4 - Tuesday, February 12, 2008 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com a EILy MJidiigan &4ly Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu The system hasn't been able to handle the less-complicated cases it has been presented with to date." - David Glazier, a Loyola Law School professor, forecasting problems the Guantanamo Bay military commissions will have trying six detainees linked to the Sept. 11 attacks, as reported yesterday by The New York Times. A dark medical history :I ANDREW GROSSMAN EDITOR IN CHIEF GARY GRACA EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR GABE NELSON MANAGING EDITOR Unsigned editorials reflect the official position oftthe 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 content in every section of the paper. Readers are encouraged to contact the public editor with questions and comments. He canbe reached at publiceditor@umich.edu. Textbook troubles Non-profit and student-run stores offer partial solutions t may be best known for its maze of piled textbooks, cramped rooms, long lines at the beginning of the semester, high prices, exclusive books and no-buyback policy, but Shaman Drum is quickly earning itself a new reputation as the most student-friendly bookstore in town. While students, lawmakers and universities have been working to lower the financial burden of buying textbooks, bookstores have largely been absent from the list of concerned par- ties. Shaman Drum is making a good effort to fix this problem by working with student interns and considering a switch to a nonprof- it business model. The next step is a student-run bookstore. When the topic of reproduc- tive rights comes up today, the debate is usually about contraceptives or abortions. But once upon a time in America, thousands of individuals were victimized by a dif- ferent kind of gov- ernment regulation - one that sought to rob them of their biological ability to ARIKIA reproduce. MILLIKAN Forced sexual- sterilization was a reality in America, the state of Michi- gan and at this university from the turn of the 20th century until as late as 1970s. The involuntary surgeries were permanent, but their place in our collective consciousness is fading, and there are reparations that must be made before this sordid chapter in his- toryis forgotten. Historians estimate that between 60,000 and 70,000 forced sexual ster- ilizations were carried out during the eugenics movement in America. Inspired by the prospect of crafting a better human race through evolution - a concept that wasn't even fully under- stood at the time - people who called themselves scientists conjured plans to rid the gene pool of "unfit individu- als." Throughout the state, they forced their victims to undergo surgeries that left them physically unable to produce children.' These surgeries, which involved severing the ducts through which sperm travel or severing or remov- ing the fallopian tubes through which eggs, occurred with little to no regard for the victims' consent. They would be considered highly unethical by today's medical standards. Initially, the steril- izations were meant for the criminally insane housed in state prisons and mental institutions. But determined eugenicists broadened the criteria to include the sterilization of the "feeble- minded." Soon, this state-mandated process became a way for the govern- ment to eliminate the potential off- spring of those it deemed a problem, including people who were poor, sexu- ally deviant or members of a racial minority group. A large portion of these surgeries took place in Michigan. This state was inextricably involved, rank- ing fourth in the procedures among the 33 states that adopted steriliza- tion legislation. It forced steriliza- tion upon at least 3,786 residents - many of them of Native American descent. Michigan set itself apart from the crowd in 1897 when it became the first state to propose legislation for forced sterilization. Thelegislationwasreject- ed, but the eugenics movement contin- ued to grow in popularity, especiallyin the fields of science and medicine. In fact, the dean of the University's medi- cal school, Victor Vaughan, was a vocal supporter. Vaughan believed that ster- ilizing poor people would help them and the human race. When forced sterilization became Michigan law in 1913, Vaughan was serving on the State Board of Health. Vaughan is now hon- ored in the Medical School's Hall of Honor, and a School of Public Health building is named after him. But Vaughan wasn't the only con- nection between the University and eugenics. The University is harboring a deep, dark secret about the past, bur- ied under the names of some of its most respected forefathers. After Clarence Cook Little resigned from his posi- tion as University president in 1929, he went on to become the president of the American Eugenics Society. Every time a student boards a bus from its central location or walks inside the C.C. Little Science Building, his name is innocently recalled. But perhaps the most alarming detail about our beloved school is that forced sterilization procedures were actually performed by University employees at the Universityhospital. The history of the U.S. eugenics movement is largely removed from the collective consciousness of Ameri- cans. While there is a large emphasis in public education about the forced sterilization in Germany in conjunc- tion with the Holocaust, there is rarely ever mention of the movement that went on in our own backyards. But with the horrors that eugenics brought came important lessons that we cannot afford to forget. Forced sterilization happened here Out ofallthe statesthatwere respon- sible for mass forced sterilizations, Michigan is the only state that has yet to issue an apology. It started here and it is long overdue that it ends here with a formal apology to all the victims of this atrocious procedure from Gov. Jennifer Granholm on behalf of the state and from Mary Sue Coleman