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The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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Edited and managed by students at
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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 representsolelytheviews oftheirauthors.
F THE DAIY
Go (Planet) Blue
'U' conservation program is worthy of praise
Maybe the increased carbon dioxide in the air is throw-
ing off people's minds or maybe high energy costs have
finally convinced people that conservation is important,
but big green ideas are taking the United States by storm. Everyone
wants in on the green game. The University is no exception, and
now with the scaled-up Planet Blue program, it has hit a home run.
But like all successful ideas, the bar is now set high - the University
must exceed its current commitment in the future.
NOTABLE M"OTA LE
I lied under oath:'
- Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, admitting in court that he lied while testifying during a
whistle-blower trial last fall, as reported yesterday by the Detroit Free Press. Kilpatrick will resign
from his position as part of a plea bargain he agreed to yesterday.
Undercover brothers
E very woman knows that when a right to respond "no." Disease Control and Prevention. A
she gets involved with a new So is he lying? No. However, is he 2003 study from the same source also
man there are a few ques- being deceptive and unfair? Yes. showed that 34 percent of black men
tions she must Here's why. Many men and women who have sex with men also reported
ask to see if he's in the LGBT community have fears havingsexwithwomen, whereasonly
the eligible bach- and worries caused by their sexual 6 percent of black women reported
elor she's looking identity. Many of us assume that sex- knowingly having sex with a bisexual
for. There are the ual orientation is a black-and-white man.
standard questions issue. Either you're gay or you're This datareflects an issue especial-
about career, cred- straight. But that is not always true. ly pertinent in the black community
it, mental health Men who are questioning their sexu- of men on the "down-low," mislead-
history, criminal ality have their own identity issues ing their partners and putting their
background, fam- they are trying to understand. They lives at risk. While it's safe to say that
ily and relationship SHAKIRA can't give you a concise answer ifthey alienation from your community may
status - because no SMILER still have uncertainties themselves. make you feel bad, contracting HIV
woman wants to be ~_Furthermore, in many communi- from a dishonest partner could kill
out with her new ties, especially the black community, you.
beau, only to have his wife storm in being gay or bisexual is still consid-
with a smelly brat on her hip scream- ered largely immoral and licentious.
log about child support payments. Men can put themselves at risk of
After years of trialand error, women being completely alienated from The dangers of
have learned how to avoid this situa- their families, loved ones and the
tion by asking the right questions in entire community if they come out. hiding sexual
advance. This leads some to feelings of loneli-
Similarly, ever since "Brokeback ness, emptiness and despair. Fear of orientation.
Mountain," women have started slip- exclusion, partnered with the confu-
ping another precautionary three- sion about their sexual desires, could
word question onto our relationship force any manto take a more avoidant
application: "Are you gay?" approach in a sexual situation. That's This is not only an issue that
While we exhale after receiving a not to mention that hate crimes are plagues the black community. This
very relaxed response of "no," what still committed against gay people problem crosses all racial and socio-
we fail to realize is that we have just every year. economic communities. While I
been bamboozled. "Gay" is a very Sure, we can come up with plenty consider myself an ally of the LGBT
specific term. Although a man may of reasons why gay or bisexual men community, I can't support dishones-
have an intimate or sexual attraction might hide their sexual identity ty and deception. Men who are dating
to another man, he may very well not from the women they are dating. But both women and men and engaging
be gay. Sure, many people will argue regardless, it is still selfish and dan- in sexual activities with both are put-
that having any kind of attraction to gerous. By choosing not to disclose ting themselves and their partners at
someone of the same sex makes you that kind of information, these men an even greater risk of contracting
gay, members of the LGBT commu- mislead these women emotionally. sexually transmitted diseases and
nity have clear definitions and terms, Furthermore, if sex is involved, they deadly viruses.
like bisexual, that differentiate one put their partners at risk of diseases Coming clean to your partner may
identity from another. and death. cause you to suffer a broken ego, but
Unfortunately, dealing with this In the black community, for exam- continuing to hide your true identity
is like a "don't ask, don't tell" type of ple, HIV/AIDS was the leading cause may cause you to take someone's life.
thing. If you ask him if he's gay and of death amongblack women between
he identifies as bisexual (or in many the ages of 25-34 in 2004, based on Shakira Smiler can be reached
cases, he may not know), then he has information from the Centers for at stsmiler@umich.edu.
