4A - Wednesday, November 19, 2008 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 A tothedaily@umich.edu 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 solelythe views of their authors. Lacking options MSA needs competitive elections to inspire better turnout U ness yOu religiously read sidewalk chalkings, you prob- ably aren't aware that Michigan Student Assembly elec- tions are today and tomorrow. The reason you may not be aware of the elections is that they don't matter all that much. Few students will vote, and the Michigan Action Party, because it's the only serious party running, will inevitably sweep the races and con- tinue its one-party rule. But as long as MSA remains dominated by one serious party, students have no way to hold it accountable for its unfulfilled promises so it will get little done. What students need is an MSA election that isn't an uncontested farce. This team has no confidence, man." - Chris Spielman, former Detroit Lions and Ohio State defensive linebacker, commenting on the Michigan Wolverines football team, as reported yesterday by The Detroit News. A leaderless state J 's a bad time to be in Michi- their 30 years, retire, suck the sweet were willing to work, live and start gan. Winter is coming. Jobs are nectar of pension benefits and rack a family. With the notable exception scarce. Detroit is anarchic. The up astronomic health care bills. Or, of a few major cities, it's still a nice fate of the state's in other words, stuck in the mid-20th place, especially here in Ann Arbor. economic founda- century. What Michigan doesn't have is any tion, the Big Three, You can't argue that Michigan leadership. We have a state legisla- is in the unpredict- workers aren't somewhat behind the ture that apparently doesn't believe able hands of Con- times. But I'm not sure why people Michigan workers can become any- gress - the same are writing them off. Sure, a lot of thing more than underperforming Congress in which them don't have jobs now. And yes, factory line workers because it won't a mutiny is being they are fleeing the state at unheard invest anything extra in them or their planned against of rates. But according to the 2008 children. Caseinpoint: Between2002 Michigan icon Rep. GARY State Technology and Science Index, and 2007, higher education funding John Dingell. The GRACA Michigan is in the middle of the road in Michigan fell by more than 10per- state's main escape among states' worker technological cent, while nationwide, it rose more from reality, its assets. That's not great, but it's not than 15 percent. sports teams, has terrible either. Thenthere's this place turned into a source of depression. -- one of the best public universities And with the holiday season on the in the country and the world. And horizon, everyone gets to look for- there are the 14 other public univer- Nothing's w rong ward to hectic, overheated and over- sities, which house just fewer than priced malls, mounds of new credit 250,000 students. with M ichigan, just card debt to please ungrateful chil- I believe an X factor should be dren and plenty of awkward, embar- included in there, too: drive. Though those in charge. rassing family outings. no study or survey could quantify Like all tough, depressing times, this, people in this state are willingto that means Michigan has just two work and work hard. The auto indus- options for moving forward. First, try would never have gotten a foot- And we have a governor who citizens could wallow in their sor- hold here if that weren't the case. arrived in 2003 as a potential sav- rows, get drunk, blame everyone else But Michigan's workforce was only for and has since failed to convince for screwing them over, riot, secede one thing that helped make this state anyone that Michigan matters. Only from the Union and form a province one of America's most important now that the Big Three are imploding in Canada, where instantly everyone economic hubs. Water was another. has she really taken Michigan's case will get health care and become happy We often take it for granted now, but to the country, and it looks like she and good at playing hockey. Or, Michi- water was key in the 20th century is failing. What we may be left with gan can realize that almost everything for transportation, agriculture and, after that is a lot more jobless men that once made this state great is still in general, supporting human life. and women, a lot less tax revenue and here - what's missing is even the It may be 2008, but the last time I a lot more people leaving. slightest notion of leadership. checked all three of those things still What we need is someone who can For starters, take Michigan's work- matter a lot, and we still have the stepback,tell Michiganresidents that force. Once considered the driving water.Before other states startedbeg- they have the ability to rebuild this force behind the rise of Henry Ford's ging for a few drops, Michigan, Can- state, and then give them the resourc- ragtag automotive operation bal- ada and the other Great Lakes states es to do it. Thatsounds simple. But no looned into a global success, Michi- were smart enough to push through a one has done that. Until then, the bad gan's workforce is now considered monumental measure to protect this times will continue. one of the state's biggest liabilities. water from outsiders, too. It is basically characterized as an And lastly, Michigan became Gary Graca is the Daily's editorial obese bunch of unionized assembly importantinthe20thcenturybecause page editor. He can be reached line laborers, who are content to work it's a nice place - somewhere people at gmgraca@umichedu. 