4
4A - Monday, October 22, 2007
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
L4 it NCltigan B3aill)
Edited and managed by students at
the University of Michigan since 1890.
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
tothedaily@umich.edu
KARL STAMPFL IMRAN SYED JEFFREY BLOOMER
EDITOR IN CHIEF EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR
Unsigned editorials reflectthe official position of the Daily's editorialboard. 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 public editor
with questions and comments. He canbe reached at publiceditor@umich.edu.
Living UP to standards
University's sportswear contract should be reconsidered
nly three months after the signing of an eight-year con-
tract between the University and Adidas, Michigan is at
risk of violating its own code of conduct on labor rights.
The labor practices at some factories subcontracted by Adidas have
come under fire at both the University of Wisconsin at Madison and
the University of California at Berkeley. Given that the contracts at
that those two universities have with Adidas as well as their codes
of conduct on labor rights are very similar to Michigan's own, our
university's decision to sign with Adidas over the summer was
clearly not an informed one. Administrators must reconsider the
Adidas contract to avoid breaking their own rules, and the process
by which these decisions are made must be made more open so that
mistakes like this can be avoided in the future.
This fire is 0 percent contained. We are at the
mercy of the wind."
- Pamela Conley Ulich, mayor pro tem of Malibu, Calif., on wildfires in Southern California that
are threatening the Malibu region, as reported yesterday on CNN.com.
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The last laugh
would assume that most people
have had one of two reactions
to comedian Stephen Colbert's
announcement that
he will seek the
presidency: They
think it's really
funny or really
stupid. Colbert is
certainly an excep-
tional and popular
comedian, but his
decision raises a ROBERT
number of ques- SOAVE
tions - all of them-
overshadowed by
the possibility that he might not even
be serious about running.
Skeptics need to look no further than
Colbert's own strategy: He is planning
on running only in South Carolina, as
both a Republican and as a Democrat.
It could be argued that such reckless
excursions by a fictional persona are
disastrousforthecredibilityofthe polit-
ical process, succeeding only in turning
democratic elections into ajoke.
Unfortunately,. for Michigan voters,
the democratic process turned into a
joke even before Colbert's did his thing.
As a result of Lansing's reasonable deci-
sion tomoveourstate'sprimaryforward
to make a more substantial mark on the
nominating process, the Democratic
National Committee has instructed its
candidates to boycott Michigan. Barack
Obama, John Edwards, Joe Biden and
Bill Richardson have all taken their
names off the primary ballot in our
vital swingstate for the sole purpose of
preservingIowa and New Hampshire's
undeserved tradition of being the first
caucus and primary.
Although Hillary Clinton has cho-
sen to remain on Michigan's ballot,
she has pledged not to campaign here.
Michigan voters - or at least Michi-
gan Democrats - may now be angry
enough with their party's candidates
and leaders to vent their frustrations by
casting a write-in vote for Colbert.
Michigan has as much right to hold
the first primary as any other state. It
is absolutely ridiculous for the DNC
to prohibit the Democrats from cam-
paigning in Michigan just because of
its blind adherence to tradition and
its loyalty to the historic foursome of
Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina
and Nevada. None of these states are
relevant in the generalelection; thereis
no reason to enforce their relevance in
the primaries. Combined, these states
only sent 193 delegates to the Demo-
cratic National Convention in 2004.
The convention consists of more than
4,000 delegates, and Michigan alone
sent 176 in 2004.
Michigan has been threatened with
the prospect of losing partial or total
representation at the convention. The
great tragedy of the 2008 election is
that many of the nominees, many of
the other states and both the national
committees are behaving like children
toward states like Michigan. Our state
did not commit an unforgivable crimi-
nal act by moving up its primary date;
Michigan is important and the coun-
try's leaders ought to know it.
The candidates and party leaders
have responded by trying to negate
Michigan's importance altogether.
But regardless of Michigan's fate dur-
log the primary season, the state will
still play a crucial role in the general
election, as it always does. The party
that ignores our voters in the primary
should be ignored by our voters in the
general election.
