4 4 - Tuesday, February 19,2008 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com my ii tan4,at"y Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu 4 They cleared the decks. They finished her. They murdered her." - Mohamed al-Fayed, father of Dodi Fayed who was killed in the car accident with Princess Diana, suggesting that the British royal family conspired to kill Princess Diana, as reported yesterday by The Guardian, The diviseness of diets ANDREW GROSSMAN EDITOR IN CHIEF GARY GRACA EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR GABE NELSON MANAGING EDITOR Unsigned editorials refleetthe official position of the Daily's editorialboard. All other signed articles snd illustrstions represent sotely the views of their suthors. The Daily's public editor, Paul H. Johnson, acts as the readers' representative and takesa criticallook at coverage and content in every section of the paper. Readers are encouraged tocontact the publiceditor with questions and comments. He can be reached at publiceditor@umich.edu. No election muligan A second nominating contest would be a mistake Michigan's Democratic primary was basicallly worth- less. When Michigan decided to move its primary up to Jan. 15, the Democratic National Committee said it would refuse to seat all of the delegates from Michigan, effectively disenfranchising voters from its own party because it wanted to preserve the Iowa-New Hampshire monopoly. Still, a primary was held and taxpayers paid an estimated $10 million for it. Now, the DNC wants to make nice, proposing that Michi- gan holds a caucus to award its delegates for real this time. But holding another election would be a mistake, a very costly and possibly irrelevant mistake. or a lon time, a subculture of my friends planned unabash- edly to sabotage me, to trick or otherwise coerce me whenever they had the chance. It didn't matter if they knew each other or not - there was instant solidarity on the subject, and they felt no need to hide their intentions. JEFFREY Ever since I stopped eating BLOOMER meat four years ago, they would do everything they could to show me the intrinsic foolishness of my ways. This includes my family. If we ordered out and they made the call, meat. If I reminded them in a restaurant, they would taunt me cheerfully and order the most egregiously anti-vegetarian thing they could find. When the food came, there would be that look, and then, "Does this gross you out? Hmm, hmm?" No, I would say. I don't care. It became clear I wasn't the squeamish one in the situation. I exaggerate only a little bit. When I told my mother about being a veg- etarian, she cried, sure that I would become emaciated. There are the blank stares, the ostensibly politer "Oh, why?" and then the few people who simply accept it. But the reaction I most enjoy comes from the much larger group of people who are just plainly aggressive about it. The threat, I think, is fairly obvious. There is the belief, mistaken in most cases but deeply powerful, that vege- tarians are imperious people who deny themselves the obvious pleasures of an omnivorous diet simply to enjoy the status it gives them over other people. It festers strongly in Ann Arbor, this pseudo-progressive icon of the Mid- west that goveg.com, a popular veg- etarian advocacy site, lists as the 10th most vegetarian-friendly small city in the country. They must be talking about the restaurants, because they certainly aren't about the people. To cast diet choice as some kind of politically cor- rect movement of snobs and fools is simply misinformed, and it says more about the people who subscribe to that belief than the people they ridicule. I admit I come froma distinct side of this. I acknowledge those ubiquitously cited surveys (though I've never been able to find them) that say a quarter of teenagersthink vegetarianism is "hip." The University - unshakable advo- cate that it is - reports on its housing website, "We respect the choices our customers make to healthfully meet their nutritional needs." You would be forgiven if that strikes you as nominal, but whatever, it's there. On the other side, there are 1,055 people in the University's chapter of the Facebook group "For Every Ani- mal You Don't Eat, I'm Going to Eat Three." That's a lot. Now I love this group - especially its contention that "Charleton Heston is a god" - but I fear most people who are in it take its tongue-in-cheek mission literally. On the national level, where this is a favorite (if pointless) discourse, The New York Times ran an op-ed piece last summer that suggested that a vegan diet can kill children, citing an anecdotal story about an infant who purportedly died because of a vegan diet and the parents who were put on trial for it. Soon after, the paper ran a letter from a nutritionist who tes- tified at the trial that the baby died because his parents didn't feed him, not because of his diet. There was no correction. Then, last week, in another New York Times story headlined "I Love You, But You Love Meat," a writer began by reasonably exploring the EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: