4A - Wednesday, March 19,2008 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan 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, 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. Diag disappointment Releasing events schedule would reduce Diag woes f you have something to say, the Diag isn't necessarily the best place to be heard - especially if you're a small student group with a fistful of pamphlets competing for attention with a large, vocal crowd. Due to a University policy that keeps schedules of student activities in the public space private, student organizations often unexpectedly face such marginalization when they plan programs on the Diag. By simply making the schedule of Diag events available to interested groups, the University could help students effectively use the public forum to their advantage without worrying about competition. It's understandable that many student groups are overshadowed on the Diag by the presence of organizations with the resources to fund games and free food to attract passersby.While the University tries to protect against the encroachment of one group's display on another's with a "shared space" stipulation, it's still hard to compete with a moonwalk when all one has to offer is a petition and a bowl of candy. Student groups have a right to attract attention as they choose, but they should also have the right to reserve space when it will be most beneficial to them. This dilemma could be resolvedby releas- ing the schedule of Diag activities to orga- nizations interested in reserving their own space. However, the University contends that revealing such information would be a violation of student groups' privacy., Protecting privacy is important, and the University is right to do it. In this case, though, it's unclear what privacy is being protected. Considering that these events occur in a public space and are typically advertised, this logic is questionable. The University may potentially be protecting groups from the harassment of opposition, but it is also keeping students from mak- ing informed choices and disadvantaging groups with less resources. In its dual role as the center of campus and the center of campus activity, the Diag is the ideal setting for student activism and interaction. It has seen passionate dem- onstrations against the vietnam War and the war in Iraq, busy student organization fairs and even a dunk tank or two. The Diag is often chaotic, largely because that's the nature of democracy on campus. However, student groups should be able to choose whether or not they want to buy into that chaos on a given day. By withholding the list of scheduled events from students, the University is only harming the effectiveness of their groups' public programs. They should have the right to choose whether they want to adver- tise their cause alongside a modest display or a speaker blasting music rather than being left to the mercy of the University's schedulers. No one can predict the future." - A common assertion of Arthur C. Clarke, who wrote "2001: A Space Odyssey" and is widely credited with predicting the use of telecommunications satellites more than a decade early, as reported yesterday by The New York Times. Clarke died yesterday at the age of 90. ROSE JAFFE E-MAIL JAFFE AT ROSEJAFF@UMICH.EDU ALL 41w wwr" 4mRew Yrk. Lecture notes or 37 minutes and 37 seconds "Dreams From My Father," Obama's al arguments that hide the collective yesterday, Barack Obama wasn't speech was a nuanced explanation problem. a politicianvyingfor ashot at the of the complex state of race relations Similarly, it's no secret that students White House. He in America. He contends that racial of all races and ethicities at the Uni- wasn't rehashing a inequality exists. It rears its ugly head versity segregate themselves. Differ- tired stump speech. in America's public schools and prisons ent groups of students live in different He wasn't urging and has its roots in hundreds of years of neighborhoods, attend different par- voters to turn out oppression that can't be forgotten over- ties, go to differentbars and join differ- for the big Pennsyl- night. Minority groups have reason ent student organizations. vania primary next to still be angry. But Obam was still Instead of a reason to ignore race month. He wasn't quick to indict black people like Wright and pretend that we can live in a color- even cleaningup the who narrowly dwell on such anger. blind society, these distinctions should mess surrounding On the other side, Obamasaid,"Most be reasons to acknowledge race. the recent release of GARY working- and middle-class white Obama recognizes that racial mar- videos ofsermonsby GRACA Americans don't feel that they have ginalization and prejudice are very his friend and pas- been particularly privileged by their complex realities - not only in our tor Rev. Jeremiah race." This experience breeds resent- nation's past, but in our present, too. Wright Jr. in which Wrightcondemned ment, but considering these people While groups on all sides of the racial the government as racist and corrupt. "racist" or "misguided" withoutunder- debate will be quick to embrace those Despite all that, it would be unfair standing their concerns, he argued, is of his words that support their situa- for me to deny that Obama's speech inappropriate. By the same token, for will be politically beneficial. It was a white people to deny the inequality in good speech. It was also naive of the America is equally inappropriate. Clinton campaignto think that it could "It's a racial stalemate we've been W hat Obama s use Obama's race as a weapon in the stuck in for years," Obama said. He first place. He's the son of a Kenyan might as well have been talking about