
ment intervention ii personal affairs.
It is time for the cigarette tax to be
abolished, not increased.
Patrick Zabawa can be reached
at pzabawa@umich.edu.
a
QwiZdom comes with experience
There was a time when lec-
tures were just, a relaxing
and informative show, a pas-
sive opportunity
to find out what's ,
really relevant in
that shiny $200 -
textbook. But since1
the widespread use
of Qwizdom - a
remote that iden-
tifies students by
their UMID and GAVIN
can be used by STERN
professors to take
attendance and
quiz students - some lectures have
become as interactive as discussion
sections. The creeping introduction
of Qwizdom remotes in the past few
years hasn't been without its glitch-
es and frustrations, but those little
devices are much more helpful than I
initially thought.
As a Daily editorial last month
pointed out, some lecturers have
begun requiring students to purchase
the roughly $30 Qwizdom remotes
to answer multiple choice ques-
tions (From the Daily: Trivial pursuit,
09/14/2007). These quizzes some-
times account for 5 percent or more of
a student's grade. Teachers masquer-
ade these protracted quizzes as part of
a lecture, despite the fact that, accord-
ing to Wolverine Access, lectures are
not supposed to be the "graded com-
ponent" of a course. Worse yet, in each
of the three courses I've taken that
have used Qwizdom remotes, the lec-
turers have been unfamiliar with how
to use their own central remote.
I used to see the Qwizdom remote as
a blatant attempt to torture students.
Quizzing has transformed the tran-
quil lecture experience into a bloody.
battlefield filled with quiz-mines.
The experience is akin to pointing a
little grey and red gun at a student's
head and asking him or her to define
conservation of angular momentum.
I don't need that kind of stress in my
math and science classes.
Ruthlessly repeating these stress-
ful conditions day-after-day can be
too much for even the best prepared
student. I, for one, am fed up with the
incessant questioning. I'd rather be
Tasered than Qwizdomed.
As much as I like my professors, the
books are often better learning tools
than the lectures anyway. That's why
I had to purchase the book, the study
guide, the solutions manual, the CD-
ROM, the web pass and the course-
pack, right? But now I am forced to
attend lectures (because professors
can take attendance easily and quickly
with the remotes) that may not even be
useful. I'll learn when I'm ready, and I
do not want to be denied my right to
choose. Besides, many students prefer
to do the reading after lectures.
Imagine a world in which all class-
es use Qwizdom remotes. Students
would have to study all of their sub-
jects as they go along in order to keep
up with the lecture quizzes, thus tak-
ing away the option to focus on cer-
tain subjects at certain times.,On an
18-credit schedule, it's simply not pos-
sible to keep up with the reading for
every class, every day. While I'd love
to be caught up all the time, the sad
truth is that on any given week I have
to choose what subjects to study. Also,
students who might benefit from lec-
ture miss out because so much lecture
time is taken up by quizzes and Qwiz-
dom-related technical glitches.
That's pretty much how I felt about
the Qwizdom remotes - until I sat
down to do my statistics hoipework.
The amount of time spent search-
ing the book for answers decreased
significantly, because I had already
been forced to learn things while pre-
paring for lecture. I've since come to
the conclusion that Qwizdom remotes
are useful if implemented correctly.
My lecturers have tended to use them
to grab attention and force atten-
dance. However, the remotes can also
empower students to exercise their
Putting students
on the spot has
its benefits.
skills and truthfully indicate what
they do and do not understand for a
more focused learning experience.
But this only works without the threat
of lost points.
In a college atmosphere plagued
with lazy students whose weekend
begins on Thursdays, lecturers under-
standably feel pressured to increase
participation.I disagree with the logic,
and I still lament the loss of personal
initiative. And yet I have a feeling that
students have a great deal to benefit
from on-demand input in lecture - if
only it were implemented with the
intent to help with understanding the
material, not simply as an easy way to
take attendance and quizzes.
Gavin Stern can be reached
at gavstern@umich.edu.
Ben-Gurion's quote is
accurate but misinterpreted
TO THE DAILY:
At the Daniel Pipes event on Mondaya stu-
dent questioner cited words by David Ben-
Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, which
began by saying, "If I were an Arab leader, I
would never sign an agreement with Israel."
While there is cottage industry of fake quotes
by Zionists that supposedly confirm evil
intentions, unlike the many outright forger-
ies circulating on the Internet, this quote isn't
entirely outrageous.
Quoted by Nahum Goldmann in his book,
"The Jewish Paradox," (in French "Le Parad-
doxe Juif"), the quote comes from Gold-
mann's recollection of a conversation with
Ben-Gurion 20 years earlier. It is not a con-
fession. Rather, Ben-Gurion was reflecting on
the conflict from the Arab point of view.
Dan Cutler
University staff member
Editorial Board Members: Emad Ansari, Kevin Bunkley, Ben Caleca, Milly Dick, Mike Eber,
Brian Flaherty, Gary Graca, Emmarie Huetteman, Theresa Kennelly, Gavin Stern, Jennifer Sussex,
Neil Tambe, Matt Trecha, Radhika Upadhyaya, Rachel Wagner
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor. Letters should be under
300 words and must include the writer's full name and University affiliation.All submissions become prop-
erty of the Daily. We do not print anonymous letters. Send letters to tothedaily@umich.edu.
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