role of diet choices in relationships and then proceeded to quote an author who compares vegans to Hezbollah. The comments on the message board brought out a lot of the same: "I could never date a vegetarian" was a popular response. These beliefs are pervasive, and they are hilariously divisive. Exactly what is the continued anxiety here? I don't have any illusions about the increasingly industrial organic food movement or the particular benefits of my diet; it is only what I make it. So then why - it always, always comes down to this for people - did I choose to make the switch? I honestly couldn't tell you for certain. It's true that the 4 4 So what if I'm a vegetarian? By offering Michigan delegates through a caucus, the DNC is handing the state a solu- tion, but a not a prudent one. The Michigan Democratic Party is clearly not ina financial position to dole out millions of dollars to have a caucus. While the DNC is giving us the privilege of a redo, it is not helping with the cost of such a solution. If Michigan chooses to pay for a caucus, there isn't even a guarant6e that it will mat- ter. The proposed date for this new vote would be March 15, and by then, it is possible that the Democratic candidate will already be chosen. Today Wisconsin and Wash- ington will hold their nominating contests. Then Texas and Ohio will vote on March 4. If the close contest between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton is secured after these contests as some predict, then Michigan would have wasted millions of dollars not once, but twice. Both would have made no difference. This from a state with already desperate finances. The saddest part of it all is that when given the choice of whether to accept the DNC's offer to have a redo election, the state Democratic Party seems more interested in politics than what's best for the state. Most of the state Democratic Party leaders are not without bias in makingtheir decisions. State Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer and Gov. Jennifer Granholm are only two of the many Clinton supporters nestled in state politics. Instead of concern about the logistics of a caucus, these leaders seem to be more concerned that having a caucus to reassign the delegates opens up the pos- sibility of another win for Obama. There is also concern that if Michigan's delegates are reinstated and awarded to Clinton, many will cry afoul. Either option is unfair to Michigan vot- ers and citizens. The state Democratic Party needs to stick by its decision to move the primary to the front of the pack, but it needs to do it for the right reasons. Trying to secure a Clinton victory is not the right reason - the cost and logistics of a second election are, though. None of this squabbling makes up for the how the DNC slapped Michigan voters in the face for holding an earlier primary, cau- cus or not. Instead of trying to solve this delegate debacle, the DNC should stick to its promise not to award Michigan its del- egates and win back Michigan voters when it reallymatters: the general election. Michi- gan Democrats may be upset, but they will certainly be forgiving if the Democratic nominee makes the economy a central issue in the campaign and, God forbid, actually campaigns in Michigan. Michigan doesn't need more than del- egates - we need solutions and a political party that will do more than make us waste money on do-over elections. ideaofslaughterhousesmakesme sick. It's also true that I ate all varieties of meat uninterrupted for 18 years. One day I just didn't; that became a week, a month, a yea, and now here we are. That's it. -o grand revelation. No speechifying from the guy who lived across the hall freshman year. I've got nothing for you. - Some vegetarians and vegans trum- pet the movement with more force than I have here, but most sensible people who have changed diets don't want to take away your beloved meat. They want to change your mind. It's a choice, and it's one I hope we can agree people have the right to make. Jeffrey Bloomer was the Daily's fall/ winter managing editor in 2007. He can be'reached at bloomerj@umich.edu. 4 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. SEND LETTERS TO: TOTH'EDAILY@UMICH.EDU 4 BLOOD DRIVES UNITED AND THE AMERICAN RED CROSS CLUB Protecting our blood supply As the student voice of the American Red Cross at the University, we recognize and appreciate Gary Graca's column Wednesday (Give life (unless you're gay), 02/13/2008) that acknowledged a problematic and potential- ly divisive Food and Drug Administration policy that says "men who have had sex with other men at least once since 1977 are barred for life from giving blood." He proposed banning blood drives on campus. After dis- cussing the issue with the CEO of the South- eastern Michigan Blood Services Region Diane Ward, she responded, "We admire Mr. Graca's desire to grow the blood supply, but until the FDA policy is changed, we need to ensure that we have all available resources to save lives. Any action that impedes our ability to collect blood in the short