4A - Wednesday, November 12, 2008
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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Ann Arbor, MI 48109
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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 oftheir authors.
'Off the ballot
Ballot initiatives a flawed way to enact complex policy
arack Obama and his fellow Democrats may have won last
week on a platform of dramatic policy change, but many
states already beat them to the punch. After Tuesday's elec-
tion, same-sex couples won't be allowed to marry in California, Flor-
ida and Arizona, affirmative action will be outlawed in Nebraska and
medical marijuana and embryonic stem cell research will be legal in
Michigan. These changes are products of states' flawed system of
ballot initiatives. As this year stands testament to, either the current
initiative system must be changed to make the process fairer and
the choices more intelligent, or it must be eliminated completely.
NOT AB L .E QUOTA LE
I've been sleeping like a baby:
I sleep two hours, wake up and cry'
- John McCain, recycling an old joke yesterday on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno."
ROSE JAFFE E-MAIL ROSE AT ROSEJAFF@UMICH.EDU
Aj ;
The realization of a dream
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Popularized duringAmerica's Progressive
Era, ballot initiatives are a form of direct
democracy in which citizens, rather than
legislatures, enact state laws or constitu-
tional amendments. Ideally, these initiatives
cut out the political middleman on issues
that matter to people and put legislators to
task when they don't respond to their con-
stituents' concerns.
"Ideally" is the operative word, though,
when it comes to ballot initiatives. In prac-
tice, ballot initiatives have been strayed far
from their democratic ideals. They have
become an easy way for powerful, wealthy
individuals and groups to enact controver-
sial and poorly thought-out policy - mea-
sures that are often constitutional and
difficult to reverse.
The trouble starts with the powerful
interest groups and individuals - often not
even based in the state in which they are
working toward passing an initiative - who
bankroll, solicit signatures for and push
through these measures. Take, for instance,
the 1997 ballot initiative in Washington that
proposed funding a new football stadium for
the Seattle Seahawks. Microsoft executive
Paul Allen, owner of the Seattle Seahawks,
Allen financed the entire campaign with
millions of dollars of his own money to get
this measure on the ballot and pass it. Not
surprisingly, his deep-pocketed campaign
met little resistance and passed, despite its
broad fiscal consequences.
Shortsighted measures like this might not
be all that harmful if elected officials, who
know the ins and outs of these issues, could
easily patch up the problems when some of
these measures pass. But most of the time,
ballot initiatives seek constitutional amend-
ments. That usually means a two-thirds
majority in two legislative houses is required
to change these amendments after only a
simple majority of voters passed them.
Because of its relative ease, the current
system of ballot initiatives also offers the
opportunity for discriminatory proposals
to be turned into legislation. Because ballot
initiatives put the legislative power in the
majority's hands, it easily allows minority
groups' rights to be trampled. This is what
is happening in states across the country
where amendments banning gay marriage
have passed. Comprising only about 4 per-
cent of the electorate, gay people are at a
distinct disadvantage when trying to pro-
tect their rights. That's simply not how basic
protections should be determined.
The solution lies in either overhauling
the current ballot initiative system to truly
make this a grassroots form of democracy
or abandoning this as a worthy experiment
in democracy that failed. Considering the
campaign finance laws that would stand in
the way of limiting interest groups' influ-
ence and the legislative hurdles that would
need to be overcome to fix the many flawed
components of this system, the latter option
is probably the more realistic one.
And here's one easy way to enact it: a bal-
lot initiative seeking a constitutional amend-
ment banning ballot initiatives.
16
ucked away in a corner of the
apartment, my grandmother
keeps a portrait. It's a beauti-
fully simple piece,
the image of a face
she knew for just
four hours years
ago painted on black a
velvet. It was a gift,
made for her by
an inmate she met
while volunteering
at the prison. For
years it adorned a EMMARIE
wall in her office, HUETTEMAN
reminding her of
the commitment she
made to fight injustice.
But this week, it at last represents
the realization of her hopes and the
hopes of countless others like her. It
explains why she, by her own admis-
sion, went through "half a box" of tis-
sues on election night. It explains why
her oldest son and his wife not only
brought their daughter to the polls but
also let her push the button in the vot-
ingbooth. It explains why her youngest
daughter drove two hours home from
monitoring vote challenges to rush her
family to Grant Park.