on behalf of the University. Until this happens, every time you catch a bus at C.C. Little or hear Victor Vaughan's name, remember what they actually stood for and what this Uni- versity condoned. ArikiaMillikan is a Daily associate editorial page editor. She can be reached at arikia@umich.edu. I I The student internship program is one of the most student-friendly things Shaman Drum has done recently. Organized with; the Michigan Student Assembly, the pro- gram offered two students unpaid intern- ships at the store during the fall semester. The students' goal: learn about prices from the owners' side and use that experience to craft solutions. Obviously, Shaman Drum had its own reasons for offering these positions. It hoped to debunk the image of the college bookstore as a place that rips off students. But overall this was the transparent look at the store, not a propaganda scheme. That's more than most bookstores can say. More important than the store's intern- ships is the store's stated goal of going nonprofit. If it does change its business model, one of two good things for students could happen. First, the store's current profit and savings from lower taxes could go toward lower textbook prices - exact- ly what students want. If prices don't go down, though, students can be assured that Shaman Drum isn't ripping them off. While this might be a consolation prize, a little piece of mind is valuable. Shaman Drum's newfound engagement with students is nearing a textbook solu- tion that has been a long time coming at the University: a student-run bookstore. This model is the ultimate incorporation of students into the textbook business. Previously, the University created a non- profit, student-run store in 1969. That store remained in operation until 1985, when the Michigan Union Director Frank Cianciola ran it out of business by refusing to allow the floundering U-Cellar to sell University apparel. Although the high price of textbooks may be caused mostly by publishers, a student-run bookstore would have every incentive to keep book prices as low as possible, something the Barnes and Noble that replaced U-Cellar doesn't have. Cer- tainly students are capable of running one - they already run the student book exchange, which offers some of the low- est prices for books each year. A non-profit bookstore not only provides a source for cheaper textbooks, but it forces other area bookstores to follow suit. Overall, students' best option is still buy- ing their textbooks on the Internet. But for those who don't and for those classes that maybe buying from campus bookstores is a necessity, non-profit stores can be more responsive to students' concern. Shaman Drum is leading the way. A student-run bookstore should follow. What counts as useful criticism? EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: Emad Ansari, Anindya Bhadra, Kevin Bunkley, Ben Caleca, Satyajeet Deshmukh, Milly Dick, Mike Eber, Emmarie Huetteman, Theresa Kennelly, Emily Michels, Arikia Millikan, Kate Peabody, Robert Soave, Imran Syed, Neil Tambe, Matt Trecha, Kate Truesdell. Radhika Upadhyaya, Rachel Van Gilder, Rachel Wagner, Patrick Zabawa. KATE PEABODY Absent activism T housands of Americans, par- ticularly from the University of Michigan, have traveled the world thanks to the Peace Corps. So it comes as no sur- prise that there was a vigorous reader response to an article that raised questions about the motivations of the- Peace Corps (Uni- PAUL H. versity ranks fifth in grads joining Peace JOHNSON Corps, 01/29/2008). The article ques- tioned whether Peace Corps volun- teers xere choosing to go abroad for the right reasons. Readers worried that the article unfairly maligned the Peace Corps and that the article's crit- icisms werdh't carefully considered. Basically, I think the Daily could have done more reporting. The arti- cle extensively quoted an LSA senior Claudia Williams who raised many of the questions about the Peace Corps, but the Daily never explained to read- ers why this particular person was talking about the Peace Corps or what her motivation was for talking. While I think she has the right to her point of view, the Daily should have also found more critics to talk about shortcom- ings that may exist in the Peace Corps. Also, the article could have fleshed out why this particular senior was talking about the program. There have been a number of studies conducted about the Peace Corps and it's value or lack thereof.r Daily staff Reporter Gabe Rivin, an LSA senior, said he found Williams by walking through Mason Hall and ALEXANDER HONKALA talking to people about their opin- ion of the program. Rivin said that the woman told him she was from a developing country and had first-hand experience about the Peace Corps, but she didn't name the country. That fact got edited out of the story. Knowing more about Williams would have given her criticisms more weight and added to the value of her comments. But the article did allow the speakers to respond to the criti- cisms leveled. As well, Rivin said he was pressed for time in completing the article. He said the Daily should consider giving more time for articles that aren't particularly time sensitive, like this one. This would make sure the reporting could be fleshed out more completely. The criticisms of the Peace Corps expressed in the article have been mentioned for years in one form or another. Some of the criticisms have been rather comical. The late Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC.) once told The New York Times that he saw funding for the Peace Corps as "more ratfood for the Third World" and called the organization a refuge ''for drugged- out losers, leftists and homosexuals." Even the first director of the Peace Corps, Sargent Shriver, said that the Peace Corps shows Americans that our good will'isn't always welcome. He said: "Peace Corps Volunteers come home to the USA realizing that there are billions-yes, billions-of