term impacts the safety of our community." The implications of the FDA policy are serious. However, the Red Cross is at the forefront of combating this policy, which is no longer medically and scientifically warranted and consequently restricts the donor base. With only 38 percent of the U.S. popula- tion eligible to donate blood and only a very small percentage of that group actually doing so, the Red Cross is, as Graca wrote, "caught in a crossfire." As the representatives of the student groups responsible for coordinating Red Cross drives on campus, our primary goal is the collection of blood to save lives. We support the Red Cross and any other organization in their endeavors to change the FDA's policy. But at the same time, we struggle with an immediate solution to the problem. The hospitals and patients that depend on the donations from our drives are our primary concern. Over the course of a year, our organiza- tions hold more than 50 blood drives at the University. The pints donated at the annual Blood Battle could potentially save more than 6,000 lives. Blood Battle has proven that it's the spirit of the rivalry and loyalty to the University that motivate so many stu- dents, faculty, staff and alumni to donate blood. The 26-year-old competition has transformed a rivalry based on hating oth- ers into a partnership based on saving them. It is important to recognize that just as the blood donated by a Buckeye could very well go to a Wolverine, blood donations made at any drive go to anyone and everyone who needs them. Graca's proposed solution to coordinate blood drives at near- or off-campus loca- tions - like St. Mary Student Parish, which already hosts drives year-round - would not represent a win-win situation when you rec- ognize the impact of the University drives. With University students representing the majority of the donor base, a large percent- age of which are first time donors, holding blood drives off campus would significant- ly decrease the yearly blood collection. It would also severely reduce the possibility of attracting new donors and discourage past donors from continuing to donate. Our yearly pint collections make the Uni- versity the region's fourth largest source of blood. They are a direct result of the pres- ence and convenience of blood drive loca- tions at buildings and residence halls across campus. These locations provide the oppor- tunity for people to donate and also raise awareness about the need for blood in the community. Currentlyblood drives maynotgive every- one the chance to save lives, but in order to come together to fight the FDA's policy, we must remember that the blood raised by the University's drives contribute to saving the lives of all who need it. On a campus that prides itself on loyalty, let us come together to raise pints and combat discrimination, not by reducing our donor base, but by continu- ing to support it. Blood drives provide the uniquely altruistic opportunity to save the life of someone you may never meet. So while the policy may discriminate in its outcome, its intent is not discriminatory. A solution to the problem is not attacking the Red Cross and eliminating blood drives on campus, but coming together to combat the policy at its core. If our ultimate goal is to grow the donor base, we can't begin to pur- sue that goal by shrinking it. Dr. Robertson Davenport, medical direc- tor of the University Health System's Blood Bank, responded to the potential removal of blood drives from campus by saying, "I wear two hats: One of the University, one of the Red Cross. We use a heck of a lot of blood here. Whatever hurts our ability to collect blood hurts all of us." Michael Diamond, Caitie Hill, Brian Talpos and Laura Yocky are representatives of Blood Drives United. Jennifer Macdonald, Stephanie Price and Megan Rafferty are representatives of the Washtenaw County American Red Cross Club. An armed campus is a safer campus TO THE DAILY: After reading news articles about Thursday's fatal shootings on the campus of Northern Illinois Univer- sity, I feel compelled to write my no- doubt politically incorrect thoughts. The shootings Thursday at NIU are one of many on college campuses over the past several years. Some, like the shootings last year at Virgin- ia Tech, ended with a suicide by the shooter after dozens of students and faculty were killed. Others, like the shooting of three people at Appala- chian School of Law in 2002, ended not with the shooter being "tack- led or cornered" by other students (as most news medig described the story), but by several people who had handguns in their vehicles. In this case, these people ran to get their guns and then held the shooter at gunpoint until law enforcement arrived on the scene, without anoth- er shot being fired. One common theme in all of this - and one that applies to many ofthe tragic shootings at colleges, in shop- ping malls and elsewhere around the country - is that they happen in "gun-free" zones. Such gun-free zones, lauded by liberal anti-gun- rights folks, are open invitations to those who ignore the