4A - Monday, November 17, 2008 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com C I id 41an' Bai Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu ANDREW GROSSMAN EDITOR IN CHIEF GARY GRACA EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR GABE NELSON MANAGING EDITOR Unsigned editorials reflect the official pssitisn of the Daily's editorial board. All other signed articles and iloustrations represent solely the views of their authors. The rightdifference State must show same commitment to 'U' as private donors f you've been inside Weill Hall, the new home of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, you've seen firsthand the effect of private donors at the University. This, plus thousands of other projects, scholarships, professorships and improvements on campus, was made possible by the University's latest fundraising push: the Michigan Difference campaign. While this campaign was both successful and commendable, it is important to remem- ber that in such an unstable economy, the University can't afford to rely on private donations. Though donors have stepped up, it's time for the state to do the same. Why give the same bad management money? You're just delaying the inevitable." - Ernie Boch Jr., head of auto dealer group Boch Automotive, on a possible bailout for the Big Three, as reported Thursday by The Boston Globe. Three men and a party wo weeks have passed since put the party base at ease about his the presidency. That may sound dras- the monumental election of Mormon faith, stressing the values it tic, but such an amendment has been 2008. I hear this is a time for shares with mainstream Christianity accepted in most circles as eventually non-partisanship (including, you know, Jesus). But GOP inevitable, and compromise. voters didn't buy it. Will they be more The strongest opposition to the In that spirit, open in 2012? amendment has always come from I've momentarily You may not know of the sec- conservatives (as I learned from the, stopped stalk- end potential savior, but believe me, um, colorful responses to my col- ing Barack Obama Bobby Jindal is the hot new thing in umn on this subject last January). to discuss three the GOP these days. The son of Indi- But perhaps conservatives will be superb candidates an immigrants, Jindal's rise to the more accepting this time, remember- that can bring give governorship of Louisiana is almost ing that their last savior was also an the White House as astounding as Obama's rise to the actor-turned-governor of California. back to Republi- presidency. How does a man of color Of all the leading Republicans cans very soon. Yes, SYED become governor of a place like Loui- across the country, Schwarzenegger there's a catch. siana? Other than the obvious prereq- has the most centrist appeal and is the The decisiveness uisite of accepting Jesus, consistently most electable. His stances on envi- of the Democratic sweep has left our being the smartest man in the room ronmental issues and his recent sup- friends on the right reeling. Appar- doesn'thurt (Jindal is aRhodes Schol- ently, they're desperate enough to ar who turned down offers from Har- contemplate some very stupid things vard Medical School and Yale Law (Palin 2012?!). But there's no need to School to go to Oxford instead). For the GOP, a pull the goalie just yet: The right has My affinity for Jindal as a fellow many smart, gifted, diverse leaders. Indian-American cannot overcome diverse set of And therein lies the dilemma: Is the the assault his issue stances inflict Republican Party ready to forget old on my political sensibility. Still, for potential saviors. prejudices to let any of its three best Republicans, Jindal is the complete hopes emerge as the party nominee? ' package: a brilliant conservative The first of the three potential sav- mind, a good family man and a tal- iors is obvious: Mitt Romney. Despite ented orator. In many ways, he is the port for gay marriage confirm what his faults (and there are many), the Republicans' dream come true: Their California leaders have been whisper- former Massachusetts governor very own Obama. Still, while we now ing for years: Schwarzenegger is not would be a far more serious chal- know Americans can elect a man of bound by party paradigms. Voters in lenger to the Obama movement than color to the presidency, an equally California love that, and so would the the McCain/Palin/Joe the Plumber important question still looms: Can rest of America. But first we'll need charade that just wrapped up. Known conservatives nominate a man of color that amendment - a bitter pill for the as a capable, brilliant business mind, for the presidency? GOP, especially given its recent rheto- Romney has a JD/MBA from Harvad Other than skin color, Jindal will ric on immigration. (which actually one-ups Obama, in also have to face down the right's tra- Perhaps the greatest consequence case you're counting). ditional distrust of "un-American" of Obama's historic triumph willibe to Democrats may disagree with names and facessPerhaps that won't force the GOP's hand to open the door Romney's stances on guns, abortion be too tough for Jindal because he even further. It would be ironic if the and the war in Iraq, but to Republi- was born in the United States, but it Republican Party nominates Romney, cais, Romney should be the obvious will be a much bigger barrier for the Jindal or Schwarzenegger in 2012 as choice to challenge Obama. And yet, last of