human beings not enraptured by our pretensions, or our practices, or even our standards of conduct." As Sen. Christopher Dodd (D- Coon.) said in a speech during the 45th anniversary of the Peace Corps criticism is something that the orga- nization embraces. Dodd said: "The Peace Corps is one sustained exer- cise in self-criticism, and that's just its strength. For our young men and women, living and serving among poverty is an implicit censure of their relative wealth. Learning to serve and work with our hands is a self-criti- cism, because it confronts us with our weaknesses." So it's worth talking about the Peace Corps and I think the letters published in the Dailyin response had well-crafted objections to the article. Daily should criticize, but with qualified sources on the flip side is yesterday's story about Teach for America ('U' leads nation in TeachforAmdrica applicants, 02/11/2008), which could have used a similar touch. But, in that story, there were not any criticismsleveled against the program. I think any organization that does good would be served well by airing and responding to the criti- cisms leveled against its mission. The Daily can't be afraid to go after institutions, even ones as revered as the Peace Corps and Teach for America, so readers can have all the information available about these pro- grams that affect so many lives. Paul H. Johnson is the Daily's public editor. He can be reached at publiceditor@umich.edu. In the months between receiving my accep- tance letter to the University and trying to avoid stepping on the "M" on the Diag when I came to campus, I conjured up many gran- diose images of what my college career would be like. The liberal reputation of the Univer- sity fueled many of these glory-filled visions. I pictured demonstrations on State Street against the government's violent involve- ment in the Middle East, posters against the abortion bans and petitions advocating the advancement of gay rights. The sepia tone that covered these ideas in my mind probably had more to do with their connection to the ideals of the 1960s than my inability to sharp- ly outline the future. Many politically aware students hold up the '60s as the golden age of student activism. But is it worth being nostalgic for an era we weren't alive to witness? We look so fondly to the '60s and the intense advocacy of that decade, but has it really disappeared? Or has it merely shifted? While the University's history of students' penchant for causing ripples is substantial, the face of student activism has changed. Tech- nology is shaping the way we fight back and, even more so, where we fight. Our nostalgia for long-lost protest is well deserved. Student activism began long before the idealistic '60s, but that is when it truly came into fruition, especially in Ann Arbor. In 1966, more than 1,500 students staged a sit-in to protest the compilation of class rankings. A group of black students overtook the administration building in 1968, where University President Robben Fleming finally listened to and then agreed to address their complaints about lack of minority professors and student enrollment. Later, in 1969, a rent- ers' union was created, and nearly 1,000 stu- dents withheld rent from landlords to force rent reductions and repairs. In all of these instances, students pulled together in alarm- ing numbers in order to instigate change. They stood in the way, making it impossible to avoid their message. Today our voice is often faint. But it's not because students have stopped voicing their opinions. The medium has changed. The misplaced beauty of Facebook has forged a new path for opinions. Creating Facebook groups and events has become the new word of mouth. And although the blogging universe allows everyone to share unique thoughts, who has time to read this mass virtual post- ing wall? We fight. We kick.And we definitely scream. However, because so many of our efforts are cyber, they don't make an impact. We sit in the comfort of our computer chairs and complain on blogs and make Facebook groups about things with which we don't agree. The pro- test against the graduation venue change was loud, but outside the virtual world, the actual protest failed miserably. In the fall of 2006, when race- and gender-based affirmative action was banned, students were outraged. But where has that outrage gone? There have been no sit-ins for increased minority enroll- ment, not even a loud call for the admissions figures for the upcoming year - which are being released later than last year. Students are more likely to be vocal online than to be seen pushing for change in the flesh. It can't be said that it is for lack of passion that students don't fill the Daily with stories of sit-ins. We are often positive activists, championing causes like raising money for children in need of physical rehabilitation or garnering support for Barack Obama. Out- side of these positive pursuits, we have still accomplished alot. In the past few years, stu- dents have effectively ousted Coca-Cola from the University for unethical practices, rallied against sweatshops and protested the war in Iraq. But there were just as many causes where our actions simply fell short, if they were present at all. I fall into the same trap about which I am complaining. It simply is easier to contact large amounts of people by e-mailingthem or announcing an event via Facebook. But con- versely, when I am being pestered to attend this or support that, it is too easy to hit "not attending",or to press delete. There are no dis- appointed eyes on a computer screen. We certainly aren't complacent,but we need to take a page from'60s and use big actions to create big changes. These grow from personal interaction. Facebook can't be our medium, or it will become our legacy. Kate Peabody is an LSA junior and a Daily associate editorial page editor. She can reached at kmpeabo@umich.edu. t E EL ------------ A 7 f ' 0 0 A.