speech on race father and a Kansan mother - how the Universitybecausethe same stale- for m ' many times does he have to say that mate exists here. means for CampUs before we understand that he knows More thanayear after Michiganvot a thing or two about the complexity of ers passed a constitutional amendment racial issues? banning race- and gender-based affir- tion, we must remember to recognize What Obama did yesterday was dif- mative action at public institutions in the other side. When we fail to consid- ficult, and there were hundreds of ways the state, racial minorities on campus er that other side, legitimately listen to that he could have disassociated him- feel like their communities are threat- those sides and consider them for our- self from Wright without making this ened. And they're right. Their commu- selves, discrimination arises. gamble. He could have disowned his nities are threatened. This amendment on campus we still have a long way pastor, claimed he didn't know about has the potential to roll back decades of to go. When By Any Means Necessary these fiery homilies and let the whole progress ethnic minorities have made hijacks events like the Ward Connerly thing blow over. He could have called in higher education. But what is a more speech earlier this month or the Uni- out the Hillary Clinton for making race difficult challenge is explaining this versity's chapter of Young Americans an issue in the campaign when he never sentiment to white people who may not for Freedom hold uninformative and wanted it to be. He probably could have understand that feeling. callous events like "Catch an Illegal just avoided the whole thing altogeth- on the other side, there are probably Immigrant Day" - as it did in 2006 er. That probably would have been the many white high school students who - these groups polarize campus and prudent thing to do, especially while feel relieved now that the ballot ini- prevent a necessary exchange. trying to win a state once described as tiative has passed. There are probably As Obama said yesterday, these Pittsburgh in the west, Philadelphia in many white parents who have lost their issues "reflect the complexities of race the east and Alabama inthe middle. jobs in the automotive industry who no in this country that we've never really He didn't do those things. Yesterday, longer worry that a minority student worked through - a part of our union Obama was lecturing. And his lesson will have an advantage over their stu- that we have not yet made perfect.' was one that students on this campus dent in receiving a coveted scholarship. - whether they're Obama supporters With dwindling jobs in Michigan, they Gary Graca is the Daily's editorial or not - should heed. are understandably concerned. Too page editor. He can be reached Like the message in his first book often these people use these emotion- at gmgraca@mich.edu. 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. MICHIGAN ACTION PARTY I VIEWPOINT Vote Michigan Action Party 4 A 4 TIM HULL MSA still needs work For the past year, I have served as one of the few independent representatives on the Michigan Student Assembly. While there are certainly many good things that MSA does for students, like organizing Airbus and homecoming, it has become quite evident during my time on MSA that it has many issues that keep it from being as effective as it could be. Among these issues is a culture that is somewhat difficult for outsiders - like myself - to fit into. Even as a representative, I have always felt like an outsider. While many representatives know each other from various groups outside of student government, I came to MSA on my own initiative as a student who cares for the rest of the student body at the University. In addition to my general "outsider" status, I have a disability: Asperger's syndrome. For these reasons, I came into MSA as a very dif- ferent person than most. I act and think dif- ferently, which means that I generally have a difficult time associating with the social cliques, political parties and other groups sur- rounding (and within) MSA. This differing perspective, not surprisingly, has on occasion caused conflict between me and other MSA representatives regarding matters of general philosophy. It also has led to occasional preju- dice against me as a result of both my man- nerisms and differences of opinion. Despite these issues, I do think that MSA has benefited from my presence, even though it still may have work to do. For one thing, I am happy that disability issues have finally been recognized by MSA as a legitimate con- cern through the Disability Issues Select Committee, even if it took too long for MSA to do so. Also, while MSA's culture of' political and social cliques is still present, progress certainly has been made during my term towards making its culture less insular. MSA has improved its outreach in my time as a representative, and though it may not be per- fect, I will say that what it has done is at least a start. Furthermore, although it has been difficult given my situation, I have been able to convince MSA - on occasion - to consid- er new ideas, such as my successful proposal to require individual representative votes be recorded and the aforementioned disabil- ity committee. Granted, MSA has remained firm in maintaining the party system, but such large changes certainly don't happen overnight. Owing to this, I have decided that it's my duty to run for re-election as an LSA repre- sentative on MSA despite being a senior. I will help MSA continue to work towards the goal of making its culture more accepting of the wide variety of viewpoints and perspec- tives that make this university what it is. While I may be graduating in a few