4 - Friday, October 31, 2008
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
Edited and managed by students at
the University of Michigan since 1890.
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
tothedaily@umich.edu
a
I would have never thought - being born and
raised here - of one of the Big Three being gone."
- Tom Carpenter, an electrician, commenting on possible merger between
General Motors and Chrysler, as reported yesterday by The New York Times.
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.
FROM THE DAILY
Another term for Hieftje
Plourde is great example of students' potential in city
MAX FABICK
This fall, the city's well-being could
fall into student hands - literally.
LSA senior and College Libertarians
co-chair Eric Plourde has launched a bid
for mayor against Democratic incumbent
John Hieftje, seeking to hold an otherwise
unchallenged mayor accountable and draw
attention to student issues. Plourde is more
than a superficial challenge to Hieftje's
incumbency, though; he is a symbol of stu-
dent potential in city government. But
despite his strong candidacy, it's hard to run
against the eight years of prosperity and
progress that Ann Arbor has enjoyed under
Hieftje's leadership.
Plourde says he's most in touch with the
needs of students, a claim against which it's
nearly impossible to argue. He understands
how little students are consulted in city deci-
sions and wants to make them a more inte-
gral part of the system. Also, one of his main
issuesis decriminalizing alcohol consump-
tion for college-age residents, thus elimi-
nating a common blemish on the records of
many otherwise responsible students.
However, Plourde's campaign is often
reduced to MIPs and just MIPs, which only
does a disservice to this smart, knowledge-
able candidate. He has a strong grasp on
how the mayor can best deal with the Uni-
versity, and has a good understanding of this
city's need for more affordable housing. Per-
haps most importantly, he has held Hieftje
accountable during this campaign and prov-
en that students can be engaged, productive
members of the community.
The simple truth is that Plourde has a
good grasp on these issues but no experience
handling anything like city government. Of
course, Hieftje has already done an admi-
rable job handling the issues Plourde has
raised, among many others. He has a strong
relationship with the University. He is dedi-
cated to sustainable, eco-friendly living - a
dedication that has earned him this year's
Environmental Leadership Award from the
Michigan League of Conservation Voters
for successful projects like LED lights and
hybrid buses. And while Plourde wants to
reduce the size of government and spending,
Hieftje has already saved the city millions of
dollars per year by reorganizing the bureau-
cracy. In fact, Plourde openly supports many
of Hieftje's initiatives - which is perhaps
the greatest endorsement of the mayor.
Ann Arbor has flourished under Hieftje's
leadership, becoming not only one of the
nation's most environmentally conscious
cities but also one of the only cities with a
budget surplus in today's uncertain econom-
ic climate. This page is confident that this
progress will only continue if the mayor is
re-elected. Though we are pleased Plourde
is running, the Daily endorses JOHN
HIEFTJE because he has already proved
himself to be what's best for Ann Arbor.
HoTE
AER E
African Americans all across
the nation will be sitting on
the edge of their seats Tues-
day, waiting for
the moment when
Barack Obama may -
make history. Even
if they-did not cast
their vote for the
Democratic Party's
presidential nomi-
nee, chey mustcadmit
that the boundar-
ies that Obama has SHAKIRA
crossed as a black SMILER
man in this coun-
try have been more
than monumental.l
While we may try to pretend that
race is non-existent in this election, the
impact that Obama has made on soci-
ety because of his race is undeniable.
He has become an inspiration and the
ideal role model for black men of all
ages. And his accomplishments have
truly proven how far black people have
come since the Civil Eights Movement.
But the horrors that occurred less
than 15 minutes away from Obama's
Chicago home last week proved that
there is still a longway to go.
Last Friday, the mother and brother
of Oscar Award-winning actress Jen-
nifer Hudson were found brutally
murdered in their home on the south
side of Chicago. Three days later,
Hudson's seven-year-old nephew
was found shot to death in the hack
of a truck on the city's west side.
Some speculate that a local gang was
involved, speculation largely based on
the fact that the primary suspect and
Hudson's brother had been arrested
for drug charges in 2002.