Michigan Republicans do not have
quite as much to complain about. The
Republican National Committee has
not restricted its candidates from cam-
paigning in our state, but the RNC has
threatened to deprive Michigan of half
of its delegates. So what can we do
to make our voices heard during the
Michigan primary? Colbert might have
actually given us an excellent opportu-
nity. He should have made his one-pri-
mary stand in Michigan, where we are
starved for more attentive candidates.
Colbert has encouraged his support-
ers in other states to cast write-invotes
for him. Imagine the message that
we could send to the Democrats who
ignored our state if we put Colbert on
the road to the DNC with some of our
delegates in his hands.
Colbert isn't the
only one making the
primaries a joke.
CriticsofColbert's candidacy will say
that elections in this country are about
choosing the next leader of the free
world, and Colbert is taking a serious
matter andturning it into a joke. It's dif-
ficult,though,totaketheprimaryseason
seriously when the national party com-
mitteeswon'tevenletthosevotes count.
There is no good reason for Michigan to
lose half or all of its delegates.
The party elites have already made
a mockery of the primary system by
threatening and excluding states like
Michigan.Avotefor Colbertwouldsend
a worthwhile message to the candidates
and parties that are ignoring us, yet still
expect our support in the general elec-
tion: We willhave the last laugh.
Robert Soave can be reached
at rsoave@umich.edu.
4
4
The decision to sign a $60 million con-
tract with Adidas belonged solely to the
University's Athletic Department. Adidas
offered the department significantly more
money than it received in its previous deal
with Nike. Citing that the increased rev-
enue would help finance many projects
- like the renovation of Crisler Arena
- and the fact that the contract allows the
University to investigate labor standards in
Adidas's factories, the Athletic Department
hailed the contract as a success on all lev-
els. That sounded too good to be true, and it
turns out that it was.
While the University does have the power
to inspect labor practices at Adidas's factories,
it has no incentive to do so under the current
system. If violations are found, the University
would face the choice of cutting a brand new
contract and losing a lot of money, or looking
hypocritical by keeping the contract despite
the violations. Now that the University of
Wisconsinhasfound "serious concerns" after
its investigationofAdidas's factories, the Uni-
versity of Michigan faces just that choice. So
far, it has taken the hypocritical route, and all
the money that comes with it.
Looking just a little bit into Adidas's track
record could have helped the University
avoid this dilemma: As recently as 2006,
Adidas was accused of using child labor
in factories in Pakistan where the official
FIFA World Cup game balls were produced.
The truth is that both companies subcon-
tract their labor to the same factories, and
it's naive to expect switching from one
to the other to make any difference. Had
the decision of signing this contract been
brought before the larger university com-
munity - at a University Board of Regents
meeting, for example - such issues would
have been brought up and further problems
could have been avoided.
Before Michigan's contract with Nike
was implemented in the 1990s, athletic
apparel was subcontracted to local compa-
nies, enabling the University to ensure that
it was doing business only with companies
with fair labor practices. Another benefit of
that system was that it brought more busi-
ness to local companies, creating jobs and
providing a boost to the economy. At least a
partial reversion to that system is possible
and preferable. Perhaps if the contracts are
discussed in an open forum, this and other
innovative solutions could be presented.
So far, the only solution on the large scale
is to partner with the Worker Rights Con-
sortium, a third-party organization that
independently investigating factories. Part-
neringwith WRC means doingbusiness only
with those companies that use factories that
have been approved by the WRC. The Uni-
versity balked at such restrictions in recent
months because of a purpoted lack of auton-
omy. But if the University cannot enforce its
code of conduct, the WRC is a much better
alternative to the status quo. After all, with
autonomy come responsibilities and so far,
the University has not lived up to them.
