4A - Friday, October 26, 2007
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 1
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the University of Michigan since 1890.
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Ann Arbor, MI 48109
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KARL STAMPFL IMRAN SYED JEFFREY BLOOMER
EDITOR IN CHIEF EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position oftthe Daily's editorial board. All other signed articles
and illustrations represent solely the views ofttheir authors.
The Daily's public editor, Paul H. Johnson, acts as the readers' representative and takes a critical look at
coverage and content in every section ofthe paper. Readers are encouraged to contact the public editor
with questions and comments. He canbe reached at publiceditor@umich.edu.
Scared sill1y
State legislature continues persecution of parolees
With Halloween just around the corner, the state of
Michigan is spooked. It's not ghosts, goblins or even
the budget hiding under lawmakers' beds, though
- it's sex offenders. A new bill before the state legislature
would prevent sex-crime parolees from participating in Hallow-
een activities, heaping unnecessary restrictions on an already
restricted group. Rather than encouraging rehabilitation, legis-
lators are wasting the state's time coming up with new ways to
ensure that sex offenders will spend the rest of their lives paying
off their debt to society.
You expect that from Republicans, but the
Democrats don't need to be helping. We need
to stand up to these people.
- Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards criticizing fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton for her
condemnation of Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization at a campaign event in Iowa yesterday.
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A nickel too far
always carry a little change in
my pocket. The habit stems from
my fear of breaking a dollar then
having to suf-
fer the rest of the
day with 98 cents
sloshing around in
my pants. So when
a panhandler asks
me to spare some
change, I'm faced
with a dilemma.
Do I surrender my GAVIN
change and risk STERN
having to break a
dollar later or do
I come up with an excuse and walk
away really, really fast? Many stu-
dents choose the latter. At this point, I
really don't blame them.
When I first arrived at the Uni-
versity three years ago, panhandlers
seemed like a new phenomenon. That's
probably because I hail from the eco-
nomically prosperous city of West
Palm Beach, Florida. We had our share
of shaggy vets in wheelchairs holding
signs by the side of the road, but never
in 10 years was I approachedby an indi-
vidual asking for spare change.
So when Ronnie, Ann Arbor's best
known panhandler, first hit me with
that unforgettable line: "Spare any
change, my good friend?" I was simul-
taneously startled and obliged to give
him my 23 cents. It just felt right at the
time. I figured if someone was will-
ing to stand out in the cold and ask
strangers for change, then he must
really need it.
Sadly, the panhandlers with the
most overt acts - and the heaviest
pockets - probably aren't asking out
of necessity. It took quite a few bad
experiences for the sad truth to sink in.
First, there was the guy on State Street
who took my money and ran off yelling
that it was for booze. Great. Then there
was the really big guy who penetrated
my Starbucks bubble to ask for a few
bucks. I offered him food. He demand-
ed my wristwatch. Fantastic.
Even Ronnie has lost his charm.
The last time I ran into "my good
friend," Ronnie and a few of his asso-
ciates had banded together to turn
the Engineering Arch into a change
gauntlet (at night, no less). That all
three of them sported leather jackets
and cell phones didn't exactly garner
my sympathy. Clearly, these panhan-
dlers had no respect for the people
they claim to need so much.
So when The Statement ran an arti-
cle that glorified Ronnie's showman-
ship and success (Not everyone who
makes their living through advertis-
ing wears a tie to work, 10/10/2007), I
was furious. As much as I like Ronnie,
panhandling is not a legitimate profes-
sion in my book unless you're really
homeless. Then it's called begging. To
encourage otherwise cheats the needi-
est members of our society out of their
share of our guilt. Literally.
If you're fortunate enough to escape
the arch with your change intact, you
might actually run into a real home-
less person. I consistently find one of
them curled up in a ball by William
Street, holding, of all things, a pan. But
since he actually looks like he needs
the spare change, he didn't appear to
collect nearly as much as his clean-cut
counterparts. Apparently, just looking
poor doesn't cut it these days. Either
the more personable (but less needy)
panhandlers have heightened the stan-
dard, or the passersby have become too
cynical to care.