Within one week's time and one
city's limits, we can see bold evidence
of a divided community. While we
can surely praise the achievements of
Obama, we can't overlook the harsh
E-MAIL MAX AT FABICKM@UMICH.EDU
HERE
ORAMA#1AN
- THE REScvE
ar isl to go
I
I
Hohnke for city council
Floyd offers little more than symbolic challenge
truth that right down the street, "black
on black" crime is still rampant, black
families are still being torn apart by
violence and innocent black children
are still falling victim to senseless acts
of violence.
These disparities are clear in crime
statistics. According to the Bureau of
Justice Statistics, in 2005, blacks were
six times as likely as whites to be homi-
cide victims. Compared to homicides
in other racial groups, black homicides
are disproportionately drug related.
Between 1976 and 2005, African Amer-
icans were responsible for the death of
94 percent of black homicide victims.
While Barack Obama represents the
values of fatherhood and family obliga-
tion, fathers have become increasingly
scarce inside many black households,
with an estimated one in nine black
men between 20 and 34 years of age
in prison. With many mothers work-
ing extended hours to compensate for
the absence of their children's fathers,
little, or no parental supervision can be
one reason why drug abuse and crime
is still prevalent in black communities
even with the increase in educational
opportunities.
However, many of these problems
are caused by factors beyond the com-
munity's control. Schools in black
neighborhoods are underfunded, poor-
ly kept up and understaffed, leading to
higher dropout rates. Unemployment
disproportionately affects minorities
and often the image of fast and easy
money being attained through illegal
activities is more appealing than the
thought of spending four long years in
college with no income. Furthermore,
this cycle continues generationally, as
youngblacks are fed into a criminaljus-
tice system that puts minorities behind
bars at a rate far greater than whites.
Inafew days, the dreamsofDr. Mar-
tin Luther King Jr. may be made real in
the shape of the first black president of
the United States. But, in the midst of
those dreams, we, as Americans, must
remember that violence, racism and
drug abuse are still a prevalent night-
mare in the black community.
The violent acts against the family of
Jennifer Hudson should be an alarm to
America, especially black America. It
reminds us that even if one black man
is elected president of this country, it
does not negate the truth that hun-
dreds of otherblack men and boys are
victims of a system of oppression.
For every one Michelle Obama pro-
duced from our country's poorest and
most economically disadvantaged
neighborhoods, there are dozens of
young, uneducated single mothers
Why Obama
isn't the end of
hough each of the city's wards will
be electing a new council member on
Tuesday, there is only one contested
race: the Ward 5 election between Democrat
Carsten Hohnke and Republican John Floyd.
Hohnke, who received the Daily's endorse-
ment in the August Democratic primary, is
running because of his passion for serving
the Ann Arbor community. Floyd is driven
by a blind democratic desire to provide vot-
ers with an alternative, in this case, a choice
that is unfit to be on council.
Floyd, an accountant by trade, is the sac-
rificial Republican this year in Ann Arbor's
general election. He is running largely on
his commitment to two-party democracy,
protecting Ann Arbor's quality of life and
the idea that Ann Arbor's current council is
hiding something from residents. But while
Floyd correctly argues that Ann Arbor's
emphasis on the summer primary disen-
franchises many voters, especially students,
that's about all he's right on.
Floyd's entire campaign seems built onthe
false idea that Ann Arbor has no appealing
characteristics aside from being a nice place
to live. This misguided idea has led him to
rail against downtown density and ramble
about a lot of disparate city projects. On
top of that, he neither seems to understand
nor care about student concerns. He con-
descendingly believes that there is nothing
that distinguishes student concerns from
anyone else's.
On the other hand, Hohnke is a worthy, if
not somewhat typical, City Council candi-
date. He is the owner of Vie, a local spa and
fitness center, which has given him manage-
ment and budgetary experience. Like most
of the council, he prescribes to the idea of
dense downtown housing, surrounded by
strong neighborhoods and green spaces. He
also stresses the importance of managing
the city's budget well.
Compared to his opponent, Hohnke has
the most potential to be a strong advocate
for students. He speaks sympathetically to
student needs, agreeing that the ward sys-
tem is unfair to students. He has also recog-
nized the need for more affordable student
housing. His challenge will be to find ways
to actually implement policy changes and
reach out to students in the process.