the three potential GOP sav- a reaction to Obama's victory. It will he was thrown aside in this primary iors: Arnold Schwarzenegger. be another major step forward for our cycle despite running perhaps the The popular governor of Califor- country, and this time, Republicans most cohesively conservative cam- nia has been overlooked in the recent have the chance to be at the wheel. paign of all the candidates. discussion of who will be the GOP's I'll keep my fingers crossed. It's a faux pas to say that Republi- next leader. That's probably because can voters rejected Romney because Schwarzenegger was born in Ger- lmran Syed was the Daily's he is a Mormon, but I think it's many and would need a constitu- editorial page editor in 2007. He can largely true. Romney attempted to tional amendment to be eligible for be reached at galad@umich.edu. 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 anonymous letters. Send letters to tothedoily@umich.edu. 0 6 0 0 When the University launched the Mich- igan Difference campaign in 2004, it set a lofty goal: raise $2.5 billion in four years. With roughly a month and a half left until the campaign ends on Dec. 31, that goal has long since been shattered. As of Nov. 14, private donors have contributed more than $3.1 billion to the campaign, making it the most lucrative fundraising campaign in his- tory by an American public university. On campus, the signs of this push have been noticeable. Among other things, the money has paid for a massive addition and renovation to the University of Michigan Museum of Art, a new home for the Ross School of Business and 20 other campus construction projects. In addition, it has financed almost 2,000 new scholarships, 185 new endowed professorships and an impressive collection of research projects. But while the generosity of private donors is impressive, it raises several concerns. First, almost all of the cash raised during the Michigan Difference campaign was earmarked for specific projects. While this allows donors to fund projects they deem necessary, a flexibility that encourages some people to contribute, it also prevents money from going to necessary but often overlooked projects. As the University begins planning its next fundraising cam- paign, encouraging donors to contribute to the general fund should be a priority. Another problem with private donations is tied to the state's problems. Though suc- cessful private fundraising campaigns help the University make it through times when the state is slashing its funding, the success of these campaigns also provides the state with an excuse to continue its neglect - if the state doesn't do its job, some alumni somewhere will pick up the slack. Regardless of the outstanding charity of private donors, the University of Michigan is still a public institution. That means that it should be depending on the state for much of its funding. Just because the Univer- sity has been lucky enough to receive such' remarkable dongtions doesn't release the state from its funding obligations. Michi- gan's state legislature should know that, and the University needs to constantly remind it of that. If the University cannot afford to keep the doors of Angell Hall open, it cannot turn out the highly skilled workers that will make a new Michigan economy possible. Private donors have shown their commitment to keeping the University thriving. The state should do the same. 6 6 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, Imran Syed, Radhika Upadhyaya, Rachel Van Gilder, Margaret Young KATE MARTEN11 SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.9DU Save Darfur? Yes. 6 On campus, understanding of Islam is upiiTTing TO TH E DAILY: Last week, I saw the beauty of what a college campus brings. In my four years here, I have never seen students of all backgrounds partici- pate in Explore Islam Week with such enthusi- asm. Christians, Jews and Hindus poured into our events and sat in the same rows with respect- ful intention of learning about the Islamic faith. This could only happen at a college campus like the University of Michigan, where students not only respect each other's differences, but also actively seek to understand them. My experience as an American Muslim has had its ups and downs. As the only Muslim in my class in high school, I recall the awkwardness I' felt whenever a classmate brought up the latest terrorism threat in the news that day. Whenever history class reached the era of Islam, I could always expect the textbook to contain at least a few misquotes and mistranslations of the Quran. Outside of class, praying five times a day became a daily struggle as I searched out for empty class- rooms or hallways. I nervously looked over my shoulder because anyone who walked in on me bowing before God would freak out and start asking me if I needed medical assistance. I had to make excuses in the middle of class or wrestling practice in order to complete my daily prayers. That all changed when I came to Ann Arbor. I JASON MAHAKIAN ni longer have a problem walking out of class or praying on the side of a crowded hallway. I usu- ally get compliments after I'm finished praying for following what I believe in. One Christian classmate even pointed out to me the direction of Mecca. I've come a long way from my high school days, and my motivation comes from the atmosphere and attitude students have created on campus. As a final message, I must say my religious beliefs only