4 - Tuesday, October 7, 2008
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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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.
j
Can you hear us now?
New committee offers little hope for tuition reprieve
J you think tuition costs are out of control, it's true - they are
out of your control. When the University Board of Regents
passed a 5-percent hike in tuition in July, it stuck with its
tradition of raising tuition when no one's looking. In response
to student concerns, Provost Teresa Sullivan announced her lat-
est project: the Student Budget Advisory Committee. Some are
optimistic about its promise to involve students in the budget-
ary process. But it's hard to see how the closed-door meetings of
a hand-selected committee will promote an open dialogue about
tuition, let alone influence change.
The hockey mom seems to be the
soccer mom on steroids."
- Matthew Grose, an Alaskan ice rink manager, about the spotlight on hockey moms after Alaska Gov. Sarah
Palin's frequent self-descriptions as one, as reported yesterday by The Washington Post.
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Wat Palmn should have said
Forming a committee is the University's
favorite show of good faith on conten-
tious campus issues. During her tenure as
the executive vice chancellor for academic
affairs at the University of Texas, Sullivan
often solicited student input. Her first two
years at the University of Michigan have
been no different, giving her a reputation for
facilitating dialogue through committee for-
mation, as she did with the Provost's Student
Leadership Board and the Student Advisory
Committee. But when faced with an urgent
need to slow tuition hikes, it's important for
us to know just what kind of appeasement
the administration is offering.
Sullivan says that the committee will seat
a dozen students, graduate and undergradu-
ate, "who would have an intellectual interest
in the budget." But considering that tuition
has risen 34.6 percent during the past four
years, why involve only students with "an
intellectual interest" in the budget rather
than those who care the most or, perhaps
more importantly, those who are suffering
the most? Rising costs are taking a toll on
students and their families, especially in
this time of economic instability, and these
consequences deserve real attention.,
Perhaps most telling is the selection pro-
cess Sullivan's office employed to choose
student committee members. Rather than
publicize the committee openings to the
entire campus, the Office of the Provost
contacted only student organizations, stu-
dent government and the Provost's Faculty
Budget Advisory committee for nomina-
tions in September. Many students didn't
even know about the opportunity until
they read about it in the Daily - on the day
nominations were due. Rather than filter-
ing out all but a few voices, every concerned
student should be heard when it comes to
tuition.
Unfortunately, students shouldn't take
solace in being able to at least observe the
meetings - because they can't. While the
University claims to wantstudents to under-
stand the budgetary process and generate
feedback, these meetings will be closed.
And don't expect to review any minutes of
the meetings either: According to the Office
of the Provost, there won't be any.
When reached for comment, the Office of
the Provost said Sullivan is "not adverse to
scheduling an open meeting at some point."
If this comes to pass - and it should - stu-
dents should demonstrate their need for
attention and attend. Right now, that is the
best chance the average student has for get-
ting a say on this matter.
So far, there is little to make us feel like
the administration actually cares about
"increasing student participation" in this
process. But when it comes down to it,
what students want most from this com-
mittee is for their concerns to matter when
the University considers next year's tuition
rates. To find out if it fulfills even that basic
expectation, though, it looks like we'll have
to wait until next summer.
The common consensus of pun-
dits - conservative and liberal
- is that the vice presidential
debate Thursday
was a tie. In light of
the John McCain
campaign's rapid
loss of momentum, a
tie means aloss. The
common logic says
the Republican tick- f
et needed a game-
changingdebateand
didn't getone. But to ALEX
this conservative, it PRASAD
is not the mere fact
that the debate had
no clear winner that
makes this a loss for McCain and Sarah
Palin. Rather, it was the many oppor-
tunities that Sen. Joe Biden graciously
handed Palin but she didn't seize.
It's not all gloom and doom for
Republicans, though, as the liberal
media would like to make it seem.
Despite the fact that a poll after the
debate showed 51 percent of viewers
thought Biden won and only 36 per-
cent thought Palin had won, the same
viewers thought Palin was more like-
able, 54 percent to 36 percent. The
McCain-Palin ticket is running 5.7
points behind Obama-Biden, accord-
ing to the most recent Real Clear Poli-
tics average of all reputable national
polls and is also behind in most of the
all-important swing states.
A comeback wouldn't be unheard
of. But it would have been much more
likely had Palin pointed out a couple of
things Thursday.
First, Palin missed a golden oppor-
tunity to speak to conservatives about
their favoriteissue:protectingthe Con-
stitution. For example, Biden, speak-
ing of Vice President Dick Cheney,
said, "The idea (Cheney) doesn't real-
ize that Article I of the Constitution
defines the role of the vice president of
the United States, that's the executive
branch."