And though we have concerns about his
ability to put his words into action, the con-
trast between Hohnke's words and those of
John Floyd's is stark enough to momentarily
forgive Hohnke's shortcomings. The Daily
endorses CARSTEN HOHNKE for city
council from Ward S.
black struggles.
struggling to provide for their chil-
dren. There are grandmothers like
Darnell Donerson, Hudson's mother,
who lose their lives fighting to protect
their children and grandchildren from
the hands of an unmerciful street life.
Although we have made progres-
sive strides politically and economi-
cally as a black community, the tragic
events that occurred this past week
showed that Barack Obama's achieve-
ments do not represent the end of a
struggle for an oppressed community.
If anything, they serve as a distressing
sign that there is still much more work
to be done before Dr. King's dream is
truly achieved.
Shakira Smiler can be reached
at stsmilerOumich.edu.
0
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:
Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor. Letters should be less than 300 words and must
include the writer's full name and University affiliation. Letters are edited for style, length, clarity and
accuracy. All submissions become property of the Daily. We do not print anonynious letters.
Send letters to tothedaily@umich.edu.
HAMDAN A. YOUSUF | W P NT
The audacity to hope for more
Judging two near-equals
Easthope a slightly better choice for judge than Gutenberg
J you get in a dispute with your landlord
or receive a minor in possession or a
serious traffic violation and need to go
to court, you'll end up in the 15th District
Court. This year, students have an opportu-
nity to shape how their cases will be handled
well before they set foot in the courthouse.
That's because voters will elect either Chris
Easthope or Eric Gutenberg next week to
serve on the court - a choice that pits two
equally qualified candidates with very dif-
ferent styles against each other.
Gutenberg brings unmatched experience
handling complex litigation in an even-
handed, by-the-book way. Since 1998, he
has served as the first assistant prosecut-
ing attorney for Washtenaw County. For
nine years before that, he also worked in
the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office.
These positions have given him a wealth of
knowledge about felony cases, but less expe-
rience with the cumbersome, yet still impor-
tant, traffic, tenant and small claims cases
he will hear as district judge.
By comparison, Easthope is a defense
attorney and Ann Arbor City Council mem-
ber. As a defense attorney he has handled
a wider variety of cases, though he has less
experience with the higher profile and more
complex criminal cases Gutenberg has han-
dled. Because of his eight years on city coun-
cil, Easthope is also better versed in people's
everyday concerns. This is particularly true
of student concerns, since Easthope is one of
council's two liaisons to the Michigan Stu-
dent Assembly.
While both of these candidates would be
intelligent, fair judges, students should be
looking for someone who best understands
their interactions with the legal system.
Though the law strictly prohibits judi-
cial candidates from explaining how they
will rule if elected, Easthope has mapped
a decision-making process that includes
more discretion. He knows that many of
the people who will come before his court,
especially students, don't understand the
judicial system and can unfairly get swept
up in it because of this misunderstanding.
These people overcrowd our jails and suf-
fer unnecessary disruptions to their nor-
mal lives.
Though Gutenberg shares many of these
same understandings, he doesn't appear to
be as sensitive to them. And while his expe-
rience with complex felony cases is impres-
sive, he would be responsible for handling
more of the mundane ones as district judge.
Because we believe he would bring a more
compassionate approach to the court, the
Daily endorses CHRIS EASTHOPE for
15th District Court judge.
I was in 11th grade learning about German verb forms
when the World Trade Center collapsed into rubble a few
blocks away. When our tanks rolled into Baghdad, I was'
finishing up college applications. And for four years as
thousands of soldiers and hundreds of thousands of inno-
cent civilians met their untimely deaths, I lived the carefree
life of a typical student. And then everything changed. The
heavens smiled upon us and we were enveloped in light; in
its hour of greatest need, the sinking ship of America had
found a savior and his name was Barack Obama.