reaffirm the American ideals taught to me in my grade school civics classes, like equal rights. More than 1,000 years ago, Prophet Muhammad liberated women in the Arabian Peninsula and gave them legal and economic rights with their spouses. Unfortunately, some Muslims have forgotten that. Prophet Muham- mad also stressed the importance of educating oneself and the need for assistingthose who can- not help themselves. I push myself to serve the poor in my community by volunteering at free clinics in Detroit. Every single year, Muslims around the world donate 2.5 percent of their savings to the impov- erished (one of the five pillars of Islam). I hope to see more students at future events hosted by the Muslim Students Association so we can learn more from one another in the hope of under- standingthe world around us. Malik Mossa-Basha LSA senior The letter writer is the social chair of the Muslim Students Association. E-MAIL JASON AT MAHAKIAJ@UMICH.EDU In his column Thursday, Ibrahim Kakwan criticized groups advocating action in Darfur for not recognizing the complexity of the issue and asked whether we should be getting involved (Saving Darfur?, 11/13/2008). There is one simple answer to his question: yes. As Kakwan wrote, the genocide in Darfur is a compli- cated situation to understand, to say the least. Because of the crisis's dynamics it's also easy for information to become convoluted. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try, so we are here to set the facts straight. In Darfur, more than 2.5 million people have been dis- placed - forced to flee their homes. More than 400,000 people are dead. For more than 20 years between 1983 and 2005, a civil war raged between north and south Sudan. Darfur, the western part of Sudan; was left out of the 2002 peace negotiations that ended the war. A competition for resources and government representation ensued, leading to escalated violence in the Darfur region. The Sudanese government is responsible for the geno- cide. It funds the Janjaweed, a rogue militia, and pro- vides the group with weapons, vehicles and helicopters to attack Darfurians. The Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, has stalled peace negotiations and refuses to make any permanent decisions regarding the conflict. For example, he has repeatedly declared unilateral cease fires without implementation or even negotiations with oppos- ing factions. Humanitarian aid groups have been forced to pull out of the region because of continual targeting by the Janjaweed. The Sudanese government is also to blame for allowing attacks on innocent civilians. In fact, the International Criminal Court is currently considering charging al- Bashir with 10 counts of intents to commit genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. A warrant stands for his arrest. We cannot do enough to capture and bring the world's attention to the emergencies in Darfur. We've recognized and called the crisis what it is: genocide - the systemat- ic destruction of a specific group of people. Together, as members of the human family, we recognize that the ter- rorist regime of Khartoum has and continues to commit crimes against humanity and genocidal acts. This is an international consensus. Yet, little has happened, and the killings have continued years later. The ICC has investigated and proven that Jan- jaweed militias are tools of the Sudanese government and that the regime in Khartoum is attempting to obliterate the people of Darfur. There are few Darfur activists who claim the Sudanese Peoples' Liberation Army is innocent. Though fighting on behalf of an oppressed people - the Darfurians - it, too, has engaged in war crimes. Violence is a by-product of violence, no matter how idealistic we pretend to be. The nation of Sudan has a long and twisted history of civil wars in response to underrepresentation, overexploitation or simple neglect at the hands of the government. More than 250 weeks of genocide have passed, and we, as the international community, have yet to come together on behalf of Darfur. We have argued semantics and logis- tics at length, failingto put the welfare of the people first. The U.N. Security Council needs to enforce its resolu- tions regarding the deployment of 26,000 peacekeeping troops in Darfur. However, as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, Chinahas repeatedly blockedthese resolutions time and time again because of its relationship with the Sudanese government and its interest in Suda- nese oil. China has vetoed all attempts to provide relief on the ground in Darfur. Despite the tremendous challenges that we face, it is essential that our collective journey continue because we cannot rest until the darkest atrocities are brought to light. Ending genocide must be a global priority. : 0 ARE yO E TH A NK t4 LWE1 Y AE5? eaNy ["/ C .t.'j- '<~K f- f i , So today give the people of Darfur your voice, thoughts * and prayers. They have been neglected and persecuted by the very government that should be fighting on their behalf. In the time it has taken you to read this article, more civilians have been forced to flee their homes. A woman has been raped. An orphaned child has given up hope. The question is not if we should save Darfur. The question is how soon can we doit before it's too late. 0 E Kate Marten is a School of Nursing sophomore. She is a member of the University's chapter of STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition.