) 4A - Monday, October 6, 2008 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@uinich.edu The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom i When you've got eight polls that show you're down, I agree you're down, - Chuck Yob, co-chair of John McCain's Michigan campaign, commenting on McCain's recent decision to pull out of Michigan and divert resources elsewhere, as reported yesterday by The Grand Rapids Press. 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. Registering improvement Changes to voter registration policy in dorms long overdue U ness you haven't left your dorm room during the past month, you've probably been stopped and asked to register to vote. But if you were stuck in your dorm room, you might very well have missed out. That's because until yesterday, only one student group has been allowed in the dorms: Voice Your Vote. And even though this group has done its job, it has encountered setbacks - including being kicked out of the dorms last Monday, though the ban was revoked the very next day. All of this speaks to the need for University Housing to allow partisan groups to canvass in residence halls, too. Unfortunately, this is a change that should have come much earlier - since today is the deadline to register. JASON MAHAKIAN E-MAIL JASON AT MAHAKIAJ@UMICH.EDU ;ON T FNN r } Y 000114o go 212A An education in government voice Your vote - a non-partisan com- mission sponsored by the Michigan Student Assembly - has constituted the University's main effort to encourage students to vote. A 1998 Amendment to the Higher Education Act requires universities that receive feder- al funding to make a "good-faith" effort to provide students with access to voter regis- tration. The University fulfills this require- ment in part by encouraging students to register with voice Your Vote and by per- mitting volunteers from this organization - and only this organization - to register students inside residence halls. To partici- pate, volunteers must be trained in election law and promise to work in a non-partisan and legal way. And keeping the registration effort in the residence halls non-partisan and highly trained has its benefits. For one, allowing only well-trained volunteers to register stu- dents preventsthe spread of misinformation - a too-common problem because of our state's convoluted and sometimes confusing registration process. In the same vein, keep- ing the effort non-partisan brings a sense of trustworthiness to the effort, since there isn't supposed to be a political motivation underlying the effort. But as students found outlast week, there's, a big pitfall, too: It's tough to control these efforts. After allegations that Voice Your Vote volunteers violated the non-partisan agreement and lied to students, Univetsity Housing reacted brashly, kicking them out of residence halls. Then, realizing the stu- pidity of what it did, it let them back in the next day. More changes may be in order, too - namely, allowing partisan groups to can- vass in dorms. (The College Democrats say the University recently agreed to let them register voters in residence halls. The Daily wasn't able to get confirmation from the University before press time. Either way, the move comes a bit late. The registration deadline is today.) Giving partisanship a place in the process is warranted. The FirstAmendment protects students' right to free speech and assembly. Students should not receive a tempered ver- sion of that because they live in residence halls. More importantly, partisan groups play an important role. They can answer important questions about candidates and help students to be more knowledgeable and more engaged in the political process. Unfortunately, all the shake-ups in the registration process at residence halls are too little too late: The deadline to register to vote is today. If Housing was uncomfort- able letting student groups knock on dorm doors, it could have taken-ether actions, like providing groups tables in dorm lobbies. But this should have come as a result of Univer- sity Housing's willingness to increase stu- dent voter participation, not because it was put on the spot. With the registration deadline already here, it's a little late to give both partisan and non-partisan groups greater access to the dorms. But in the future, University Housing needs to ensure that the political process is just as welcome in the dorms as it is on the Diag. hile suffering through Sarah Palin's fake peppi- ness and babying expres- sions during the vice presidential debate Thursday, I briefly found myself longing for the y screeching mono- tones of Hillary Clinton - those I once thought might qualify as part of the new "enhanced IMRAN interrogation tech- SYED niques." But as that moment of weak- ness passed, Palin's insolent idiocy brought some familiar questions to mymind. . Why do we Americans expect so little of our political candidates? Why is itthat we fear candidates who bring something more than folksiness to the table? Why is anything that hints at an education suddenly regarded as elitist? The two elected branches of our government are extremely powerful, especially the legislature. For all the talk of checks and balances, Congress has almost unlimited power to make laws (presidential vetoes can be over- ridden) and is hardly checked by any- thing outside itself. The immense power of the presi- dency, too, hardlyneeds to be recount- ed, especially with the emergence of "the imperial presidency" perfected by George Bush and Dick Cheney. As Bush has shown us, the president can fight wars without congressional dec- laration, undermine new laws with signing statements and pArdon crimi- nals at will. Yet what do we require of the peo- ple who seek to win the presidency or a seat in Congress? We want charm and likeability. And we despise any- one who dares suggest