Ours is the generation that came of age in a post-Sept.11
world. Seven years of bloosly and senseless war have left us
all too familiar with the inconsistency of the Bush doctrine
and its empty rhetoric of freedom and democracy. Yet today
we find ourselves having been swept up in another fantas-
tical paradigm, one that revolves around an unlikely hero
with a middle name of Hussein who has come to symbolize
that most ephemeral of ideals: hope.
One necessarily wades into dangerous waters by adopt-
ing a cynical tone toward the hip and fashionable rock
star of modern politics. After all, how can one argue with
hope? Obama's candidacy is certainly rife with symbolism;
regardless of whether he wins or loses, he has made history
justbecause of who he is and how far he has come.
But is that enough? How delightful it would have been to
witness a bold new type of presidential candidate, someone
who spoke truth to power, fought for the dispossessed and
stood firm in the face of criticism, bowing before nothing
but the truth. But where is that candidate?
As Muslim-Americans, many of us are the children of
immigrants, pioneers who came to this country in pursuit
of a dream. We have worked diligently to contribute to the
moral and economic fabric of this land. Tears came to my
eyes as I listened to Obama's acceptance speech at the con-
vention as he spoke about the lost "promise" of America.
The "war on terror" has only served to perpetuate igno-
rance and bigotry, creating a society where the word Mus-
lim itself has become a slur. Obama showed us a vision of
a new future where all would be welcome at the table of
human brotherhood - where America would once again be
a "city upon a hill."
Perhaps the greatest indictment of Barack Obama is that
he has failed to live up to the promise of Barack Obama.
We thought Obama was one of our own - someone who
knew what it felt like to be marginalized and isolated, to be
made to feel as if one were a stranger in one's own land. If
anyone could understand the plight of Muslim-Americans
in this day and age, we thought it would be him. But what
about those young girls, asked to leave an Obama rally
because staffers didn't want the senator to be associated
with Muslim girls in hijab? What about the eight million
hard-working Muslim-Americans who have had enough of
the pervasive atmosphere of ignorance and hate? Where do
we fit into Obama's grand narrative? Long after this cam-
paign is over, we will not soon forgetthat sickening refrain:
"I am not and never have been a Muslim." Even Colin Pow-
ell's bold and courageous remarks only serve to underscore
how miserably Obama has failed - why could it not have
been the candidate himself defending the honor and patrio-
tism of Muslim-Americans?
Many Obama supporters might respond, not without
some regret, that America isn't ready for a president like
that. They would speak of pragmatism and suggest that the
senator has to say and do certain things in order to win the
election, but that we shouldn't lost faith in him. Indeed, the
greatest coup of the Obama media machine might be how
the notion of "hope" itself has been hijacked - anyone who
doesn't believe in him is accused of being a pessimist, of fail-
ing to dream big enough. But in making electing Obama the
means as well as the end, perhaps we have lost sight of the
big picture. Wasn't the whole point of Obama that he wasn't
just another politician, that he represented change, that he
was something different? Wouldn't true audacity be in hop-
ing that someone could run for president without having to
compromise their ideals - while advocating an end to this
Orwellian war and withouthaving to reject their heritage?
Alas, as Election Day draws near, Obama is all we have.
But we need not lose hope. One day, we will have a candi-
date for president who will not be afraid to stand up for all
that is right, who will refuse to pander before every other
special interest, someone who will restore the glory of our
nation. May we all live to see that beautiful day. Until then,
the least we can do is keep our terms consistent. Barack
Obama might be the lesser of two evils - but that's all he
is. What is dangerous is when someone who is "the lesser of
two evils" is marketed as the "last best hope for man" - and
when there is no one with the audacity to hope for more.
Hamdan A. Yousuf is a master's candidate
in biostatistics at the University.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS:
Nina Amilineni, Emad Ansari, Elise Baun, Harun Buljina, Ben Caleca, Satyajeet Deshmukh,
Brian Flaherty, Matthew Green, Emmarie Huetteman, Emma Jeszke, Shannon Kellman,
Edward McPhee, Emily Michels, Kate Peabody, Matthew Shutler, Robert Soave, Eileen Stahl,
Jennifer Sussex, Radhika Upadhyaya, Rachel Van Gilder, Margaret Young
4