4 - Friday, November 30, 2007 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com C I 4 C 1 C4 lo a n 3 at*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 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, PaulH. Johnson, acts as the readers' representative and takes a critical look at coverage and content inevery section of the paper. Readers are encouraged to contact the public editor with questions and comments. He can be reached at publiceditor@umich.edu. MovingbeyondN No Child Left Behind is ineffective and must be revamped nly President Bush would endorse fighting the failure of public schools with sanctions that beget more failure. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Bush's pet project, has been doing just that for several years and is becoming more of a menace to schools than the savior it was intended to be. Some states have begun to simply let their schools cheat in order to feign meet- ing NCLB standards. NCLB needs to be drastically overhauled if it is to produce actual progress in the nation's schools. I never understood that line. The point was to inhale. That was the point." - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama admitting that he used marijuana and questioning former President Bill Clinton's infamous denial, "I didn't inhale," as reported Tuesday at CNN.com. Leudership in Iraq I I As desensitizing as the continu- ing war in Iraq has become, the Bush administration can't just sweep the whole mess under the carpet and" hope it will go away or be dealt with by the next president. This is Presi- dent Bush's mess, and if he wants to KEVIN salvage any kind of a positive legacy, BUNKLEY he has to fix it. So much of the criticism.reverts back to the president - as it should - but a real, immediate solution has to begin with a complete overhaul of his senior staff so that different people are work- ing on this problem and bring fresh perspectives that can lead to solu- tions. Many of the high-level officials who were directly involved with plan- ning the invasion of Iraq, like Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz, have resigned or taken other jobs, and yet nothing has changed. That's because on the other end, the administration of Iraq that the Pentagon put in place had no idea how to run the country (see: L. Paul Bremer). This is an important concern that goes unanswered because critics ofthe war have spent too much time demon- izing every neocon they can think of instead of recognizing the severe dis- connect between the levels of the U. S. government. Bush has allowed the Pentagon to assert too much power, CHRIS KOSLOWSKI and because of that he has severely compromised the possibility that the mission in Iraq can be completed any- time soon. At the most basic level, part of the reason for such poor handling of Iraq's security is that it was never part of the military's objectives to secure the country after the fall of Saddam Hus- sein. The military's objectives were to eliminate Hussein and disband the terrorists. That was it. There was no post-war plan., I understand the frustrations of the people who were trying to get the Pentagon to listen to other ways of going about the invasion, but if they knew a wrong decision was being made, it was their duty to work to counteract it. Sometimes, it's more about just finding some way to do what's right rather than necessarily going through the proper channels and chains of command. All levels of the government and armed forces share the blame for what is happening in Iraq now, because none of them spoke up when it was necessary. No one knew exactly how the invasion would turn out: There should have been a plan for every conceivable contingency. The State Department made one outline for how it saw Iraq's post- war future - "The Future of Postwar Iraq." It was 13 volumes long, and appears to have been ignored by the people who matter in the Pentagon. Had those people read it and consid- er the consequences of their actions, maybe Bremer wouldn't have been allowed to disband the Iraqi Army, which most experts say created the very insurgency that the U.S. military is now battling. The most important component of creating a secure Iraq are people who belong there. But so many of the qualified Iraqi politicians have either been assassinated or -joined the insurgency that it makes putting the appropriate people in power a difficult job. Baghdad should be pro- Iraqi involvement is key in righting past mistakes. tected by a defense force that knows the streets and has the people's trust, not one that is exempt from supervi- sion and suspected of killing civilians (Blackwater). What should come now is a conces- sion that the Pentagon did not plan this correctly, and a long overdue move to rectify that mistake.by let- ting the appropriate people run their country. No one associated with the U.S. Department