education is also a qualification. We recognize the presidency as the most powerful office in the world and still have the impu- dence to insist that the person who fills that office should be an everyday Joe Sixpack/hockey mom.. In a way, this attitude is uniquely American;we're proud thatour system gives regular people, not just familial elites, the chance to be leaders. Yet, in another way, this attitude is uniquely ludicrous: It ignores the fact that our leaders have to be the best among us. Everyday people have the opportunity in our country to better themselves, but that doesn't mean that there aren't qualifications for elected office. Compare that situation to the judi- ciary. You won't find anyone arguing that we need real people, outsiders or mavericks in our state or federal courts. When it comes to major court appointments we're almost always talking about a person who went to Harvard or Yale Law School. Isn't that disgustingly elitist? Of course not. Judges, as members of the all-important third branch of the government, have a very serious job to do, and we want to make sure we only get the best people. Going to a top law school and graduating near the top of a your class are unstated requirements - and they should be. The law is complex, and we need peo- ple who have been formally trained in it to serve on the judiciary. But is the judiciary really so dif- ferent from the legislature? Is the job of Congress any less complex than that of courts? Crafting legislation to reflect new and changing realities is a huge challenge. We would never let an average Joe near the Supreme Court, so why do we continue to trust the leg- islature, the primary phase of law in our country, to guys we'd like to have a beer with? NowIknow that saying these things makes me a rabid elitist to about 55 percent of this country, but why is that? All I've said is that the people who do some of the most important jobs in the United States should be spe- cifically qualified for them. We would never tolerate a judge who didn't go to law school, so why take pride in con- gressmen or presidents who have no grounding in government and whose one virtue is affability? Despite the high standard to which the judiciary is held, any decision a courtmakes canbe overturned by Con- gress with a statute, and all courts in the country (except the U.S. Supreme Court) can be shut down or altered radically by Congress. And yet there is no such thing as legislative school to ensure competent legislators. Paln's ignorance part of a disturbing trend. Barack Obama must avoid like the plague any mention of having gone to Harvard Law School, lest he be called an out-of-touch elite. And a marvelously intelligent and educated woman like Gov. Jennifer Granholm must dumb herself down, acting like a petty saleswoman to win our votes. Why are we making candidates run away from all the things that give them relevant knowledge and experi- ence for governing? This all brings us back to a key practical question: How can anyone possibly believe that Sarah Palin - whose sheer ignorance might actually make Bush look good in comparison - belongs anywhere near the presidency? Imran Syed was the Daily's editorial page editor in 2007. He can be reached at galad@umich.edu. EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: Nina Amilineni, Emad Ansari, Harun Buljina, Ben Caleca, Satyajeet Deshmukh, Brian Flaherty, Matthew Green, Emmarie Huetteman, Emma Jeszke, Shannon Kellman, Edward McPhee, Emily Michels, Kate Peabody, Robert Soave, Eileen Stahl, Jennifer Sussex, Radhika Upadhyaya, Rachel Van Gilder, Margaret Young 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 SEND LETTERS TO: TO THEDAILY@UMICH.EDU Stem cell debate should start with sympathy TO THE DAILY: With all the controversy surrounding embryonic stem cell research, a lot of dis- cussion has come up recently regarding the ballot initiative this November. The initia- tive would remove many restrictions on embryonic stem cell research in Michigan. Above all, stem cell research is not about economics, religion or the advancement of science.Itis aboutourmothers, fathers, rel- atives and friends suffering from diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, heart disease and other diseases. These people are the focus of this letter, and they ought to be the focus of our thoughts. Before even thinking about embry- onic stem cell research, think about these people. If these people are your family or friends, you understand. If not, go out and spend time with them. You don't have to be preparing for medical school or build- ing your resume to volunteer at a hospital, elderly care center or .any disease-related volunteer service. Then, once we interact and under- stand the people who live with these dis- eases every second of every day, we can start talking about embryonic stem cell research. We can only then ask ourselves if the potential to treat and cure these mil- lions of people is worth sacrificing a 5-day old, microscopic embryo left over from an in vitro fertilization clinic that is going to be thrown away anyway? Personally, I think it's a noble sacrifice. A friend of mine, Kathleen Russell, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, told me recently, "The science isn't enough. People need to get to know the people with the diseases. It is time-consuming, inconve- nient and often uncomfortable, but very meaningful and necessary." I couldn't agree more. Sure, stem cell research will improve Michigan's economy.Yes, stemcellresearch is an important scientific phenomenon. But, above all, Iwill vote yes on Proposal 2 for the suffering citizens of Michigan and the United States who deserve the hope- ful research that is currently outlawed in Michigan. Landon Krantz The letter writer is the president of the University's chapter of the Student Society for Stem