KATE PEABODYVE NT
Planet Blue is the successor to a pilot pro-
gram that began in October last year. In
five campus buildings, the pilot program
combined an intensive education campaign
with energy-saving technology to reduce
costly energy consumption, giving fac-
ulty and staff the message and the means
to make a change. For example, instead of
just suggesting that people turn off their
electronics when they leave their room, it
also provided people motion-sensing power
strips to help.
And the pilot program was wildly suc-
cessful. The five buildings reduced con-
sumption by 8 to 25 percent. The program
is sure to save the University a nice chunk
of change. Just consider that one of the five
buildings, the Chemistry Building, uses
more than $4 million worth of energy a
year. Reduce that by 10 percent, and you
just saved a quick $400,000.
Now, Planet Blue is scaling up. Over the
next three years, it hopes to do for 30 build-
ings what it did for three last year. And it
expects big results: an overall 10-percent
reduction in energy consumption. Backing
up that goal is roughly $15 million from the
Plant Operations budget - money the Uni-
versity expects to get back in two years.
The University deserves a round of
applause for this effort. Silently, the Uni-
versity has been making some great eco-
friendly changes in the past few years. It
has also done its fair share of greenwashing
- selling itself as a leader on environmental
issues when it really isn't. But Planet Blue is
something to be proud of. It capitalizes on
the newfound enthusiasm for environmen-
talism that is sweeping our country by pro-
viding people with the tools and knowledge
to make a difference. Hopefully it won't just
change the University's energy bill, it will
also change people's attitudes.
The program has a few inconsistent
quirks, though. Because the initiative is
financed through general funds, it doesn't
extend to some very significant facilities,
including athletic facilities, the hospital
and residence halls. Further, instead of
simply upgrading facilities and technology
for every building, upgrades will be made
upon request. This way, a building's staff
could decide that instead of installing a
new dual-flush toilet, they could keep the
old toilet around, for example. But why give
them the option?
More importantly, the University's ener-
gy-saving education overlooks a key group:
students. Granted, this semester's theme for
the College of Literature, Science and the
Arts is "Energy Futures," which will hope-
fully educate students. But it would be nice
to see a little more attention focused on some
of campus's biggest wasters. Start young.
It should go without saying that Planet
Blue can't be the end of the University's
foray into real environmental change. As
long as there are still vacant computers
turned on for hours in the Fishbowl, empty
rooms with lights on all night and buses not
using hybrid technology, there is a lot left to
do. That doesn't dismiss the initiative all of
need to take. But the University is in a posi-
tion to prod a lot of people on.
Valuing Internet input
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS:
Harun Buljina, Emmarie Huetteman, Emily Michels, Kate Peabody, Robert Soave, Imran Syed
The Daily is looking for smart people with an interest in campus issues
and excellent writing skills to be members of its editorial board.
E-MAIL GARY GRACA AT GRACA@MICHIGANDAILY.COM
FOR MORE INFORMATION
RACHEL VAN GILDER I VIEWP. IT
Parenting, not olic
Yesterday, when I finished reading Emily
Michels'sviewpointintheDailyaboutsexual
education (The opposite of sex, 09/04/2008),
I set down my newspaper and picked up my
laptop. Michels argued that the abstinence-
only sexual education program now taught
in public schools is the root cause of rising
teen pregnancy rates in the United States.
She condemned the Bush administration for
backing a program that "puts an entire gen-
erations of teens at high risk for disease and
unwanted pregnancies."
And you know what? She was right. Absti-
nence-only education isn't working. We've
got the numbers to prove it.
But that's not the only problem, and blam-
ing everything unfortunate that happens on
the government - Bush administration or
otherwise - is a bad habit to get into. We
need to take some of the blame, too. We need
to start making some changes.
Rather than a naive teen populous caused
by poor government policies, the root cause
of teen pregnancy is a culture in which
casual sex has become a way of life. Our
society teaches young people that having
sex at a young age is perfectly acceptable.
The media glamorizes celebrity teen preg-
nancy. Mainstream music and television has
transformed sex from a private act between
two people committed to each other into a
cheap thrill. Bombarded from every direc-
tion, young people think free love is just
another part of the American way.
Somewhere along the way, giving youths
a realistic impression of the consequences
of their actions got lost. On television, the
pretty, popular girl never gets pregnant
with a baby for which she can't care. In the
songs, the one-night stand doesn't end with
an innocent child in an impoverished, sin-
gle-parent home. Pop culture teaches young
people to forget about the consequences of
their actions. Young girls are taught that
having sex is a choice they can make, an
action to prove how mature they are.
