The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
4-Friday, March 14, 2008
Edited and managed by students at
the University ofMichigan since 1890.
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
tothedaily@umich.edu
ANDREW GROSSMAN
EDITOR IN CHIEF
GARY GRACA
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR
GABE NELSON
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, Paul H. Johnson, actsas the readers' representative and takes a critical look at
coverage andcontent in every section ofcthe paper. Readers are encouragedto contact the public editor
with questions and comments. He canbe reached at publiceditor@umich.edu.
F ROM T HE DA I Y
Lights out on safety
The continuing debacle that is off-campus street lighting
Jf there is one unsettled issue that has been hanging over the
Michigan Student Assembly's head for years, it's off-campus
lighting. Student neighborhoods don't have adequate street
lighting, making them dangerously dark at night and susceptible
to crime. No one seems to disagree about these things. But no one
wants to foot the bill for the new lights. The newest reincarnation
of improved off-campus lighting, proposed this week by MSA, will
suffer from the same debilitating financial problem unless MSA, the
University and the city agree to fund this project.
"We believe this will again show Hillary
is ready to win and Senator Obama really
can't win a general election."
- Mark Penn, a senior adviser to Hillary Clinton, talking yesterday about the meaning of a
Clinton victory in April's Pennsylvania primary.
How you can fix MSA
ichigan Student Assembly up against this. When Yost resigned be a major priority. But it isn't.
elections are less than a last December, several representa- Instead of just talking about the
week away, and you know tives spoke about how sad they were problems we have, I'm going to pro-
what that means. that "it came to this." Came to what? pose a solution. The only thing that
Oh, right. You don't Regardless of Yost's talent and drive can be done, rests on you, the apathet-
care. as president, he - foolishly - mocked ic Michigan masses: Start your own
Thismaybe obvi- someone's disability. A comment like party. New parties have never quite
ous, but bear with that could take down a state governor, been successful, but maybe you can
me for a moment. yet people felt that it was blown out of turn it all around.
You really ought to proportion. MPP founder Walter Nowinski
vote. A paltry 2,100 I know there was dissent on the (who joined the Daily after giving up
students cast their assembly. I heard it. But I'm sorry to on studentgovernment) said you can't
ballot in last semes- DAVE say that most of these people were buy into the MSA model of joining
ter'sunnoticedelec- outside of MSA's core. They were committees or commissions because
tions. Even with my MEKELBURG independents, Defend Affirmative no one actually cares about MSA
history-major math Action Party members or represen- experience.
skills, I was able to tatives on their way out. The issue "The whole thing is predicated on
use my cell phone to calculate that wasn't that everyone agreed with being an outsider," he said.
over 94 percent of University stu-, what Yost did, it's that so few people After my time covering MSA, here
dents didn't vote. That awful turnout would publicly speak their mind. You are a few steps to get you going.
occurred amidst a scandal that would keep your mouth shut if you want to 1. Come up with a clever name.
eventually lead to then-MSA Presi- advance. 2. Try not to have a polarizing ide-
dent ZackYost resigning. The biggest lie MSA tells is that ology (i.e. "liberal" or "conservative"),
Despite the basically uncontest- there isn't an insular MSA culture. but make sure your party stands for
ed elections, your voice still means Ask MSA Rep. Tim Hull what hap- something.
something. With a mandate of 40,000 pens when you speak up - especially
students, MSA would have some clout if you're an independent. You get
with the administration, and those threatening e-mails and people mock A column about
things that you want - pep rallies, you publicly and privately. I saw him
concerts and longer breaks - would get personally called out at a public 1 [A though u
be more likely to happen. meeting for writing a disapproving , OI. you
Originally, I was going to use this letter to the Daily. I was forwarded a
space to guilt you into voting. Don't few of the nasty e-mails. That sucks. probabl don't care
get me wrong, you need to vote, but Yet, the monolithic umbrella party,
the real problem is much deeper. The the Michigan Action Party, is virtu-
real problem is MSA's party system. ally indestructible. These umbrella 3. Pander to MSA's three major vot-
I covered MSA as a Daily staff parties are made to win elections, ing blocs: freshmen, Greeks and Jews.
reporter for two years. Every semes- which makes them difficult to take on. 4. Come to MSA meetings and start
ter, I've seen the same things prom- Two years ago, an upstart party, the trouble during community concerns.
ised: cheaper textbooks, off-campus Michigan Progressive Party seemed Leave immediately after.