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 tothedaily@umich.edu. JOSH WEINGAST|I P T A message for Rich Rod In this year's election, if you wish to call it that, roughly 40 candidates will vie for 30 open MSA seats. More than half of these candidates will be from MAP, and as usual, the party's members are promising sweep- ing generic improvements like increasing wireless Internet in residence halls and providing late-night University transporta- tion. The Defend Affirmative Action Party is also throwing in its sacrificial candidates with their single-issue focus. And a hand- ful of unassuming, but somewhat impres- sive, independent candidates are running, too. But neither DAAP nor the independents stand much of a chance against MAP's elec- tion machine. As usual, no one is expecting voter turn- out to be particularly groundbreaking. Though MSA President Sabrina Shingwani and vice President Arvind Sohoni prom- ised last semester that they would work to increase voter turnout in elections and overall interest in MSA, those efforts have all but died. Early plans to advertise MSA elections on the backgrounds of University computers were abandoned, and candidates have returned to their usual chalking and flyering. That's a shame, because, as Shin- gwani admits, higher voter turnout would make the assembly more productive and more powerful. And failingto get students to vote is hard- ly MSA's only shortcoming. The assembly just doesn't have a very good record of big accomplishments to grab students' atten- tion. The online housing forum, much like MSA's online course advice tool, offers little. MSA's struggle with the city to improve off- campus lighting is ongoing, as it has been on and off for the past few years. The assembly hasn't been very vocal on major policy issues like tuition, health care and student input. And the MSA website - which presidential candidates have been promising to update for years -is still glaringly bare. When these disappointments are considered alongside the modest successes (bringing T. Boone Pickens to campus, constructing a giant 'M' in the student section of the Big House), MSA seems to have achieved little. The only reason that MAP - and MSA as a whole - can get away with such a poor per- formance is that they have no serious oppo- sition. In a single-party system, students feel like their votes don't matter. Once elected, student representatives can then sidestep campaign promises. And ultimately, a single- party system makes accountability a myth. The fact that MSA representatives aren't fulfilling their campaign promises should be a great reason for students to go vote. Yet, they still don't, which means some of the responsibility is on them. What we're left with is an election no one cares much about and one that doesn't matter much. Students should get involved and press for better choices in the election and demand better representation. We should expect some- thing more from the student body and our student government. 0 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 SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU Despite losing season, still hope for Wolverines at OSU TO THE DAILY: As the game against Ohio State approaches, a growing sense of doubt about the possibility of a Michigan victory has enveloped Ann Arbor - and for good reason. The city and the University have witnessed a season full of disappointment that has surely humbled many Michigan foot- ball fans. Many of us have spent hours defending head football coach Rich Rodriguez and the team against verbal assaults from the Spartans, Fight- ing Irish and Utes. A friend of mine noted recently that even if the team improves next year, we would be in our late 50s by the time the University's bowl streak reaches 33 seasons again. If the Buckeyes win for the fifth straight year, it would be the first time in the rivalry's history that the team would accom- plish that feat. So why believe that our football team can emerge victorious? Because on cold November Saturdays in Ohio, greatness can happen when we least expect it. Tom Sheppard LSA junior Government bailouts have moral andpracticalfailings TO THE DAILY: When it comes to spending other people's money, the Daily is awfully generous. That was the case in its editorial yesterday about a bail- out for the Big Three (Bailing out our future, 11/18/2008). A taxpayer-funded bailout for the Big Three can't be defended on moral grounds because it is wrongto rob Peter to pay Paul, regardless of how many skilled lobbyists Paul may have in Wash- ington D.C. Nor can it be defended on practical grounds, since this would be a subsidy for the bloated and inefficient management practices that got automakers here in the first place. A bail- out would "spread the wealth" from poortaxpay- ers to rich executives. Bailouts also misallocate resources by plac- ing capital in the hands of politicians rather than market forces. Supporting Congress's use of a limitless credit card that will be charged to our children and grandchildren to bailout private companies is morally reprehensible and confus- ing public policy. It would make more sense to throw our money down a hole. Jonathan Slemrod LSA junior The letter writer is a co-chair of the University's chapter of the College Libertarians. Great female comedians do exist outside of SNL' TO THE DAILY: There was some trickery that took place in Michael Passman's arts column yesterday about the female cast of "Saturday Night Live" (The funny females of 'SNL', 11/18/2008). Passman wrote that "as a whole women aren't exactly the most hilarious people on Earth" andtugged atmy feminist heartstrings by failing to consider all of the great women