of Defense can remain in charge of Iraq because that will only make things worse. Bush's legacy will be that he either stopped or started one thing: quagmire. Kevin Bunkley can be reached at kevrbunkgumich.edu. 4 President Bush originally created NCLB after his campaign pledge in 2000 to rejuve- nate K-12 schools. The plan was to make all students proficient in math and reading by 2014 and to test this by implementing more standardized testing. Regardless of the act's sound intentions, several problems lie at the heart of the law, including obvious loopholes that reward cheaters and harsh punish- ments for failing schools. Recent examples of abuse of loopholes in NCLB include Alabama's astronomical improvement in just one year between 2005 and 2006. In 2005, the state ranked 22nd in the nation in meeting educational standards, but it miraculously jumped to fifth place in 2006. Had Alabama really found a secret elixir? No. The state lowered its standards from the previous year on the state-admin- istered written test, allowing more students to be considered proficient. Another way states cheat to boost scores is to exclude from the school's average the scores of certain minority groups if those schools don't have a minimum of 40 minor- ity students of that group. If that arbitrary quota seems to make zero sense, then you're keeping up just fine. As a result of this base- less fudging, about 90 percent of Alabama's schools with Latino students were able to avoid reporting scores for those students. States and schools that do not take advantage of such NCLB loopholes or are deemed to be failing are much worse off than they were prior to NCLB standards. Today, schools that fail to meet "yearly adequate progress" - such as a growth in the number of students scoring at the pro- ficient level - face severe reductions in funding and layoffs. Some schools are thus forced to shut down. Such crippling sanc- tions defy all logic: How are schools sup- posed to improve if they are continuously penalized financially? ' while NCLB poses many problems, there are many possible solutions. Under no circumstances should failing schools be punished financially: This only wors- ens the problem. Instead, the government should provide more funding and training in these districts. Schools should not be held to standards determined by test scores. If the government is interested in improving schools, it must monitor improvements on the ground, not according to printouts and number-crunching. 4 I assume yor annual Peopde lntndoe't understand 4 did you vasen the MSA bookcampaign to elect a wccol itwould beto have erid icsn1 so na c h a ra c te ra T e G r i a c e a s p r id e nt b edyetdgai Motetanyd e mcreofa Hamburfr b a 6o 6 EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: Emad Ansari, Anindya Bhadra, Kevin Bunkley, Ben Caleca, Jon Cohen, Milly Dick, Mike Eber, Gary Graca, Emmarie Huetteman, Theresa Kennelly, Emily Michels, Kate Peabody, Robert Soave, Jennifer Sussex, Neil Tambe, Matt Trecha, Radhika Upadhyaya, Rachel Van Gilder, Rachel Wagner, Patrick Zabawa I SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU Campus deserves better than MSA's shenanigans TO THE DAILY: Does it surprise anyone that as Michi- gan Student Assembly elections get underway, another scandal involving the assembly has emerged (Pres. draws fire for Facebook group, 11/28/2007)? The news comes after yet another represen- tative - who still serves on the assembly, by the way - was charged with a felony for tampering with another student government party's campaign website during the elections in March of 2006. Those of us who have been students at the University for a few years can still remember the unexpected $20,000 bath MSA took in bringing Ludacris to Ann Arbor. In short, incidents such as these bring disgrace to our student govern- ment and, by extension, the University. One might be tempted to wonder why those poor kids standing out in the cold Diag trying to hand out their campaign flyers want to join this group. MSA may do great things for students - though the value of building miniature golf holes on North Campus can be debated - but the actions of a few can permanently dam- age the organization's reputation and mission. The University and its students deserve much better than what we have received from MSA, and we must demand better leadership and more accountability from our student government. Robert Schanski LSA senior MSA president has failed the student body TO THE DAILY: Zack Yost must resign from his post as president of the Michigan Student Assembly. As a student, it is completely within my rights to expect those who are representing me in MSA to do so in a mature and respectful manner. Creating a Facebook.com group to attack a fellow assembly member is neither of these - it's mean and spiteful. The thought that the MSA president