Sex is not a form of self-expression,
though. It is, to be completely frank, a
reproductive function. Thinking about sex
outside of biological terms fights against
nature. That's why even the most advanced
birth control techniques are never 100 per-
cent effective. No amount of education can
change that.
However, people can change their think-
ing and their habits. We're the ones allowing
this misinformation and these irresponsible
attitudes to reach young minds. If the peo-
ple want to lower teen pregnancy rates, we
need to be the ones making the change, not
waiting around for the government to do so.
Parents should give their children the facts
and teach them family values. Movements
to insert reality into the messages sent over
our airways need to form.
If John McCain takes office in January,
it is a good bet that the abstinence-only
sexual education program won't be chang-
ing. Barack Obama, on the other hand, co-
sponsored the Prevention First Act, a bill
that supports our the teaching of both absti-
nence and safe sex in public schools.
But neither of these policies is good
enough. We shouldn't be waiting around for
the government to make a move. If America
wants its young people to be making truly
responsible decisions, it needs to step up
and start taking truly responsible action.
Rachel Van Gilder is an LSA sophomore.
Why do you update your Face-
book status? Maybe you're bored,
but more likely you're looking for
a reaction. It's the same reason
you post dramatic song lyrics or
updates on your emotional condi-
tion - to elicit a response. Human
interaction on any level is based on
reactions, but the Internet is step-
ping up the game.
Blogs are highly interactive.
Admit it: Even in the eighth grade,
you lived for the comments on your
LiveJournal. Maybe you gave up
when people stopped commenting
on the updates about your secret
life of American teenagedom. But
now you have YouTube, and if you
don't check what people are saying
about the videos you post, you are
checking how many hits you got.
The Internet has become our
secret diary. At first, it's disturb-
ing to think that rather than for
your eyes only, the whole world is
able to read and react. But this con-
versation is creating productive
dialogue. It is unfiltered and often
uncensored, leaving less to social
niceties and more to open interac
tion. That's admirable.
Take for example, the newspaper
comment board. Even major news
sources have reluctantly opened up
commenting on their news stories.
Sometimes, these comment boards
play host to intelligent conversa-
tions, arguments and valuable
feedback. More frequently, they're
filled with mindless drivel, and
readers egging others on for reac-
tions. Yet, most of the time, this
intentional filth is countered.
Anonymity plays a central role
in all this. Because full names and
identities are rarely disclosed,those
who comment are less inhibited to
stay within socialiboundaries. They
are less likely to filter their reac-
tions, providing a more exclusive
look into internal assessments sel-
dom seen in public settings.
Increasingly, public figures and
celebrities are taking advantage
of this phenomenon, which in
turn has opened up a conversation
with these people. For example, it
is often rumored that stories are
purposely leaked in order to judge
the public's reaction. Such was the
case with John McCain's shortlist
of vice presidential candidates. It
has been suggested that his camp
leaked the names of Joe Lieberman
and Tom Ridge as potential candi-
dates to test the public and pundits,
especially among the conservative
Republican base. Maybe that's why
he threw out his shortlist; he didn't
get the reaction he was looking for.
When was the last time that regu-
lar people had such an impact on a
vice presidential choice?
At first, it may seem tactless to
intentionally uncover such protect-
HARUN BULINA E-MAIL HARUN AT BULJINAH@UMICH.EDU
a(
Experience
ed information. But these experi-
ments testing the fickle reaction of
the public have now become a form
of entertainment behind regular
gossip. If the story is right, the
mystery of the validity can grow
the story's popularity exponential-
ly. How long has the public been
waiting now for Lindsay Lohan to
deny or confirm her relationship
with Samantha Ronson?
Obviously it's a gauge that's not
for everyone. "The Twilight Saga,"
the popular series of novels by
author Stephenie Meyer, has taken
a negative turn due to unintended
reaction. The first portion of Mey-
er's fifth novel in the series was
recently leaked online. Although
the reaction was anything but
negative, Meyer announced a pos-
sibly permanent pause on finishing
the project now. Rather than use
her readers' comments to further *
develop the novel, she felt that such
unintended insight was an intru-
sion on her rights as an author. But
fortunately for Twilighters, the
movie studio was listening to read-
ers' reactions and bumped up the
movie release from December to
November.
Ultimately, it's all about mak-
ing the most of what you read and
post. There is a public conversa-
tion going on around the world
where reactions come from you
people you know along with peo-
ple you will never meet. So, maybe
you'll comment on this article on
michigandaily.com. Maybe not. But
either way you're participating in
an age of dialogue. Listen up.
Kate Peabody is an LSA senior
and a Daily editorial page editor.
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