Palin easily could have retorted,
"Actually Joe, Article I of the Consti-
tution discussed legislative power. Ya
know, it's disappointing that a sitting
*senator doesn't even know the Con-
stitution he's sworn to protect. The
American people need somebody who
is intimately familiar with the Consti-
tution."
Given the didactic tone with which
Biden lectured Americans, the above
Palin response could have pointed out
Biden's inconsistencies and fired up
the conservative base at the same time.
Fittingthis commentinwithher previ-
ous points about Biden's past praise of
McCain and past criticism of Obama
(calling him "not fit to be commander
in chief") would have scored major
political points.
But by far the biggest missed oppor-
tunity was in foreign policy -. Palin's
weak point. The moderator, Gwen
Ifill, asked Biden if Americans have
the stomach for all the intervention he
has proposed over the years, citing his
calls for intervention in Bosnia, Iraq,
Pakistan and Sudan. Biden responded,
"I think the American public has the
stomach for success. My recommenda-
tions on Bosnia ... saved tens of thou-
sands of lives ... (and) the end result
was it worked."
Palin's response was weak, discuss-
inghowshehelped divert Alaskanstate
funds away from Sudanese companies
with whichit was doing business.
Instead, she should have answered
as follows: "Ya know, let's talk about
success senator. Certainly, I can't
match your long record in the realm
of foreign policy. But, I don't think the
American people - those Main Street-
ers - just want experience. They want
good Main Street judgment. You cite
Bosnia as a success, yet 13 years after
the initial conflict, we still have 10,000
troops there. You were one of the few
opposed the first Gulf War, saying
thousands of U.S. soldierswould die. In
fact, only 293 did in an overwhelming
victory. Your maverick opposition was
irresponsible.
"Today, you don't talk about success
in Iraq. But just a few months before
the surge, you suggested segregating
Iraq into three separate countries. I
guess, despite the fact that segrega-
tion didn't work in the United States,
it is good enough for Iraq. Instead of
following your advice, John McCain,
in a successful maverick decision,
proposed the surge that has brought
down military andcivilian casualties
drastically over the last year.
"Ya know Joe, I think the American
people want the kind of success that
John McCain's maverick judgment
will bring to foreign policy."
Of course, it is easy to suggest these
answers now. But the alternatives
highlight that Thursday's debate rep-
resented McCain's last best hope, and
it did not quite pull McCain back into
the race.
Paln missed her
chance to attack
Obama and Biden.
The McCain-Palin campaign, bar-
ring some major mistakes by Obama-
Biden will likely lose this election. But
expect this only to harden conserva-
tives. Conservatives thrive when they
are in the opposition (take a look at
the early years of the Clinton admin-
istration) and flounder when in power
(look no further than the 2006 mid-
term elections).
Despite the hopes of the Obama
campaign and many liberals, electoral
defeat may just be the thing that reig-
nites the conservative base. Demo-
crats better hope that Republicans
don't find the second coming of Ron-
ald Reagan by 2012, or conservatives
will again unite behind a presidential
candidate.
Alex Prasad can be reached
at atprasad@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
ISSUES 2008
:_ a
V
ON ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
COLLEGE DEMOCRATS I
An aggressive approach to energy.
COLLEGE REPUBLICANS|IW'P"INT
Quick relief, long term solutions
Today, the United States stands at a crossroads
about the future of its environmental and energy
policy. While consumers pay more at the pump,
the nation remains dependent on foreign oil, and
the destiny of the planet becomes more uncertain.
Barack Obama's comprehensive plan, "New Energy
for America," presents answers for the United States'
energy problems through a multi-faceted approach
and focusing on a responsible path to independent,
sustainable and environmentally efficient energy.
A key part of the plan is conservation, of both
energy and the environment. With this plan, Obama
hopes to end our use of oil from the Middle East
and Venezuela in 10 years. This change would occur
through several policies focusing on energy effi-
ciency and environmental conservation.
One such policy, Health Care For Hybrids, would
put at least one million American-made plug-in
hybrid cars on the roads by 2015. To encourage car
companies to build the hybrids, the government
would provide massive incentives, including gov-
ernment health care benefits for employees. While
the plan also calls for increasing fuel economy stan-
dards on cars each year by 4 percent, it will assist
U.S. auto companies in restructuring car plants
to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles. Obama
plans to make these environmentally friendly cars
more available to Americans by giving a tax credit
to those who purchase the more technologically
advanced vehicles.
While both John McCain's and Obama's energy
plans have a similar goal to invest, both techno-
logically and fiscally, in alternative energy sources,
McCain's vision is not aggressive enough to enact
immediate or significant change. McCain refused to
vote eight times on a package of alternative energy
tax breaks because it would slightly raise taxes on
oil companies. McCain has also adopted the slogan,
"Drill, baby, drill," advocating giving even more
land to the oil companies, in addition to the millions
of unexplored acres they already have.