It's a portrait of the Reverend Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
In the late 1960s, my grandmother
served as the program chairperson of
the Grosse Pointe Human Relations
Council. Located in an affluent, exclu-
sively white community northeast of
Detroit, the council worried about
things like fair housing - which, con-
sidering the time and place, just wasn't
a priority for most of her neighbors.
Searching for an influential voice
for the council's concerns, my grand-
mother contacted several well-known
figures in late 1967, asking themto con-
sider giving a speech in Grosse Pointe
the following spring. To her surprise,
King accepted the invitation.
My grandparents and the rest of the
council were not popular for bringing
King to their segregated town. They,
like many of their neighbors, were for-
tunate to live in a safe community on
modest means - and they were white.
But unlike many of their neighbors,
my grandparents weren't comfortable
being complacent with that worldview.
And for that, they were targeted by a
malicious few.
The initial, contentious battle with
the school board over booking Grosse
Pointe High School's "gymnatorium"
for the speech soon seemed tame. My
grandmother, who was a housewife
at the time, participated wide-eyed in
meetings about riot-control. Hate mail
and threatening phone calls began
flooding into my grandparents' home,
exacerbated by a group that publicized
the names, addresses and phone num-
bers of those connected with the event
under the guise of guardingthe "tradi-
tion" of the community.
While my grandparents could take
the community's rancor at first, it
became almost unbearable just a week
before King's speech. One afternoon
as my grandmother tended to her
youngest, the phone rang. When she
answered, a threatening voice snarled,
"You think your kids are in school, don't
you? Well, we've got them!" Panicked,
she rushed to the elementary school,
where she found her four school-age
children safe in their classrooms.
It was at that point that my grand-
parents wonderedhow muchmore they
could take - a question that continued
to plague them as the preparations
ended and the anxious crowd gathered
on March 14, 1968. My grandmother
later wrote of the fears she battled as
they drove to pick up King: "Inwardly,
I was scared for the chief [of police]
because of what he was facing; for Dr.
King because he didn't know what he
was facing; and for us because we knew
but were going on."
That evening, having passed the
more than 200 angry picketers and
rode into the school with the police
chief on his lap to shield him, King
addressed the 3,200 who packed the
gym to hear him speak. A handful of
hecklers interrupted his speech with
hostile shouts of "TRAITOR!" which
was just a portion of the harassment
that King later called "the worst heck-
ling [he had] ever encountered."
But he also received a standing ova-
tion when he entered the room that
lasted several minutes. And to coun-
ter the heckling, a largely apprecia-
tive audience interrupted him with
applause 32 times.
Three weeks later, King was assas-
sinated. But because my grandmother
had been so moved in just those few
hours with him, she still wanted the
chance to march with him - so she did.
Despite the violence that erupted after,
How a
generation of
hope got us here.
King's death, she traveled to Atlanta
and walked beside his casket and the
thousands of people who, like her, had
been moved by King's dream to sacri-
fice what they could to fight the injus-
tice that pervaded their society.
To my grandparents and the others
like them who devoted themselves to
the Civil Rights Movement, 40 years
hardly seems long enough to heal the
wounds. And when I looked once more
at the portrait of King with my grand-
mother this weekend, knowing that it
had been just days since we had voted
for our first African-American presi-
dent, I realized that, thanks to those
who fought and continue to fight, I
could never fully understand.
Andfor that, I am grateful.
Emmarie Huetteman is an associate
editorial page editor. She can be
reached at huetteme@umich.edu.
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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, lmran Syed, Radhika Upadhyaya, Rachel Van Gilder, Margaret Young
BRIAN FLAHERTY EW P'
Ho-meless, but still worth help
There isn't usually anything particularly tickets and Starbucks coffee. I mean the bare
remarkable about seeing a homeless man in Ann necessities: food, clothing and shelter. Everyone
Arbor. For a city that takes pride in its social liber- ought to have these things, or have these things
alism, Ann Arbor is home to prominent economic provided for them if they can't provide them for
disparity and poverty. themselves. A lazy person should not be any less
However, the other day, I saw a peculiar home- entitled to these necessities of survival.