Entree Plus, a more transparent to pose a real threat to the dominant 5. Do a lot of stuff like holding
assembly and a football National umbrella party. Voter turnout was events or meetings and get the Daily
Championship. OK, it doesn't promise the highest it's been in years, with to cover them. We're always looking
a national championship. Regardless, roughly 10,000 students taking part. for things to cover, and if you're rel-
these changes won't happen as long as Yet, MPP failed to win much, aside evant (and sometimes if you're not),
the current system is in place. Instead, from a representative here and there. we will cover you.
representatives toe the party line and Its label as the liberal party gave it an 6. Point out the ineffectiveness of
follow orders until it's their turn to be ideological face, which MAP's prede- the past decade of MSA.
on the executive board. cessor Students 4 Michigan trumped 7. Run a clean election. (But not too
Think about the scandals last with its bland "we won't rock the clean.)
semester. A representative pled guilty boat" mentality. 8. Win. Change the system. Rule
to a felony charge that took place dur- Look, MSA does a lot of good some- nobly.
ing an MSA election. This wasn't just times. Things like pep rallies and last
a normal "we all make mistakes" mis- semester's march on Lansing are real- David Mekelburg was a Daily fall/
demeanor. And where was the out- ly good things. But MSA could do bet- winter associate news editor in 2007.
cry? Not a single person in MSA stood ter and needs to. Voter turnout should He can be reached at dmek@umich.edu.
After the first annual "safety walk" in
January 2006, which paired MSA and the
University's Department of Public Safety
together for stroll through student neigh-
borhoods at night, three areas were iden-
tified as needing more lighting. And that's
about all that has been done. In response to
the review, the Ann Arbor City Council esti-
mated the cost for providing lighting to the
three areas to be more than $20,000. The
council balked at paying for the lights, and
MSA was sent back to the drawing board.
Cutting its losses, MSA is now asking
the city to light just one of the areas. The
lucky finalist is an area at the intersec-
tion of East University Avenue, Oakland
Avenue and Tappan Street known as "The
Triangle." For six LED streetlights in the
area, it is estimated that the total bill will
be more than $10,000. Despite MSA's com-
promise, the funding may still jeopardize
the new light.
It's tough not to place some of the blame
for this recurring problem on MSA. The
assembly hasn't motivated students enough
to get a critical mass necessary to con-
vince the city and the University that this
issue is important. As a campaign promise
of numerous MSA candidates, there is an
expectation that MSA will do whatever it
takes to get this done. It hasn't.
While MSA hasn't stoked students' out-
rage, the city hasn't given this issue the
attention it deserves either. Rather than
footing the roughly $20,000 it would have
cost to light all three areas, the city shirked
it duty to protect its citizens - even if they
are students. By redirecting the financial
burden onto the residents and request-
ing that each property owner pay $100 for
increased lighting it ensured the demise of
this project.
What the City Council doesn't seem to
understand is that it has a stake in this too.
Ann Arbor has a reputation as a safe city.
Shootings, knifings, other crimes and just
uncomfortable circumstances call this per-
ception into question, whether in student
neighborhoods or not. Better street lighting
help's people feel more safe and the city's
police make sure they are more safe.
Lastly, the University has done its part in
dooming the project. Even though it's the
safety of its students at risk, the University
has been unwilling to contribute to a proj-
ect that concerns areas technically lying
outside of campus boundaries and DPS's
jurisdiction. DPS spokeswoman Diane
Brown said this off-campus concern was
why the University wouldn't contribute
part of the $10,000 MSA needs to get its lat-
est plan passed. Her distinction is arbitrary
and misses the point. The University could
contribute, it just won't. A few thousand
dollars is a drop in the bucket of the Uni-
versity's budget. It's irresponsible for it not
to help fund a project that directly affects
the safety of its students.