CellResearch. On stem cells, we should 'err on side off life' TO THE DAILY: The recent Daily article about a panel discussion praising the potential of stem cell research (With proposal on ballot,praise for stem cell research, 09/22/2008) made me wonder if people, scientists and public alike, truly realize the implications of embryonic stem cell research. It fazes me that people at an institution like the University would be so confused. The basic question in the stem cell debate is: What is the unborn? There are intelligent, rational people who disagree on when life begins. If we're not sure, shouldn't we give the embryo the benefit of the doubt that it is alive? If a construction worker is about to demol- ish a building but isn't sure whether it's empty, does he go ahead and do it? No. He checks to make sure it's safe. At the very least, we should make absolutely certain that the embryo is not alive. Until then, we must err on the side of life and assume that the embryo is in fact a living thing, human being and person. Destroyingalivingthing is the only issue here. Is it right to intentionally take the life of an innocent human being? That human person, given the chance, will develop and grow and eventually be born. The embryo looks exactly as it is supposed to at that stage in development, and that is exactly how all of our own lives began. Embryonic stem cell research, while perhaps having good motives, takes away the right of that embryo to live. To date, embryonic stem cell research has led to zero cures, while adult stem cell research has led to at least 70. Although there may be a chance that embryonic stem cell research will yield cures in the future, the ends do not justify the means. We shouldn't experiment on human beings in the mere hopes that something may come of it. Adult stem cells can be manipulated to generalize into different stem cell lines. There is a lot of potential for adult stem cell research, and we must concentrate our efforts on extending that research to con- tinue to find cures and advance technolo- gies. Adult stem cell research should be sup- ported. Embryonic stem cell research must never be supported. Vote no on Proposal 2. Lea Wojciechowski LSA junior American foreign policy has destabilized Somalia TO THE DAILY: Ibrahim Kakwan's column Thursday (Unnecessary interference, 10/02/1008) shed light on a topic most students have never heard before: the war in Somalia. Though the the United States doesn't have boots on the ground in Mogadishu, the war in Somalia has been the United States' third ongoingwar since late 2005. I expect some people believe the Union of Islamic Courts is a "terrorist group" and think Kakwan is unpatriotic for supporting this group. However, those people have swallowed the United States' line on Somalia and are hor- ribly wrong. The UIC evolved after 1991 out of the anarchy in southern Somalia. The "transi- tional federal government" in power at the time was a joke, so the country was ruled by warlords. In this environment, the UIC began policing efforts and provided basic government services like education and health care. It gradually formed itself into a krytocracy and formed a military to pro- tect its people from the warlords. With widespread popular support from the heav- ily Muslim population in Somalia, the UIC began reclaiming Somalia from anarchy. In 2005, the warlords formed the Alli- ance for the Restoration of Peace and Coun- ter-Terrorism, an Ethiopian mafia with a name that guaranteed U.S. support. And support it we did. The Central Intelligence Agency pumped the group full of money like it supported Carlos Castillo Armas in Guatemala. And the UIC still won. I shall leave you to notice the obvious. In November 2006, the people of Somalia had a government. In December 2006, the United States had Ethiopia invade Somalia. Today, Somalia is the Iraq of Africa, breed- ing the next generation of terrorists. Evan Macy Engineeringjunior Comparison of dining systems raises questions how far behind the University's dining sys- tem was in comparison to others around the country, as made evident by the recent Statement article about the new Hill Din- ing Center (Catch-up cuisiine, 09/17/2008). The fact that Bowdoin College delivers an exquisite dining experience wasn't hard to swallow, nor was the fact that Virginia Tech students receive a significant dis- count on purchases at commercial eater- ies. What was more disappointing was that not only do students at Virginia Tech and Georgia receive incredible service; they do so at nearly half the price, which makes you wonder, "What's Michigan doing with my extra $600 to $1000?" If only the questions stopped there. Apparently, the University is falling behind in other areas as well. For the first time in many years U.S. News & World Report ranked our school out of the top 25. While rankings like this don't necessarily mean much, whatthey show is a change inthe way recruiters, companies and other important organizations perceive the University. Not only does our image suffer, but, increas- ingly so, our pocketbooks do toot the Uni- versity of Michigan has been consistently ranked as one of the most expensive out-of- state universities and has an in-state tuition cost that deters students as well. It's becoming increasingly difficult to live with these realities, and a need to fin- ger-point has inevitably grown stronger. My resentment of University President Mary Sue Coleman is growing as well. And while I realize she can't bear all the Univer- sity's burdens, I ask the Daily is to prove me wrong - prove to me that reduction instate funding or some other actor is responsible for our troubles. There should be no way that one of the highest-paid public universi- ty presidents in the country can be at fault. TO THE DAILY: Charlie Bao I was greatly disappointed to discover LSA freshman A A I A