less man. What caught my eye was the sign the Some conservative critics often suggest that
man was holding: "I won't lie. I'm just lazy. Please poverty-stricken people are freeloaders who don't
help me." want to work or provide for themselves and that
The sign was simple and seemingly uncon- society shouldn't be required to financially sup-
troversial, but after reading it, I found my own port them. I'll admit that there seems to be some-
person views openly challenged. As a die-hard thing very unfair in the idea that people who work
liberal, I assumed that all homeless and impov- should have to support a limited number of people
erished people became homeless and impover- who basically choose not to. However, it is also
ished due to factors and circumstances beyond unfair to force someone tobehomeless whenthere
their control. I assumed that these were single are other options to keepthatperson off the street,
mothers, families bankrupted by high medical like financial support from the government.
bills and other people who, for whatever reason, of course, I have my doubts about whether or,
couldn't make ends meet. While in some cases my not this particular homeless man was "just lazy."
assumptions mightcbe right, in this situation, with I suspect there was far more to his story than just
this particular man, they were proven wrong by what his sign said. Regardless, it shouldn't mat-
three sentences written on a cardboard sign. ter whether he's lazy, mentally ill or just unlucky.
I was shocked, to say the least, and clutched His well-being is no more or less important than
my change as I quickly strolled past the man, anyone else's. So if I see thathomeless man again,
trying to avoid eye contact. But then I started I'll give him some change. Even if he's the laziest
to think, "What if he really is 'just lazy?' Why person on the planet, he probably needs it more
should that, in any way, lessen my concern for his than I do.
well-being?"
Perhaps my concern for the homeless stems Brian Flaherty is a Business junior.
from a selfish fear that it could happen to me.
Perhaps my support for soup kitchens and wel-
fare programs stems from a belief that "shit hap-
pens," and that I could fall on hard times when I -
least expect it. If that day comes, I certainly hope
that other people, including Uncle Sam, would
lend me a helping hand.
In the world's wealthi-
est nation, every person,
ought to have access-
to basic necessities.
I'm not referring 111/
to necessities
like footbal'
Illustration by Kari Silbergleit
s.J $ I 1.SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU
Despite his message, Obama can't
realistically please everyone
TO THE DAILY:
I would like to thank Brandon Conradis for finally stat-
ing in his column yesterday what has been worrying me
for a long time about Barack Obama (Will hope be enough?,
11/11/2008). I am not one to say I'm moving to Canada, or
that Obama will necessarily even be a bad president, but I
think it's time for our president-elect to step outfrom behind
the veil of "change" and "hope" and actually let the public
know what he plans to do.
Obama has seemed all too happy to let people know that
he's on their side and cominto their rescue. The only prob-
lemis, he can't be on everyone's side atonce, and he certainly
won't be able to achieve half of the "change" he has prom-
ised without raising taxes on more than-just the wealthy
few. I've read Obama's plan on his website and encourage
others to do the same (specifically the portions about his
economic policy and fiscal responsibility). When you do
that, ask yourself from where all the money for Obama's
bailouts, tax cuts and stimulus packages is going to come.
Patrick Bates
LSA senior
Why Bo would have been against
giving priority to student-athletes
TO THE DAILY:
When I first read Friday's news story about the new reg-
istration priority for student-athletes ('U' gives athletes first
pick of classes, 11/07/2008), I wasn't immediatelysurprised
or agitated by the matter. As the article mentioned, the
student-athlete population is relatively small, and student-
athletes do have rigid schedules. It was not until I came
across a passage in "Bo's Lasting Lessons," a book written
on leadership by Bo Schembechler and John U. Bacon, that
the matter crossed from the realm of secular to sacred. If
Schembechler was with us today, I'm not sure Michigan's
most revered football coach would agree with the Univer-
sity's decision.
In his book, Bo said, "The fastestway to demoralize your
entire team is to make exceptions for the stars." Granted, Bo
was referring to a literal team of only a hundred or so foot-
ball players, but is the University with its tens of thousands
of students not in some way a team? Though our ties are
indirect and our interests vary, every member of this uni-
versity is here to accomplish a goal and serves an important
role in our institution's success. However subtle or minute,
inherent in the University's decision to give student-athletes
registration priority is the idea that an athlete deserves a
privilege the general student body doesn't.
If we want our greater team to truly succeed, is this the
way to doit? To quote Bo once more, "If you're going to build
a team, a real team, you simply cannothave one standardfor
the stars and another standard for everyone else - no mat-
ter what it costs you, or them ... I will not compromise my
values or the team's values to win a game. I refuse!"
Amy Caldwell
Business senior
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Send letters to tothedoily@umich.edu.
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