sank to such a low level should have us all incensed. Yost needs to resign because he has proven he lacks the ability to lead MSA in an adult matter. Petty attacks on fellow assembly members are not acceptable, and seeing such behavior will destroy the faith that average students should hold in those who represent them. It's time for Yost to leave before he further degrades the integrity of student government. David Azzolini LSA junior Yost's ignorance is appalling; he must quit TO THE DAILY: I do not want Zack Yost to be my Michigan Student Assembly president anymore. I remember his campaign viv- idly and chose to vote for him. However, now I feel he has betrayed my trust by humiliating another member of the same council that makes decisions for the ben- efit of my education (Pres. draws fire for Facebook group, 11/28/2007). Tim Hull was elected in the same way as the restofthe members of MSA, but for some reason the president of the assem- bly does not value his contributions. He would rather be on Facebook than listen to Hull's proposals. If Yost was so bold to suggest a real solution to the volume of Hull's code revisions, instead of attack- ing him behind his back, we might not be in this situation. I will no longer support a man so eager to deny another man's rights and aspira- tions of trying to make a difference. I'm asking that something be done to change Yost's status as MSA president and that there should be plenty of coverage about it. Yost's remarks about disabilities ought to be the main reason for him stepping down. I urge him to look past whatever predispositions he may have and learn a little bit more about what he's saying. Emmett DeLateur LSA junior Transgenderpeople must make themselves heard TO THE DAILY: This is in response to a letter from Cayden Mak regarding the Daily's failure to do its part for awareness (Daily fails to do its part for awareness, 11/26/2007). This letter irritated me to no end. I'm sorry Cayden that Transgender Day of Remembrance was just not as big a deal to other students as it was for you. It's great that the day exists and that you are proud to celebrate it. But being mad just because the Daily didn't mention it sounds like a desperate cry for attention. It's not the Daily's job to get your mes- sage out there: That's your job. Do you think Veterans Day would be such a big deal if veterans from across the country didn't join together and spread the mes- sage of their sacrifice? If you want Trans- gender Day of Remembrance awareness, get out there and spread the word and don't get mad if others don't do it for you. Mak said, "The lack of coverage sends a clear message: The group's struggles are just not important enough." That's wrong; those struggles are important, so get on the Diag like countless other student groups and pass the informa- tion along a couple days ahead of time. I walk right through there every day,. and I didn't see anything from people advo- cating awareness of transgender issues. The Daily is a college paper and has limited space. Don't get mad because it did not cover your issue. The real problem is that you didn't raise enough awareness to get your issues covered. Ted Byrne LSA sophomore Statements about the church are uncalledfor TO THE DAILY: When I opened this week's issue of The Statement, I was dismayedto find outright falsehoods regarding the Roman Catholic Church (The editor's notebook with Gary Graca, 11/ 28/2007). An item essentially asserts that the Catholic Church opposes all stem cell research, and U.S. Catholic bishops issued a statement condemning the achievement of reprogramming skin cells to act akin to pluripotent stem cells. Following this assertion, Graca pro- ceeds to mock the viewpoint of the church. In direct contrast to what was printed, Cardinal Justin Rigali of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a press release saying "I am grateful today for scientists who took up the challenge of finding morally acceptable ways to pur- sue stem cell research, and for govern- ment leaders who have encouraged and funded such avenues." I understand that the nature of this section of The Statement is satirical, but I believe that this story is malicious rather than funny. The Daily certainly has not lived up to the commitment to fairness that its editor in chief commit- ted to in the public editor's column last week (Daily's liberal bias?, 11/20/2007). The Catholic Church has made repeated statements supporting non-embryonic stem cell research, and it certainly does not believe that "cloned robot cell armies (will) march to Heaven to kill God." I find it tremendously disappointing that the Daily would stoop to mockery and mis- representation while revealing its own ignorance of the church's position. Michelle Harrison LSA sophomore Daily is sensationalizing student assembly issue TO THE DAILY: The Daily was handed a