4
4
SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU
AMY DRUMM
Romney is Michigan's man
Mitt Romney is Michigan's candidate. Rom-
ney grew up in Michigan and cares deeply
about this state. He is the former governor of
Massachusetts, where
he balanced the bud-
get every year, revital-
ized the economy, cut
unemployment and cre-
ated 60,000 jobs - all
things that we desper-
ately need help with in
Michigan. Romney pro-
vides students with the
best chance of finding-
employment after grad- ROMNEY
uation - especially in
Michigan. Reinvesting in the auto industry as
well as attractingnewtypes of technology and
new businesses will help revitalize the econo-
my here. Using these tactics more broadly will
prevent a similar problem from developing
throughout the country.
We need a president who can identify the
positives while facing harsh realities. The
president should be someone who will bring
hope, a positive outlook and innovation to
every circumstance and situation. Romney
has a proven record of doing just that.
The best way to foster new technologies and
market forces is through education. "We can-
not continue to have an excellence gap with the
rest of the world and intend to remain the eco-
nomic superpower and military superpower of
the planet," Romney said. To close this excel-
lence gap, Romney wants to set higher educa-
tion goals for students, teachers, parents and
administrators. He believes that school lead-
ers are best suited to represent their students
and best understand the mundane challenges
students and teachers face on a micro level. It
is also their responsibility to represent these
challenges on a macro level, to effect change
through fundraising and to discuss the impor-
tance of education with legislators.
Romney is also a firm believer in encourag-
ing students to work hard by offering rewards
for high performances. In Massachusetts,
Romney established the John and Abigail
Adams Scholarship Program to reward the
top 25 percent of Massachusetts's high school
graduates with a four-year, tuition-free schol-
arship to state universities or colleges. Over a
three-year period, more than 14,000 top-scor-
ing high school seniors have been awarded the
scholarships. Similar programs in other states
would be equally beneficial.
As a strong believer in the effectiveness of
creating competition in the marketplace as
well as in the classroom, another one of Rom-
ney's strengths lies in his approach to health
care. His systematic reform of the health care
system brings down the cost of private health
insurance by fostering vibrant and competi-
tive health insurance markets in each of the
50 states. Reforming the tax code makes it less
expensive for individuals to buy private insur-
ance and helps the uninsured afford the private
coverage of their choice. Encouraging state-
level health
insurance This viewpoint in the
market f
reforms will first in a series by
result in leaders of campus
more afford- groups supporting
able private
coverage various presidential
and a more candidates.
robust mar-
ket for health insurance for all Americans.
These domestic initiatives are meaningless
if America ceases to exist: The defeat of the
radical and violent faction of Islam must be
achieved through a combination of American
resolve, international efforts and the rejection
of violence by moderate, modern, mainstream
Muslims. An effective strategy will involve
both military and diplomatic actions to help
modern Muslim nations' interactions with
each other and the world. Romney believes
that America must help lead a broad interna-
tional coalition that promotes secular educa-
tion, modern financial and economic policies,
international trade and human rights.
Romney is the only candidate who has
worked to create prosperity and opportunity
for his constituents in both the public and
private sector and succeeded. As a Michigan
resident, a businessman, an advocate for equal
educational opportunities and a realistic, for-
ward-looking optimist, Mitt Romney is the
right candidate in 2008.
Amy Drumm is an LSA senior and chair of
the University chapter of Student for Romney.
The interests of true Michigan with reality a:
half-truths an(
fans are overlooked by University Until then, we
Kyle Miletic
TO THE DAILY: LSA sophomor
My family and I have been athletic boosters for
Michigan since before the football stadium was able to
sell out all home games. I have attended games of four Ban on s
national champion teams from Michigan - hockey,
basketball, football and softball. Growing up in Mary- places is
land, it was always my dream to follow my family's
legacy and attend this prestigious school. The Athletic TO THE DAIL
Department allows me to continue to feed this passion I am writin
long after my matriculation. the editor that
Two years ago, with the implementation of new seat indoor bars,r
licensing fees at Michigan Stadium, we were forced to (Ban on indoor
forfeit season tickets, which my family has held since of.Michigan, 1I
the 1960s. The multi-thousand-dollar cost was simply ous trend of tl
too great to justify. Before that, our longtime basket- choices and in
ball season tickets were moved from nearly courtside I admit tha
to somewhere near the upper level. This was supposed smoke are unh
to bring Michigan's "true fans" closer to the court for er. Still, I enjoy
better television coverage. So this is what loyalty to to eat one. Th
the University athletic program earns?, bar owner can
Now, since the implementation of the Big Ten Net- smoking and I
work, my family is relegated to drive around the sub- to patronize. I
urbs searching for a location that might televise the that allows sm
Michigan football game. Last week, we stopped at no Unfortunat
less than four different restaurants hoping for some viduals are in
place that carried the rarefied Big Ten Network. For for ourselves.