months, I do plan to stay at the University asagraduate student and want to continue serving the stu- dent body as an MSA representative. I hope you willvote in the election, which started at midnight today. Tim Hull is an LSA senior and an independent candidate for MSA representative. SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU Change in Action Party to bring change to MSA ing students on you want and' sidetracked by just like what oi meant to be: fort TO THE DAILY: CIA's candid I wholeheartedly agree with Dave Mekel- King, want to E burg's column Friday about the Michigan energy to MSA. Student Assembly: Scandal in the studentgov- Party's overwh ernment is unacceptable, and something must atmosphere wh be done to change it (How you can fix MSA, challenged, new 03/14/2008). But what he wrongly implied will finally effec was that no one cares enough to create anoth- Honestly, ev er party. Some students have already seen the about MSA. I he need to change MSA and decided to do some- articles and lett thing about it. That's where the Change in So if you're pass Action Party comes in. you're passional The Change in Action Party is focused on And here's theI avoiding distracting scandals while getting vote. Please vote things done in student government. Its prima- March 19 and 20 ry goal is to give students what they want - To learn mor namely, change. I mean, who else never wants website at chang to see another Daily article on the MSA presi- dent creating an offensive Facebook group? Aimee Bowen CIA wants to do a better job of represent- LSAfresman campus by finding out what delivering rather than being internal problems. It sounds ur country's government was the people, by the people. ates, Amy Leder and Dave bring new people, ideas and While the Michigan Action elming majority creates an ere the status quo is rarely blood in student government t change. eryone's been complaining ar it all the time, especially in ers to the editor in the Daily. sionate enough to criticize it, te enough to change things. great thing: All it takes is a CIA in the MSA elections on D. e about the CIA, go to their einaction.googlepages.com. Today and tomorrow, students will once again have the chance to cast their votes in student govern- ment elections, deciding who will represent them in the year to come. These elections play an important role in students' lives and have the potential to shape campus and affect the student experience. It is incredibly important for students to cast informed votes to choose can- didates that will work diligently as advocates for students' ideals. As the executive candidates for the Michigan Action Party, we commit ourselves to working for students and being active voices for change. The four of us have dedicat- ed our college careers to improving the University and are committed to working tirelessly to improve your experience on campus. There is a lot of misinformation as to what exactly MAP represents. We are not politically affiliated. Rather we are focused on improving the campus experience for students in as many ways and through as many venues as possible. This semester, we are running a full slate of nine LSA Student Government repre- sentatives and 13 Michigan Student Assembly representatives. As party leadership, we can draw upon our many years of experience to assert that the representaive candidates running this year have campus experiences that are diverse enough to accurately represent the student body. They also have the passion to fight tirelessly for improvements throughout the coming year. We do not blindly follow a party ideology, but rather we dedicate ourselves to achieving tangible results and cre- ating positive change for students on this campus. In the past, MAP representa- tives have planned campus events including homecoming, Taste of Michigan and Gayz Craze. Our members have also played a large role in student government's recent success, including the effort to find a reasonable commencement venue, creating the Peace and Social Jus- tice minor, planning for next fall's Energy Futures theme semester and working to change the aca- demic calendar. MAP members are serving on several administra- tive committees, including the LSA Curriculum Committee, the Michi- gan Union Board of Representatives and the Student Relations Advisory Committee. Through our work on these committees, we have not only succeeded in providing a strong stu- dent voice but also building strong relationships with administrators that will allow us to continue effec- tively representing students. Although the general theme for our executive campaign is increas- ing student participation in all Uni- versity decisions, we are dedicated to achieving a platform of specific ideas and project goals. On MSA, we plan to work to expand health insurance coverage for students, organize buses for away-game sporting events, increase LGBT out- reach and secure off-campus light- ing. On LSA-SG, we plan to work to improve orientation advising, create a more inviting government climate, improve class descriptions in the LSA Course Guide and raise awareness about LSA-SG's func- tions on the administrative level. This list includes just a few of the many ideas that we will work hard to achieve in this next year. We have the experience, dedica- tion and passion that are essential to creating positive change on this campus. We hope that you feel comfortable giving us your vote and trust us to represent you for the upcomingyear. John Monaghan is the MAP vice presidential candidate for LSA-SG. Sabrina Shingwani is the MAP presidential candidate for MSA. Arvind Sohoni is the MAP vice presidential candidate for MSA. Leslie Zaikis is the MAP presidential candidate for LSA-SG. 0 4