There are two
different types of
panhandlers.
Eitherway, amanwenthungrywhile
another lined his leather pockets.
Legitimate panhandlers don't need
a circus act or a scare tactic to show
that they need our help. They just
need our compassion, which has been
spread too thin. So before you dip into
your pockets, take a moment to con-
sider why. Is it because this person
really needs the money or because
they're clever enough to know where
and how to get it? Then consider the
most important question: Am I really
helping the right person? If he has
on designer shoes - keep walking.
You're certain to step over someone
who really needs it.
Gavin Stern can be reached
at gavstern@umich.edu.
I
0
The Grand Rapids Press reported Mon-
day that state Rep. Fran Amos (R-Water-
ford) introduced a bill to keep sex offenders
from handing out candy or even leaving
their porch lights on on the evening of Hal-
loween. According to the bill's supporters,
the proposal was not prompted by an inci-
dent but rather arose from public sentiment
that sex offenders should not be allowed
near children. Similar sentiment has also
helped state Republicans introduce another
law, proposing that the already long, overly
encompassing sex offender registry be
made retroactive to include offenders from
before 1995, which was when the registry
went into effect.
The general sentiment of any sensible
criminal justice system must be that once
you're released from prison, you've finished
serving your time. While the government is
right to institute systems like parole to ease
reformed criminals back into society and to
protect people from repeat offenders, the
restrictions can only go so far before they
violate civil liberties. Ohio toed that line ear-
lier this year when it considered a bill that
would require some sex offenders to use flu-
orescent green license plates on their cars.
No such bill was proposed for murderers.
Even co-sponsors of the Halloween pro-
posal are vaguely aware that it is flawed.
When asked how the state would enforce
the ban, state Rep. Glenn Steil (R-Cascade
Township) responded that he didn't know,
and he even conceded that he wasn't sure
that the bill was really important. As Eliza-
beth Arnovits, the executive director of
the Michigan Council of Crime and Delin-
quency, pointed out, parolees are already
ordered to stay away from children, mak-
ing the law superfluous. By considering this
proposal, the state is only pandering to the
emotions of nervous parents when it should
be focusing on the real problems facing
Michigan's children, like economic stabil-
ity and health insurance.
The more legislators argue that these
parolees are not ready to re-enter society,
the less effective the criminal justice system
seems. The intention of the penal system is
to facilitate the rehabilitation of criminals so
that they may become reformed, productive
members of society, and restrictions should
be implemented with that cause in mind.
However, if the government continues to
treat sex-crime parolees as if they will inevi-
tably be repeat offenders, it will become a
self-fulfilling prophecy. It's only logical that
constantly telling people they can't change
will dissuade them from trying.
It would be dishonest to argue that
all sex-crime parolees are completely
reformed and that it's completely safe for
children to wander around unaccompa-
nied, especially on Halloween. However,
it should be the responsibility of parents
to watch out for their kids. The state could
help, perhaps by financing adequate street-
lights in all neighborhoods, but such sen-
sible action is out of the question when the
legislature is busy making sure sex offend-
ers turn off their porch lights.
I
A cost too high
As state lawmakers rush to final-
ize the budget, a battle is rag-
ing in Lansing over the future
of the University's
state funding, as
happens every
year. Just a couple
of weeks ago, stu-
dents from univer-
sities around the
state, including
the University of
Michigan, rallied
at the statehouse PATRICK
to tell their legis- ZABAWA
lators to increase-
higher education
funding and relieve their rising tuition
rates. But an increase in state funding
to the University is not needed. The
money would be better used back in
taxpayers' hands.
Although static state funding to
the University would result in higher
tuition rates, a larger part of the blame
should be placed on rising university
spending. over the past three years,
the University's general budget has
increased an average of 5 percent per
year, 2 percentage points higher than
inflation. Because of Michigan's falling
higher education funding, tuition has
had to rise faster.
Lower division in-state LSA tuition
has risen an average of 8.5 percent
per year over the past three years. But
this kind of tuition hike is not unique
to our university. A report released by
the College Board on Monday revealed
that the average tuition hike for a four-
year public college last year was 6.6
percent. While blame for large tuition
hikes consistently falls on lower state
funding for public universities, private
universities had an averagetuitionhike
almost as high.