MSA is asking for six streetlights. If it
can't find a way to get them, whether the
University or the city chips in, that will
speak volumes about the power of MSA.
Kicked off the treadmill
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS:
Emad Ansari, Harun Buljina, Anindya Bhadra, Kevin Bunkley, Ben Caleca, Satyajeet
Deshmukh, Milly Dick, Mike Eber, Emmarie Huetteman, Theresa Kennelly, Emily Michels,
Arikia Millikan, Kate Peabody, Robert Soave, lmran Syed, Neil Tambe, Matt Trecha, Kate
Truesdell, Radhika Upadhyaya, Rachel Van Gilder, Rachel Wagner, Patrick Zabawa.
.1' T T T T ' EE TOR SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU
Valuing inclusiveness more
than numbers on benches
TO THE DAILY:
In response to Chris Vessels's letter to the
editor Wednesday arguing that fans with
disabilities should have to compensate for
Michigan Stadium's loss of its title as larg-
est football stadium in the country yesterday
(Blame fans in wheelchairs for lower stadium
capacity, 03/12/2008):
How about I put you in a wheelchair, paint
your ass maize, your face blue and your new
seating group can slap the two together every
time the Wolverines get a first down?
I find it hard to believe that you have spent
four years at a high quality, diverse and pro-
gressive school like the University and still
be so naive about things like the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990. It's our duty as
members of this community to do all we can
to include everybody, especially in something
like Michigan football.
In the end, whether the Big House holds
107,500 or 106,200 people doesn't matter if it
holds the title of "The biggest college football
stadium in America for healthy non-disabled
fans." Besides, the last time I checked, a seat
amounts to a number painted on a bench that
nobody sits down in anyway.
Geta clue, Vessels.
Troy Lau
Rackham
Criticism of student groups
should be left to students
impact of student groups on resolving the
Israel-Palestine conflict (A new studentgroup
satus quo, 03/12/2008). The Michigan Daily
is written, managed and read by students.
Alumni do not have the right to criticize stu-
dents' daily lives in the paper. Since Foster
is not currently a student at the University,
he cannot understand or accurately critique
Israel activism on our campus.
In responding to Foster's specific criti-
cisms of Israeli advocacy student groups,
there are many possible responses. I could
argue that if the American Movement for
Israel wants to use hummus and music as
a way of engaging students to have initial
conversations about the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, it can do that and is intelligent for
doing it. I could recount how four years ago,
the chairs of AMI and the Students Allied for
Freedom and Equality could not even sit in
the same room much less have a conversa-
tion. Yet, they participated together in a dia-
logue on religion Wednesday night. I could
explain how, when I was the chair of AMI, I
learned that changing campus culture does
not happen overnight. I can say with confi-
dence that the Israeli-Palestinian debate is
currently making huge strides forward.
However, Foster is not the one who needs
to or even cares about hearing these answers.
People often forget that the University is not a
perfect place. You cannot close your eyes and
reopen them to find a changed world. It takes a
lot of hard work that only fellow student lead-
ers can understand. I hope that the leaders of
AMI, Israel IDEA and anyone else invested in
the Israeli-Palestinian debate continue to find
creative ways tobringinformationto students
and inspire them to care about the situation
in Middle East. I have confidence that it will
be students, not onlookers, who will begin to
make a difference in campus activism.
ou may not believe this, but the
Michigan of the East - Har-
vard University itself - has yet
again meandered its
way into the center
of national contro-
versy. The Crimson
bastionofrighteous- 7
ness appears to have
offended Americans
by committing a
faux pas of enor- -.
mous magnitude: It A5HLEA
has restricted access
to a campus gym for SURLES
a few hours a week.