law, take out their hostilities and kill others with- out being challenged. Fortunately, no such episodes have happened here at the Univer- sity in the last 25 years ago. I hope it never happens. Nonetheless, I don't expect this spate of luck to last forever. The state of Michigan has allowed its age-eligible citizens to obtain concealed handgun permits, based on rather stringent train- ing certifications and background checks through both state and fed- eral databases. Michigan is one of many "shall issue" states concerning concealed weapons permits, requir- ing the state to issue these permits to those who meet the criteria. Moreover, little needs to be done in the way of violating state law to have such permits rescinded, and the permit holder is subjected to severe criminal charges. Now, for the explicitly politically incorrect statement: I am not at all happy - or should I say comfortable or secure - knowing that legal con- cealed carry weapon permit holders are not allowed to carry concealed weapons for their own self-defense on our campus. Over the years there have been too many vicious attacks on defenseless students merely walk- ing though campus. Sooner or later we may have to face a tragedy during which no one who could otherwise defend themselves or others around them will be able to do so. Marshal Shlafer Medical Schoolprofessor Combating latent racism on campus p.m. This event will be have a panel of speakers discussing the place of black youth in society with respect to academic, social and cultural fac- tors. Though this event is one small step in eradicating latent racism, we should leave no stone unturned. Let's prove that the University community always works to uphold the kind of diversity on which we pride ourselves. Michigan Student Assembly members This letter was signed by Mohammad Dar, NateFink, StellaBinkevich, Sabrina Shingwani, AlexSerwer, TO THE DAILY: Y Liz Hadeed, Lauren I Several few weeks ago someone Jordan Salins, Jason R posted on Craigslist a blatantly rac- Sarah Mynhier, MaxA ist rant about how black people are Gibran Baydoun "invading Scorekeepers," the post- er's favorite bar. Among other offen- Alterative sive dribble not fit to be repeated, this person insinuated that interra- Break is m cial relationships are repulsive and that black people should "just stay *ust a week at Necto, Touchdowns, Ypsilanti, Zaimbabwe, etc" because they are unwelcome at Scorekeepers. TO THE DAILY: This statement was very upset- In Theresa KE ting to read, let alone to learn that Thursday (Teachfo it came from one of the Universi- 02/14/2008), the cI ty's own. This incident, however, Alternative Spring' uncovers a more potent, prevalent aid" was misinfor issue on this campus: latent racism. rate. ASB does not Whatever the cause, the Univer- be a movement of sity community has an obligation tryingto fix nation, to do something about it. The easy or less. answer is to say that personal preju- Instead, ASB is dices, as long as they don't directly different kind, not affect anyone, aren't harmful and students trying to cannot be eliminated. That, how- m6s" as Kennelly ever, is not the University way, nor sionate, involved s should it be a part of the University in a service-learnir experience. Instead, we must use ing this experience this as an opportunity to learn and issues like pover move forward. the environment a Today,therearemanyeffortsbeing lence in a way they made to get people talking across traditional classro racial and social lines. Examples of extends beyonda these efforts include the Program on trip in late Febru Intergroup Relations and initiatives research and refle like the Diversity Blueprints. But and service sites in we, as students and citizens, need to ing up to Spring I play an even bigger role in fostering during and after th diversity on our campus. For many studs There has never been a better deep-rooted passis tsime to start tackling this issue than tice, which they( during Black History Month. Until and act on throu we start talking, collaborating and lege career and b( empathizing, we will not be able to nelly not dismissei cut through the problem of latent quickly, she would racism. that ASB promotes The Michigan Student Assem- that acts as a catal bly Minority Affairs Commission a quick fix. will be holding an event called "The State of Black America" tomorrow Amanda Hooper at the Michigan Union's U-Club at 7 Alum Inouye, Paula Klein, Raymond, Nowak, AlexJiga and Spring )re than of activism ennelly's column 'r the Time Being?, haracterization of Break as a "Band- med and inaccu- t purport itself to college students al issues in-a week a movement of a of "half-hearted boost their r6su- wrote, but of pas- tudents engaging ng initiative. Dur- , they learn about ty, immigration, and domestic vio- y never could in a om setting. ASB a one-week road ary; participants ct on their issues i the months lead- Break, as well as e trip. ents, ASB sparks on for social jus- carry with them aghout their col- eyond. Had Ken- d the program so have discovered s service learning lyst to action, not I a 4