It seems that higher-than-inflation
tuition hikes are here to stay. Universi-
ties are constantly struggling to get the
best professorsand newest programs so
that they appeal to students and hope
that the best students decide to attend
their school. Every school is looking to
be as prestigious as possible. Our own
university's efforts seem to be paying
off. The number of students applying to
the University of Michigan rises year
after year, undeterred by ever increas-
ing tuition prices.
This sign that rising tuition costs are
not affecting applications to the Uni-
versity is indicative that the high cost
of college is worth the degree. The Col-
lege Board calculates that a bachelor's
degree-holding graduate will, on aver-
age, make $787,650 more than a high
school graduate in his or her lifetime.
Considering that figure, tuition would
have to rise to almost $200,000 per
year to make college not worth it. And
the value of the degree keeps rising.
According the College Board, male
college graduates today earn 63 percent
more than their high- school graduate
counterparts, a rise of 44 percent over
the past 30 years. Women with bach-
elor's degrees today earn 70 percent
more than those with high school diplo-
mas, twice the rate from 30 years ago.
For those who can't afford the ini-
tial investment in college, financial
aid here at the University is constantly
increasing. The University puts a great
emphasis on making sure that college
is affordable to all students. To ensure
this goal, it increases financial aid
funding by at least an amount equal to
the tuition hike. While in-state lower
division LSA tuition has risen an aver-
age of 8.5 percent per year over the past
three years, undergraduate financial
aid funding has risen at the rate of 11
percent per year. In such a way, the
University has actually become a little
more affordable to low-income stu-
dents over the last few years.
As the University becomes more
affordable to low-income students and
the number of applications continues
to grow despite tuition increases, addi-
tional state funding is not needed. Gov.
Jennifer Granholm is currently argu-
ing that as a research university, the
University of Michigan deserves more
funding because it brings money into
the state. While this may be true, the
effect would be nullified if the Univer-
sity had to sap money from Michigan's
tax base in order to bring money into
the state.
Universities
don't need all that
state funding.
Michigan's families need that
money more. The state's new service
tax and higher income tax is putting
more of a tax burden on Michigan tax-
payers, even as they continue to face
salary cuts and layoffs. It is not fair for
students at the University to demand
that more taxes fall on the shoulders of
struggling Michigan families because
their own budgets are being strained
by tuition hikes. Students today have
ample financial aid resources and a
huge return on their investment in
college. Michigan's families are not as
fortunate. It's time for the state to stop
increasing funding to higher education
at their expense.
Patrick Zabawa can be at
pzabawa@umich.edu.
I
CHRIS KOSLOWSKI | T TO ASTURE
Al Gore wins the Nobel Wellt o're right.uess we
PeaceprizeIcan't believe i shouldn'tepectanythinglssWOA THERE 1Stop now
from the those hippie before you repeat what you
sure you canNorwegianse leftist did when Gorc v won!
EDITORIAL BOA RD MEMBERS:
Emad Ansari, Kevin Bunkley, Ben Caleca, Milly Dick, Mike Eber, Gary Graca, Emmanie
Huetteman, Theresa Kennelly, Emily Michels, Robert Soave, Gavin Stern, Jennifer
Sussex, Neil Tambe, Matt Trecha, Radhika Upadhyays, Rachel Wagner, Patrick Zabawa
4
SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU
White supremacist has
no place at MSU
figure, will be:
Griffin hasa
ing hatred aga
Britain. He en
TO THE DAILY: racially pure,
Nick Griffin, head of the British has shown, this
National Party, will speak today at The British
Michigan State University, upon invi- him in 1998 of
tation from the Young Americans for is a well-know
Freedom. The BNP is a white suprema- homophobe. H
cist party known to be racist against all up his act, bu
non-white communities in Britain and more misleadi
to have a homophobic and anti Semitic sage is the s
history. In line with its xenophobia, the Christians. W
BNP has become explicitly anti-Muslim MSU students:
in recent years.