America has only 3 percent of the world's oil
reserves, but demands 25 percent of its supply. Oil
is not the future, and John McCain is stuck in the
past. Obama wants 10 percent of our energyto come
from renewable resources by 2012, increase that to
25 percent by 2025 and advocate for less dependence
on domestic and foreign oil. In addition to utilizing
sustainable, renewable energy, building this new
renewable infrastructure will create millions of
new jobs.
With Obama's energy plan, the United States will
be more actively involved in fighting climate change
and will work internationally to preserve our
planet. The plan sets aggressive goals for reducing
greenhouse gas emissions _
released by corporations
into the already dam-
aged atmosphere. Obama
wants to see an 80 per- This is part t
cent reduction in green-
house gas emissions by series by Coll(
2050, 20 percent more
than McCain's proposal. Republica
This reduction would be
accomplished primar- lmportant lS
ily through alternative Elec
energy sources like clean
coal and a market-based
cap-and-trade program,
where pollution permits
would be auctioned off and the proceeds would be
reinvested in a clean energy future. McCain's envi-
ronmental program gives these permits away to
many of the nation's biggest polluters.
The next president of the United States will need
to vehemently address issues concerning sustain-
able, renewable energy and protecting the planet.
This effort will begin the first day in the White
House. This time, the "I'll get it done within the
next eight years" excuse won't work. Obama pos-
sesses and embodies the vision and willpower nec-
essary to restore America.
This viewpoint was written on behalf of the
University's chapter of the College Democrats.
hree
ege D
ns th
sues 1
ction I
Let's start by clearing something up: The Repub-
lican Party is not anti-environmental. The environ-
ment isn't an issue you can be for or against; this is
an issue which both parties care passionately about.
John McCain cares deeply about the environment
and, in the tradition of President Teddy Roosevelt, a
fellow Republican, he is committed to protecting our
environment.
The first aspect of McCain's environmental plan
is to fight climate change by decreasing carbon and
greenhouse gas emissions. McCain has been a leader
in finding ways to address climate change. To accom-
plish this goal, he has
proposed a market-based
cap-and-trade system as
well as federally mandated
in a five-part vehicle emissions stan-
dards. The cap-and-trade
emocrats and system distributes permits
equal to the cap on green-
at looks at house gas emissions and
leading pto allows companies to sell
g p these permits on the open
Day. market if they cut their
emissions below those
levels. Not only does this
program gradually reduce
greenhouse gas emissions,
but it also encourages companies to develop new
environmentally friendly technology by rewarding
companies that reduce their emissions.
Furthermore, McCain has unveiled a timetable
for reducing emissions with the goal of having 2005
greenhouse gas emission levels fall 66 percent by
2050. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is an
important first step toward fighting climate change
and protecting our environment.
Energy is an important topic that comes up when
discussing the environment. John McCain is com-
mitted to developing clean alternative energy to help
ease our reliance on carbon-based sources that harm
the environment. This includes investing in research
and development for clean coal technology, plug-in
and hybrid cars and clean energy sources like nucle-
ar, wind, solar and hydropower. By encouraging and
developing these clean energy sources, America will
become less dependent on carbon-based fuel sources
and thus reduce carbon emissions.
Because these new energy sources will take time to
develop, the United States needs immediate solutions
to address the high gas prices thataffect every Amer-
ican. We must address both supply and demand.
On the supply side, we need to increase our sup-
ply of oil, which can be accomplished by drilling in
the coastal Outer Continental Shelf. Drilling in this
area will lower gas prices by increasing supply and
decrease our dependence on foreign oil, which fun-
nels billions of dollars to nations that don't support
our international and domestic political and eco-
nomic interests. Drilling is only a temporary solution
designed to hold us over as new technology becomes
available. Let's face it: most of us don't drive hybrids
or cars fueled by natural gas. Untilthese cars become
more accessible and mainstream, there needs to be
a way to provide cheaper fuel sources. Drilling pro-
vides this solution.
To address demand, McCainwillcontinuetoinvest
resources and provide tax breaks for companies that
research and develop electric cars and other fuel
sources, as well as a $5,000 tax credit to anyone who
buys a zero-carbon-emission car. This two-pronged
approachwillbothlowergaspricesinthe shortterm,
while preparing us for the long-term goal of using
new technology for energy and transportation.
Energy efficiency and environmental protection
are two of the biggest issues facing our generation.
McCain's leadership and experience in this field is
essential to effectively addressing these issues. John
McCain's plan offers real solutions to protecting
the environment by addressing climate change and
greenhouse gas emissions, while also encouraging
the development of clean, alternative energy for the -
future.
This viewpoint was written on behalf of the
University's chapter of the College Republicans.
4.