Six Muslim
women, backed by the Harvard Col-
lege Women's Center, petitioned the
university for all-female gym hours
so that those who follow traditional
religious dress codes - like keeping
hair and skin covered while in public -
could dress more appropriately when
exercising. This includes primarily
Muslim, but also Jewish and Christian
women practicing orthodox or conser-
vative religious strains. And so Har-
vard fatefully obliged and branded six
whole hours a week at one of its mul-
tiple workout facilities "girls only." Let
the tongues wag and the tickers scroll
- we've got a problem.
Sexism has infiltrated the Ivies. The
media are eating it up, opting to frame
the story specificallyin terms ofgender,
and the public is divided accordingly,
separating into teams cheerleading for
their sex of choice. Few appear to be
loitering in the middle ground. While
some argue that the ladies' special
new privilege is well deserved, others
are arguing that it's downright wrong.
Men and women alike are crying foul,
saying the new policy is sexist because
it privileges women over men.
But the group at the heart of the
matter has gotten lost in the shuffle. In
the rush to discuss the deliciously con-
troversial possibility of reverse sexism,
it seems that the sizeable stake that
minority women have in the matter
has slipped through the cracks of this
policy debate. When I first heard about
Harvard's bold move, I assumed that
the controversy would focus on the
university's audacious accommodation
to a religious minority. I was stunned
to find the news coverage glossing
over this aspect completely and opt-
ing to focus almost entirely on the
sexism angle. As the media sounded
off, I couldn't help but think about the
consequences of painting with such
a broad brush, and the fact that, most
often, the same group seems to be hid-
den by the strokes: minority women.
This population is held down by
the discrimination that plagues both
women as well as minorities. And it's
nothing new for these women to see
their plight lost in the tide of wider
themes.While the consensus, to alarge
extent, seems to be that women are on
their way to shattering the age-old
glass ceiling and gaining an equal foot-
ing with men, many issues confronting
minority women are actually worsen-
ing. The progress that white women
are experiencing has, to a large extent,
yet to trickle down to the Latina, black
and Native American women. But,
because the rhetoric is too-often polar-
ized along gender lines - like what
happened in the case of Harvard's
policy - minority women are lumped
together with the all-encompassing
female demographic. The troublesome
situation facing this cross-section of
women is overlooked.
The statistics are revealing. Minor-
ity women are disproportionately more
impoverished than white women and
the prospects for upward mobility are
nil. While the number of women in
higher education has soared past the
number of men in recent years, the
number of black and Latina women
in college still trails the enrollment of
white women by more than 5 and 10
percent respectively. While the aver-
age woman's wage is slowly closing
the gap between that of their male
counterparts, the average minority
woman's wage continues to lag strik-
ingly far behind wages of both white
women and minority men. Along with
this, perhaps unsurprising, is the fact
that the number of minority women
collecting food stamps dwarfs that of
white women. The rate of uninsured
women nationwide is under 20 per-
cent, while more than a third of Latina
and Native American women remain
uninsured. These women suffer dis-
proportionately from premature death,
disease and disabilities.
But perhaps there is no better exam-
ple of the worsening yet consistently
unacknowledged state of minority
women in America than the stagger-
ing levels by which this demographic
has been devastated by the HIV/AIDS
epidemic. More than 80 percent of the
women diagnosed with HIV or AIDS
in 2005 were Latina or black women.
Further,the disease istheleadingcause
of death among black women ages
between ages 25 and 34. These statis-
tics are especially revealing when you
consider that the infection rate among
white women is only 15 percent.
Critics of
Harvard's gym
policy miss point
The fact that the feminist move-
ment has largely skipped-over minority
women is an unacknowledged truth.
If we continue to ignore the glaring
and inherent disparities within the
female demographic, we are sentenc-
ing minority women to a perpetual
and unjustifiable underprivileged sta-
tus. As for Harvard, whether these
religious women deserve testoster-
one-free gym time is debatable, but
the women involved must at least be
acknowledged for who they are, not
just for their estrogen level.
Ashlea Surles can be reached
at ajsurles@umich.edu.
0
U
JASON MAHAKIAN
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g415 1
\/
TO THE DAILY:
I was disappointed to read Zachary Fos- Naomi Karp
ter's viewpoint Wednesday questioning the LSA senior
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