comedians that exist now and have yet tobe discovered. I agree with Passman that for our generation SNL is not the pinnacle of hilariousness. For this reason, I would then ask that he not contradict himself by saying SNL is exemplar because it exhibits the only "funny females." I also agree that we should acknowledge Tina Fey, Amy Poe- hler and Kristen Wigg for their work this season in bringing SNL back to life. However, Passman's position essentially pre- sented an exception, not the rule. I can think of many women that both sexes continue to laugh with outside of SNL: Wanda Sykes, Margaret Cho, Amy Sedaris, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Ellen Degeneres and Chelsea Handler. And the fact that this is by no means an exhaustive list proves that it is far easier to rely on vintage ste- reotypes than to actually consider the possibility that maybe women do have something to say and by golly, maybe then can actually be funny and clever while saying it. As a women's study major and a "closer observ- er of humanity" as Passman called himself, I will save everyone some time: Let's take the sex and gender out of it (this might prove difficult), listen to the jokes and decide for ourselves what is medi- ocre and true comedic art. It may turn out there are more funny females than we anticipated if we listen more with our ears and less with our eyes. Angela Washington LSA senior Yesterday, The Associated Press change quickly,' released an article in which Rich All of Rodrigt Rodriguez was quoted as saying that decessors hadi he wantsto tell Michigan fans to "geta program was" life" and "take a look at the economy." ent pool or depi As a University graduate and football each of those c' season ticket holder, these statements way to best use insultedme. Rodriguez is ahighlypaid to remain comp state employee and he should think games. Rodrig twice before he suggests that Michi- he's either unab gan students, alumni and fans "get a so. In fact, he wa life" and "look at the economy." ing to retain som The state of Michigan is perhaps in the program i the state hardest hit by the troubled competitive. economy and the Michigan students, In addition t alumni and fans don't need to be the immense se reminded about the sad state of the Michigan studei economy. Many of those fans live in Rodriguez also s Michigan and are personally hurt by derstood the int the situation. A lot of those Michigan igan fan base. taxpayers (the same folks who indi- recognized thatr rectly pay Rodriguez's mega salary) students or grad turn to Michigan football as a way to versity and, ther escape the major problems they've smart. When hi been facing in their lives for several like suggesting t years - not just the last 6 months. Does Rodriguez actually believe that Michigan fans, of all fans, don't understand that General Motors is ROSE JAFFE about to go out of business? The most disappointing observa- E-MAIL ROSE A tion of all is that, after having been part of the University for 10 months, he still can't understand one of the things that makes the University such a special place: the immense pride the students and alumni have in the University of Michigan, including its football program. It may not have been the most dominant program in the country in the last few decades (though it once was), but it's certainly been the most consistently strong. For 40 years, the students, alumni and fans have known that on any given Saturday, they would be able to take pride in watching Michigan football and on about 77 percent of those days, feel good having done so. This year, that all changed. Being the best in the country at something is very special and pro- vides people associated with that experience a little more to feel good about. That's especially important when people have tough challenges to face. The Michigan football program was No. lin the country at four things: longest period of time since last los- ing season, longest streak attending a bowl game, most number of weeks being ranked in the AP poll and most successful program of all time based on wins and winning percentage. Under Rodriguez, the program has already managed to lose two of these accomplishments, is on the verge of losing a third and, if things don't will lose the fourth. uez's immediate pre- years in which the "rebuilding" its tal- eted by injuries, but oaches figured out a the talent they had petitive and win ball uez has proven that le or unwilling to do sn't even able or will- ne of the better talent n an effort to be more o not understanding nse of pride among nts, alumni and fans, seems to have misun- elligence of the Mich- Somehow, he hasn't many of these fans are uates of this top uni- efore, are pretty darn e says stupid things, hey get a life and take a look at the economy, he only makes things much worse for himself. At some point, Rodriguez needs to stop blaming this disaster of a season on the inexperienced talent and take some responsibility for the failure. He also needs to recognize what impact that failure has had on the pride of the largest alumni base in the coun- try, many of whom pay his salary while living in the state with the sec- ond worst unemployment rate in the country. He needs to at least act like he cares about the reputation of this university and its football program more than his reputation as a coach. I think he owes us all an apology - if not for our loss of pride during this disaster of a football season, then at least for the insinuation that we don't understand the state of the economy. But let's not forget: It's great to be a Michigan Wolverine. Josh Weingast is a University alum. 0 6 0 6 T ROSEJAFF@UMICH.EDU comoMY ~10 f, 0