The BNP plays into the fears of white Hena Ashraf
British people, pushing for an end to LSA senior
immigration, incentives for immigrants
"to return home," denial of housing to ,'
immigrant families and denial of refuge Its up tO
to asylum seekers, among other racist
agendas. The BNP is a succession of the credit Ca
National Front, which was infamous for
inciting riots and hatred in the 1970s and TO THE DAIL
'80s in Great Britain. The Daily's
As a Muslim woman from Britain who lems students I
recently spent nine months living and Perils of Plas
studying in East London (an area that the showed promi
BNP and National Front have explicitly students sayin
targeted because of its large Bangladeshi bad idea. I hav
population), I am astonished that the the sentence,
head of the BNP, a leading British hate like most peol
speaking at MSU.
deplorable history of incit-
ainst immigrants in Great
nvisions the country as a
white country. As history
s is a very dangerous belief.
h government convicted
inciting racial hatred. He
'n Holocaust-denier and a
3e claims to have cleaned
t his words are now just
ing. The underlying mes-
ame: Britain is for white
hat can he possibly teach
students to use
rds wisely
.Y:
editorial about the prob-
have with credit cards (The
stic, 10/24/2007) initially
se. Easy credit plus college
:g "sign me up!" equals a
e a problem, however, with
"Many college students,
ple, have to rely on credit
cards for most of their purchases."
There is a difference between "have to"
and "choose to." To my knowledge, none
of us "have to" use credit cards at all, out-
side of potentially conducting business
with some car rental companies. Even
if you are convinced that plastic is the
way to go, then debit cards are the obvi-
ously superior option. Debit cards force
shoppers to only purchase what they can
actually afford, savingtime, wallet space,
paper, ink and other potential resources
when compared to writing out the check
or carrying around cash.
Credit cards encourage the opposite:
Buy now whatever you want, even if you
can't afford it, and pay us back later with
interest, if and when you find the money.
Interest charges actually pale in compar-
ison to the late payment penalties that are
largely responsible for the relatively high
stock prices of the recently-consolidated
major lenders.
Each day is a new opportunity to play
by your own, more intelligent rules. So
you say you were born into a credit soci-
ety, with poor or non-existent parental
role models and a consumerist culture
that has inculcated within your soul
the "need" to accept and use easy credit
that is not in your best interest? Give me
a break.
I too live in a sick financial culture
with shallow values that gives not a damn
about my personal happiness and pros-
perity. I've served as a board member on
state and national financial literacy task
forces. More to the point, I was born with
the ability to think for myself, and I never
expected my university to protect me
from my own poor decision making.
Jim Eddy
University staff member
Why such afocus on
silencing certain speakers?
Prof. Stephen Walt of the University of
Chicago, New York University Prof. Tony
Judt and even South African Nobel Peace
Prize winner, Desmond Tutu.
They have also attacked Middle East
experts and pressured universities to
deny them tenure or even to fire them.
Enemies of academic freedom success-
fully pressured DePaul University to
deny Norman Finkelstein tenure. They
are waging a similar war on NadiaAbu El
Haj at Barnard College. Now they want
the University of Michigan Press to stop
carrying controversial books as well.
With all this pressure to silence crit-
ics, one must ask what exactly they are
trying to hide.
0
TO THE DAILY:
Thank you for running an important Ryah Aqel
viewpoint about the University Press's LSA sophomore
decision to temporarily halt distribution
of Joel Kovel's book (Undermining the LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:
academic debate, 10/24/2007). People do
not understand how far aggressive oppo- Readers are encouraged to submit
nents of academic freedom go to silence letters to the editor. Letters should be
any criticism of Israel. Any discussion of under 300 words and must include the
the most important foreign policy ques- writer's full name and University
tions requires real debate. affiliation. All submissions become
In the past year alone, people who property of the Daily. We do not print
refuse to tolerate dissenting views have proymof tes. ed nttrit
protested in order to silence reputable anonymous letters. Send letters to
scholars and world figures, including tothedoily@umich.edu.
Prof. John Mearsheimer of Harvard,
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