ready-to-serve controversy when Michigan Student Assembly Rep. Kenneth Baker sound- ed the alarm on an insulting Facebook group created by MSA President Zack Yost (Pres. draws fire for Facebook group, 11/28/2007). While the Facebook group is reprehensible on many levels, it is an issue between Yost and Tim Hull that must be resolved behind closed doors. There is a far bigger and more disturb- ing issue here. In featuring this canned controversy on the front page, the Daily has reached a new low. In place of report- ing relevant news that pertains to the campus at large, the Daily resorted to out- ingYostfor the sake of humiliation. Baker used Hull as a pawn to attack Yost. This was disgraceful and vindictive - a dis- gusting game of politics that has no place in MSA. The Daily has indirectly done the same thing by giving this embarrassment of a story center stage. The Daily owes Yost, Hull, and the campus at large an apology for its role in this debacle. Eric Rosenbloom LSA junior All viewpoints must be. protected to further debate TO THE DAILY: It was the fundamental right of free speech that allowed prominent Zionist Theodore Herzl to advocate his contro- versialview of a sovereign Jewish state as a solution to anti-Semitism. If not for free speech, Herzl would have been silenced and his solution would never have gained much support. Today, as the University of Michigan Press continues to face criti- cism for its distribution of the controver- sial book "Overcoming Zionism" by Joel Kovel, it has done the right thing in not wavering and keeping its contract with the book's publisher, Pluto Press. The University Press's website states that it "publish(es) books that contribute to public understanding and dialogue about contemporary 'political issues.' " An "understanding" of the issue can have many meanings to many people. There is bias in every historical narrative due to the selection and presentation of facts or the connotation and word choice of the author. Different viewpoints are inevi- table and should not cause revocation of the distribution contract. What we accept as history is just the mainstream point of view. For example, a popular contemporary view casts Christopher Columbus as bringing hardship to the Native Americans rather than celebrat- ing him as the discoverer of the Ameri- cas. Kovel's view may be biased, but it is not irrelevant. Kovel's book also advances the sec- ond goal of the University Press, which is to contribute to the dialogue of issues. There have been several positive and neg- ative reactions to his book, but more than discussing the right of free speech, Kovel provokes arguments on his theory of a single-state solution. The two-state solu- tion is broadly accepted and may be the most likely outcome of any peace process, but challenging this majority viewpoint can hblp with evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of such a plan. While I personally may object to Kov- el's solution, I need to be open to other views to develop a greater understanding of their position. Only through greater understanding can each side develop an idea of the minimum conciliation needed to forge a lasting peace. There are many positive contributions this book makes to the political discussion. A legitimate concern is the anti-Semi- tism that this book is said to contain and promote. This is important to consider, because the vast majority of readers may not challenge Kovel's ideas or seek other viewpoints on this subject. To overcome this concern while ensuring the right of free speech, the University Press should distribute this book with an addendum containing a disclaimer stating that the neutrality of the book is questioned and that the reader should also refer to other sources to get the full story. Tom Payne LSA sophomore More thoughtful debate on stem cells is needed TO THE DAILY: In an editorial printed in Tuesday's Daily, the editorial board contended that Michigan should join in the stem cell research industry (A moral imperative, 11/27/2007). But mostofthe editorial cen- tered on the actual embryonic stem cell debate. While I do advocate embryonic stem cell research, I believe that the Dai- ly's argument for it doesn't address the issue appropriately. To any reader who believes embryonic stem cells are living entities, the editorial is irrational. Using its logic, inmates on death row, like embryos, should be exper- imented on because, after all, they're going to die anyway. Further, the Daily's argument ignores the issue of whether or not in-vitro fertilization (the process that results in excess embryos)is moral itself. Should scientists be playing God and cre- ating excess embryos? While I do agree with embryonic stem cell research, I don't feel that the Daily's argument is satisfactory or effective, especially if used in a debate against pro- life advocates. Ian Rust LSAfreshman