the season opener, I even resorted to listening to the met make th
radio. Athletic Director Bill Martin's effete attempt on these places. I
Oct. 16 to persuade me and the myriad of other aggra- his fellow Mi
vated football supporters I have encountered on my
travels to view the games this season via the absurd Clark Ruper
medium that is BTN is insulting to say the least. LSA senior
Martin took away our seats. We dealt with that.
Now he is building luxury boxes at the storied Michi-
gan Stadium in order to be "on par" with other Big Ten ED
schools. Never mind that he will be destroying the
legacy established by Fielding Yost and Edmund Day Emad Ansari
just to cater to a cliquish and apathetic few. Now he is MikeI
attempting to justify a poorly produced and delivered EmmarieI
product that monopolizes coverage of a tradition that Michels, Ga
extends back to the 19th century.
As dedicated as I am as a Michigan alum, I am Matt Trech;
ashamed at the University for attempting to mask its
esurient tendencies with the feeble propaganda of
"Everyone else is doing it, why shouldn't we?"
I thought the Michigan tradition really meant some- WYMAN KI
thing. I am depressed and discouraged to see that
Martin is selling out this legacy.
Christopher Willis
Alum '94
Hypocrisy and double talk
cannot blemish Al Gore's record
TO THE DAILY:
Hypocrisy reared its ugly head in a viewpoint about Al
Gore that appeared in the Daily last week (Inconvenient
and unworthy, 10/18/2007). The author, Emily Michels,
decries the "judgmental tendencies of Americans," yet
makes those very judgments herself. What is worse is
that she is tragically misinformed. Gore never claimed to
"invent the Internet." Rather, he took credit for his work
as a senator in the 1980s who was instrumental in pro-
viding the funding for the scientists who were actually
"inventing" the Internet. Michels bitterly complained
about the amount of energy that Gore uses, while neglect-
ing to mention that he has long ensured that his personal
energy consumption was carbon neutral.
Michels's argument fails in one fundamental way:
The fact remains that Gore has done more than any indi-
vidual to bring attention to the cause of global warming.
Credit has been duly given (and continues to be given) to
the scientists behind the research, and Gore is now being
justly rewarded for his tireless effort to educate the pub-
lic. If people would make more of an effort to get in touch
s opposed to making judgments based on
id stereotypes, we could bring real change.
have nowhere to go but backward.
re
moking in public
not the solution
Y:
ng in response to Aaron Potek's letter to
t argued smoking should be banned in all
restaurants and workplaces in Michigan
r smoking should be expanded to cover all
0/18/2007). His claim is part of a danger-
he government controlling our individual
vading our privacy.
.t smoking and exposure to second-hand
iealthy. So is a Wendy's bacon cheeseburg-
y it and I should be able to make the choice
at is the beauty of living ina free society. A
choose to make his bar smoking or non-
I can choose which type of establishment
f you value clean air, then don't go to a bar
oking. It is that simple.
ely, Potek does not think that we as indi-
itelligent enough to make those choices
He would rather have the state govern-
at choice for us by banning smoking in all
His claim is paternalistic and insulting to
chiganders.
ITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS:
I, Kevin Bunkley, Ben Caleca, Milly Dick,
Eber, Brian Flaherty, Gary Graca,
Huetteman, Theresa Kennelly, Emily
vin Stern, Jennifer Sussex, Neil Tambe,
a, Radhika Upadhyaya, Rachel Wagner
HUU
e*4:n %
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